Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women. Breast cancer occurs as a result of cells becoming cancerous (unlimited and uncontrolled proliferation and growth). Breast cancer occurs in one of every 8-10 women during their lifetime. However, few people realize the importance of this or realize that they are at risk.

Although new treatment options are increasing gradually, success in breast cancer depends on early diagnosis. If breast cancer is diagnosed early, the chance of surviving the disease is 96 percent. For this reason, early screening tests should be done and it is necessary to know the symptoms that will alert you early and allow you to consult the doctor.

• Age: As age progresses (especially after the age of 50), the risk of breast cancer increases. one in every 20 thousand women aged 25 has breast cancer, while in women who have reached the age of 80, this risk increases to one in every 8 women.
• Family history:The risk is increased in those with a family history of breast cancer and/or ovarian cancer, especially in a first-degree relative.
• Beginning of Menstural cycles and menopause age: Those who start menstruation at an early age (before the age of 12) and those who go through menopause late (after the age of 50) increase the risk of breast cancer because the breast tissue remains under the influence of estrogen hormone for a longer time.
• Pregnancy and Breastfeeding: Not giving birth, giving birth late (after 30 years of age), not breastfeeding increase the risk.
• Hormone treatments: Uncontrolled use of hormone treatments after menopause increases the risk.
• Weight: Being overweight and having a fatty diet increase the risk.
• Genetics: Only 5-10 percent of breast cancers are due to a genetic disorder. Genetic tests are recommended for people who have more than one family member with early breast cancer, who have relative breast cancer and ovarian cancer together, who have a history of bilateral breast cancer or breast cancer in a male relative.
• Alcohol: Regular use increases the risk.

The most common symptom of breast cancer is the feeling of a painless mass in the breast; However, up to 10 percent of patients feel pain without a mass. Less common symptoms of breast cancer are nipple symptoms, including non-temporary changes in the breast (for example, thickening, swelling, skin irritation or breakdown), discharge, abrasion, tenderness or inversion of the nipple. Early-stage breast cancers, which are the easiest to treat, typically do not show symptoms. Therefore, it is very important for women to apply the recommended control programs for the early diagnosis of breast cancer. Diagnosing breast cancer at an early stage significantly increases the number of treatment options and the chances of successful treatment and survival.

There are three complementary methods recommended for early diagnosis:

• Personal (self-made) breast examination.
• It is recommended to do it once a month, on the 7th-10th day of the menstural cycle, after the age of 16.
• Clinical breast examination by doctor. It is recommended to perform breast examination by a specialist doctor once every 1-3 years between the ages of 20-40 and annually from the age of 40. Annual mammography from the age of 40 on women with a standard level of risk ensures the detection of breast cancer at an early stage.

The diagnosis of breast cancer is made by imaging units and clinical examination findings. The pillar of imagining is annual mammography. According to the structural features and findings of the breast, breast ultrasound can be performed as well as mammography. Mammography taken with analog devices in the past, is now done with digital devices. Mammography and breast ultrasound should be performed for at least 20 minutes by specialist breast radiologist.

The risk of breast cancer can be reduced by making some changes in daily life. The risk can be reduced by being careful not to gain weight, doing sports, not eating foods high in fat, not smoking and using alcohol, and not taking postmenopausal hormone replacement therapies. One of the methods such as surgical removal of both breasts and replacing them with prostheses, removal of the ovaries or drug therapy can be applied in patients with a family history and a high risk of genetically inherited breast cancer,and in patients with a genetic disorder as a result of genetic analyzes.

Today's imaging possibilities allow tissue diagnosis of a 1 millimeter cyst or mass in the breast, under ultrasound possibility.

Depending on the stage of the disease and the characteristics of the tumor detected after pathological examination, surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, hormonal therapy, and biological treatments are used alone or in combination.

Surgery is the most effective treatment in the early stage of breast cancer. Due to false beliefs among the public, patients may refuse treatment when surgery is recommended. Those who are offered surgical treatment in breast cancer constitute the patient group with the highest chance of survival since the disease is in the early stages and the cancerous tissue can be completely removed by surgery.

Does everyone diagnosed with breast cancer need to have their entire breast removed? No. The size and location of the tumor and its imagining on the mammogram determine the extent of the surgery. If the tumor is small and in its initial stage, it may be sufficient to remove only a small part of the breast. In the same situation, there is a second option. This is the evacuation of the breast by protecting the skin and nipple and making a new breast in the same session.

Today, there are several different procedures of surgical intervention in the treatment of breast cancer. These procedures are basically divided into two main groups as those for protecting the breast without removal and those for removing the entire breast. When breast cancer is detected at an early stage, breast-conserving surgeries in which the breast is not removed can be applied. In cases where breast cancer is detected early, the psychological trauma of the disease is minimized by surgical procedures in which the breast is not removed. In addition to these, there are also operations such as breast reconstruction with plastic surgery techniques instead of the removed breast.

Breast-conserving surgery is performed in combination with radiotherapy (radiation therapy), and when it is performed in patients with certain criteria, it provides the same medical survival times as removing the entire breast. It also gives much better results cosmetically. It is a surgical intervention performed by removing sufficient amount of healthy tissue around the cancerous tissue. The more intact tissue is removed along with the tumor, the lower the risk of recurrence of cancer in the same place.

In some cases, the entire breast is removed. Along with the breast tissue, the breast skin and nipple are taken together. In cases where only the entire breast is removed, it is called simple mastectomy, and in cases where axillary lymph nodes are removed, it is called modified radical mastectomy. The most important difference between removing the entire breast and performing breast-conserving surgery is that recurrence of breast cancer in the same breast is less risky. There is no difference in the risk of breast cancer in any part of the body (metastasis) after surgery, in the two selected types of surgery.

According to the extent of the breast cancer detected in the breast to the lymph nodes in the armpit, the stage of the disease is made. Accordingly treatment is planned. Therefore, it is very important to evaluate the axillary lymph nodes. If cancer cells have gone to the underarm lymph nodes, there is a possibility of spreading to the body from the lymph nodes here. Cancer cells can also grow and form new tumors here. For these reasons, if there is involvement in the armpit lymph nodes, the lymph nodes here must be surgically removed.