Don't do breast checks?

[Nai]

A girlfriend of mine found a lump when she was 25 and went to the Dr about it - fortunately she did as it was cancerous and she had to have surgery. That was 15 years and 2 children ago. If self-checking saves one life then I say it's worth it. I will still be checking mine!

[AnyDream]

I've read that self-checks are pointless because finding them 'early' does not increase the overall chance of survival form cancer, but it does increase the chance of them having a biopsy on a benign lump.

Persephone, I'm sorry but I think you are confused. From the National Breast and Ovarian Cancer Centre:

Finding breast cancer early means that you have more treatment options and your chances of survival are better. Survival is lower if the cancer has already spread outside the breast when it is diagnosed. As an example, about 9 out of 10 women whose cancer is diagnosed before it has spread outside the breast will be alive 5 years later. However, if the cancer has spread to other parts of the body at diagnosis, only about 2 out of 10 women will be alive 5 years later.

It is true that finding a pre-cancerous tumour is more likely to result in biopsy & invasive procedures when there is no evidence that all pre-cancerous tumours will eventuate into cancer. However since a percentage of these pre-cancerous lumps do eventuate in cancer they are all treated aggressively. Personally I'd much rather be loosing a breast now than find out in 5 or 10 years time that I breast cancer that has metastisized all through my bones, brains, liver, etc. Trust me by that stage it is a painful and difficult disease and the treatment regimes are far more brutal than early stage cancers.

So, please don't risk it. Feel your boobies, feel them often.

[smiles4u]

I had a mammogram, u/s & surgeon check every year ... then when i turned 40 it became mammogram & check with GP each year and every 2nd year an ultrasound !!

****** At " The Breastscreen Clinic " you can have a mammogram for FREE of charge as long as you are over the age of 40 (even though they advertise 50 or 55+) ******