Breast Cancer is a tumour that begins in the breast tissue. There are several types of breast cancer. The majority (80%) of breast lumps are benign. However, you should not ignore a lump. There is still a 20% chance that it is malignant. If left too long, this overgrowth of malignant cells could spread and the chances of a cure begin to fall. Furthermore, the more advanced the cancer, the more extensive the treatment required.

 

关于乳腺的健康教育（Breast Health Education），其目标是帮助青年女性和妇女了解乳腺癌的相关事实，熟悉她们各自乳腺的正常变化，及其学会识别早期乳腺癌的征兆。

Breast Health Education aims to help adolescent girls and women to understand the facts related to the breast and to familiarize with the normal changes in their breast. They could learn to recognize signs of early breast cancer.

 

预计2009年美国乳腺癌的新发病例和因乳腺癌而死亡的人数如下：

１、新发病例　女性为192,370人；男性为1910人。

２、死亡人数　女性为40,170人；男性为440人。

以上数据来自美国国立卫生研究院。

Estimated new cases and deaths from breast cancer in the United States in 2009:

New cases: 192,370 (female); 1,910 (male)

Deaths: 40,170 (female); 440 (male)

*Information from U.S National Institutes of Health

 

　　筛查和早期发现

筛查是指使用某些实验和检查以在无任何症状的人群中发现某种疾病（如癌症），筛查的目的是尽可能在肿瘤发生扩散之前早期发现它们。肿瘤的大小和扩散的范围是决定患者最终预后的最重要因素。因此，早期发现乳腺癌对延长患者的生命非常关键。换言之，癌症发现得越早，相关的治疗措施产生效果的机率就超高。

乳腺的自我检测（请参阅“乳腺健康自查方法－http://www.jkbangbang.com/info_list.php?category=->582->989->1028->&id=995”）、由专科医生完成的乳腺检查和筛查性的乳房X光检查（博主加注：甚至进行组织活检）等是早期发现乳腺癌的重要手段。

Early Detection and Screening

Screening　The term ’screening’ refers to tests and examinations used to find a disease (such as cancer) in people who do not have any symptoms. The goal is to find the disease early before it has a chance to spread. The size of the tumour and how far it has spread are the most important factors determining the final outcome for the patient.　Therefore, the early detection of breast cancer can be the key to survival or in other words, the earlier the cancer is found, the better the chances that treatment will work.

Breast self-examinations (BSE), clinical breast examinations (by a trained doctor or health care professional) and screening mammography are therefore important in detecting breast cancer at an early stage.

 

　　谁应该接受乳腺癌筛查？

应将所有年龄在18岁以上的女性和下列高危人群纳入筛查对象：

１、既往有乳腺或卵巢癌病史的女性。

２、具有家族史的女性，即家族中有1或多名一或二级亲属曾患乳腺或其它癌症。

３、亲戚中有成员于50岁以前患乳腺癌者。

４、处于高发年龄段（大于40岁）的女性。

５、接受激素替代治疗（HRT）的女性。

　　Who should be screened?

Screening can be done on:

*the whole population at risk (all women above 18 years of age) or

*on the population at highest risk.

1. women with a past history of breast or ovarian cancer,

2. women with a family history of one or more first or second degree

3. relatives with breast cancer before the age of 50 years,

4. women in the age group of highest incidence, above 40 years,

5. women on Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT)

 

　　每个国家筛查乳腺癌的指南略有差异，这些指南通常由卫生工作者和经济专业人士根据各个国家的乳腺癌发生率统计数据、高危人群的情况和可利用的医疗资源（如人员与设备），及经济状况等编写而成。

The guidelines on screening for breast cancer vary from country to country. These guidelines are drawn-up by health and economic professionals based on the incidence statistics, the ‘at risk’ population, available medical resources (including personnel and equipment) as well as the country’s economic resources.

 

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　（原载：jkbangbang.com/health tips）