October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Rather than adding to the noise around it, we thought it was worth explaining a few things plainly: what breast awareness means, how it differs from breast screening, and where to find reliable information and support.
The National Breast Cancer Foundation’s research strategy provides a useful way to think about breast cancer through four actions: prevent, detect, stop and treat.
Prevent
There is no single way to prevent breast cancer, and some risk factors are outside our control. Research continues to look at why breast cancer develops and whether individual risk can be reduced.
Looking after your general health is still an important part of preventive healthcare. Staying active, maintaining a healthy weight, limiting alcohol and not smoking all contribute to better overall health. They do not guarantee that someone will avoid breast cancer, but they are part of looking after your health more broadly.
The National Breast Cancer Foundation’s Pink Horizon Research Strategy identifies prevention as one of four priorities for breast cancer research, alongside detection, stopping progression and recurrence, and treatment.
Detect
Early detection is one of the reasons breast awareness and screening are important, but they are not the same thing.
What breast awareness means
Breast awareness simply means knowing what is normal for you.
You will likely notice the usual look and feel of your breasts through everyday activities such as showering, dressing or applying moisturiser. There is no particular technique you need to follow and no set day of the month.
The aim is not to search for problems. It is to be familiar enough with your own body that a genuine change stands out.
Changes worth discussing with a doctor
Breast changes can happen for many reasons, and most are not caused by cancer. However, Cancer Australia recommends discussing changes such as:
- A new lump or lumpiness, particularly in one breast
- A change in the size or shape of the breast
- A change to the nipple, including crusting, redness, ulceration or inversion
- Nipple discharge that happens without squeezing
- A change in the skin, such as redness, puckering or dimpling
- Swelling or discomfort around the armpit or collarbone
- Unusual breast or nipple pain that does not go away
Noticing one of these changes does not mean you have breast cancer. It is a reason to speak with a doctor rather than try to work out the cause yourself.
Screening is different from checking a symptom
Breast screening is for people who have not noticed breast changes.
BreastScreen Queensland provides free mammograms to eligible women. Screening is designed to look for breast cancers that are too small to be seen or felt.
If you have noticed a new or unusual change, speak with your GP rather than booking a routine screening appointment. BreastScreen Queensland’s guidance for health professionals explains that diagnostic imaging for people with symptoms is arranged separately.
A new change should be assessed even if you recently had a normal screening mammogram.
Could screening become more personalised?
Research is also looking at whether breast screening could one day be better tailored to individual risk.
The MyScreen Trial is investigating whether factors such as breast density and family history could help identify women who may benefit from a different screening approach.
The trial is still underway, so it is too early to know what this will mean for screening in Australia. For now, screening recommendations remain based on current BreastScreen guidance.
Stop
Finding breast cancer is only one part of the research effort.
Researchers are also working to understand why some breast cancers progress or return after treatment, and how this might be prevented.
The National Breast Cancer Foundation describes this as the stop objective in its research strategy. This includes research into the biology of different breast cancers and why some become more difficult to treat.
Research takes time, and findings do not automatically become changes to everyday healthcare. But understanding how breast cancer behaves is an important part of finding better ways to reduce its impact.
Treat
Treatment for breast cancer depends on the type of breast cancer, how advanced it is and the individual circumstances of the person diagnosed.
Treatment can involve surgery, radiation therapy, medicines or a combination of approaches. There is no single treatment that is right for everyone.
The overarching objective of the National Breast Cancer Foundation’s research strategy focuses particularly on developing better approaches for hard-to-treat and metastatic breast cancers.
If you or someone close to you has been diagnosed with breast cancer, the treating team is the best source of information about individual treatment options. A GP can also remain part of your broader healthcare team throughout and after treatment.
What can a GP help with?
If you have noticed a breast change, a GP can:
- Listen to what you have noticed and take a relevant history
- Carry out an appropriate clinical assessment
- Explain whether further investigation may be useful
- Arrange imaging or referral if clinically indicated
- Discuss your screening options and individual risk
- Help you understand what the next steps might involve
Investigating a breast change can take more than one step. Cancer Australia’s guidance explains that assessment may involve clinical examination, imaging and, where appropriate, tissue sampling.
Supporting someone with breast cancer
Breast cancer can affect partners, family members and friends as well as the person diagnosed.
If you are supporting someone with breast cancer, there are Australian organisations that provide information and support for both patients and carers.
Breast Cancer Network Australia provides information and support for people affected by breast cancer, including partners and family members.
Cancer Council also provides information and support through 13 11 20, including for people caring for someone with cancer.
The National Breast Cancer Foundation’s carer resources provide further information and links to support services with groups like the McGrath Foundation offering an array of breast cancer supports.
If you would like to talk it through
If you have noticed a breast change, or would like to understand more about screening and whether it applies to you, you are welcome to make an appointment with the team at Sandstone Healthcare Yeerongpilly.
Our GP’s take the time to listen to what you have noticed, explain what assessment may be appropriate and talk through your options with you.
Book an appointment with Sandstone Healthcare Yeerongpilly
Further Reading: Trusted Australian Resources
- BreastScreen Queensland – screening information and eligibility
- Cancer Australia – symptoms, diagnosis and treatment
- National Breast Cancer Foundation – breast cancer research
- Breast Cancer Network Australia – information and support
- Cancer Council 13 11 20 – information and support for people with cancer, families and carers
