A few months ago, Aunt Li, who was over fifty years old, found a circle of red papules on her left breast, which surrounded the areola. Aunt Li thought it was eczema, so she went to the drugstore and bought some ointment for external use, but it had no effect.
Later, “eczema” repeatedly, intermittently, nipple inflammation, erosion, exudation, scab, itching.. Aunt Li was so unbearable that she found me to see a doctor a week ago. After I inquired about the situation in detail, I carefully observed the eczema. I think this “eczema” is unusual. After some necessary examinations, Aunt Li was finally diagnosed with eczema-like breast cancer.
“Cancer?” Aunt Li is astonied, “skin problem, how to pull ‘cancer’ to go up?”
Eczema-like cancer of the breast, I explained, is also known as Paget’s disease of the breast. It is a rare malignant lesion occurring in the nipple areola area, with typical symptoms of eczema-like changes such as desquamation, erosion, ulceration, pruritus and scab formation of the nipple epithelium. The symptoms of eczema-like cancer of the breast are very similar to those of breast eczema, but breast eczema is more common in lactating women. The lesions are usually symmetrically distributed on both sides, mainly occurring in the nipple and areola. Eczema is soft to touch, the nipple is not deformed, and the edge is not hard.
I also told Aunt Li that eczema-like cancer of the breast often occurs in middle-aged and elderly women, usually unilateral morbidity, with the nipple and areola as the starting point, the skin of the lesion thickens and hardens, the edge rises, the nipple may be inverted, destroyed or even disappeared, and there is little tendency to heal itself. We should know that eczema-like breast cancer accounts for only 2-3% of female breast cancer, many of which can not be detected in time or missed, delaying treatment. Aunt Li said, “I always thought it was eczema, but I didn’t take it seriously. How could I know it was breast cancer?”? I regret my carelessness! Fortunately, Aunt Li’s course of disease is still in the early stage, and her prognosis is optimistic. At present, Aunt Li’s surgical treatment stage has been completed and she has recovered well and discharged from hospital.
With the help of this patient’s condition, I need to remind the majority of female patients that once breast skin ulceration, exudation, scab, desquamation and itching occur, they must go to breast related departments in time.
Be careful when there are these dangerous signs in the breast:
1. Breast cancer is a lump without obvious pain in the early stage. The size of the lump is uncertain, the shape of the lump is irregular, irregular and hard.
2. Pain Patients with early breast cancer generally do not have obvious pain, and a few patients will have intermittent pain and vague pain. Or mild discomfort on one side of the breast, there is also the phenomenon of shoulder pain and discomfort.
3. The color of nipple discharge in patients with early breast cancer is milky white and light yellow, and the color of nipple discharge in some patients will be watery and blood-like.
4. Changes of breast skin There is a certain correlation between the skin changes of breast cancer and the depth and degree of invasion of the mass site. It is possible that the color of the mass site is dark, orange peel-like, or even edema, discoloration, eczema-like changes; it is also possible that the skin will not change significantly.
5. Nipple changes Normal women’s breasts on both sides show symmetrical distribution, but if there are tumors around the nipple, the nipple will be pulled upward, and the height of the nipple on both sides will change.
At the same time, in order to detect breast abnormalities in time in daily life, we can carry out self-examination, which includes inspection and palpation.
1. Take off your coat, face the mirror, droop your hands naturally, and observe the shape, size, skin abnormality, nipple depression, erosion, etc.
2. Palpate in the standing or supine position, with the left hand behind the head, the fingers of the right hand together and the right finger pulp gradually moving clockwise from the 12 o’clock position, then palpate the armpit, pay attention not to grasp and pinch, check whether there is a lump, then gently squeeze the nipple, pay attention to whether there is a secretion in the nipple, check the right breast in the same way, the direction of the examination is counterclockwise. Therefore, some people summarize the method of breast self-examination as “one look, two touch and three squeeze”.
3. The time of self-examination for premenopausal women is the 9th to 11th day after menstruation. Postmenopausal women can choose any time for self-examination, which can be fixed every month. In addition, regularly participate in breast examination or physical examination, actively participate in the national two cancer screening projects (including breast cancer), strive for early detection of breast tumors, improve the early diagnosis rate. In the process of self-examination, if you have a lot of questions or find minor problems, you can go to the nail and breast clinic of the Tumor Hospital of the Second People’s Hospital of Yichang City every Monday to consult me. Inflammatory breast cancer
