Husbands can help wives detect breast cancer

Every young woman should be taught to examine her breasts, especially immediately after each menstrual period for breast lumps. Seye Adeniyi reports that men can also be of help in the early detection of breast lumps, which often turn cancerous, by regularly massaging their wives’ breasts.

In women, the two most likely places where cancer may develop are the breasts and the uterus. Although a malignancy may also develop in any part of the breast, medical practitioners say majority of cancers occur in either the upper portion of the breast, toward the shoulder or close to the nipple.

Breast cancer may also occur at any time of life, but it is said to be more common between 35 and 65 years. Also, some cases of breast cancer have also been reported in those below the above ages. This means that any woman can have breast cancer as cancer is the growth of cells that are not normal and if not detected early, cancer can spread. Also as women get older, their chances of having breast cancer increase.

However, over 70 per cent of women with lumps in their breasts could be blamed for the delay which has often resulted in the lump transforming into a fully grown cancer. Many of them often delay in reporting the breast lump to their doctors and one of the identifiable factors responsible for this avoidable delay is ignorance.

According to Dr. Wale Oguntuase of Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, Ile Ife, Osun State, quite a number of women with breast cancer would have saved themselves the agony of pains attached to breast cancer and probably would not have had their breasts operated if only they had been vigilant and conscious enough of any abnormal growth in their breasts.

Many women, the doctor stressed, don’t even know what self-breast examination, which is expected to be done at least once in a month is all about.

According to the doctor, any tumour or breast mass should be carefully examined by a surgeon and as a rule, if there is only one single nodule or lump in the breast, it could be malignant, especially if there is no pain. But the truth is that whether the lump appears to be malignant or benign, it should be examined by a pathologist to determine the cause.

When cancer is present in the breast, there is usually one hard single lump which may be fixed to the surounding tissues. Usually, there is no pain, but in a few cases, there may be a slight discharge of blood from the nipple, but this is not common. A slight discharge may also occur in some benign tumours. But no matter the situation, it is always wise to have the tumour or lump checked in the hospital to confirm if it is cancer or not, the doctor advised.

Some of the factors that increase the risk of breast cancer are age, history of breast cancer in close family relatives, obesity and reaching menopause at very old age.

It should also be noted that breast cancer does not seem to be associated with hormonal use, nor is it related to chemical pollution in the environment as erroneously believed by some people.

Some of the changes to look for if breast cancer is suspected include a lump that feels different from the rest of the breast; a change in the skin texture or skin colour; a new pimple on the breast; a newly retracted (pulled in) nipple, as well as a discharge from the nipple even without squeezing it. Bloody discharge could also signal the development of breast cancer.

Another important question which majority of women usually ask is: Do I need to worry or fear if there is no history of breast cancer in my family? According to the medical practitioner, most women who get breast cancer have no family history of the disease and any woman can get it and the risk increases as a woman gets older.

What if there is a lump in the breast, does that mean it is a sign of cancer? “Not all lumps in the breast are cancer, but all lumps should be investigated in the hospital and be removed as quickly as possible," the doctor said.

Breast cancer can be detected by self breast examination, ultrasound, mammogram.

According to Dr. Tunde Adepoju of TwoTee Diagnostic Centre, Ibadan, the best method to detect breast cancer at its earliest formative stage is mammography.

For women that are less than 40 years old, the doctor in one of his reports recommended that they should have their breasts examined monthly. Their doctors should also examine their breasts every three years and they should have a baseline mammogram done between the ages 35 and 39.

Women who are between 40 and 49 years should also examine their breasts monthly. The breasts should be examined by doctors every year while also having a mammogram done every one or two years.

For those who are 50 years old and above, they should also have their breasts examined by doctors every year and also have a mammogram done every year. These, according to the doctor are intended for women with no breast cancer symptoms.

Dr. Adepoju said breast cancer is also possible in men as few cases have been reported before. The expert, however, counselled women to always do self breast examination, especially immediately after the menstruation when the breast congestion, that is, swelling and pain (tenderness) are minimal. The examination should also be done on the first day of the month in post-menopausal women. The steps in breast self-examination include inspection (how to look) and palpation (how to feel) which would be explained by their doctor.

He also said regular massage of the breasts for women by their husbands also helps in detecting breast cancer early. A man can help his wife massage or palpate their breasts for early detection of lumps or any abnormal growth. Many women don’t usually do self breast examination, but if their husbands help them to massage them, any lump or pain would be detected early and the husband would be able encourage the wife to report the finding to the doctor for proper diagnosis and examination of such breast lump to prevent the lump from turning cancerous.

This assertion was also corroborated by Dr. Wale Oguntuase who said regular massage of the breasts would help detect any abnormal growth or lump on the breasts.

“Many women may have symptoms similar to those discussed above and it many not necessarily be cancer. A lump may just be a simple cyst, but women should not take chances. Breast cancer can be treated very successfully only when diagnosed early,” he advised.

Speaking with Your Health on the issue, Prof O. Oladepo of the Health Promotion and Education Department, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan and a consultant at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, said breast cancer can be averted by husbands palpating their wives’ breast.

The expert explained that in any conjugal relationship, there should be a close bond and sincere feelings between a man and woman.

“A man is the closest partner to his wife and as such, they should be able to do anything for each other, including breast massage and palpation to detect breast lump. Also, since romancing is part of relationship and sexuality, I don’t see anything new, strange or wrong in husband palpating the breast of his wife. Honestly, it’s part of reproductive health, it is not new and this must be emphasised,” he affirmed.

Speaking further, Prof. Oladepo said men should be encouraged and educated on how to help their wives avert breast cancer, adding that, since it has been discovered that most women don’t do self breast examination, their husbands could then be of help to massage or palpate the breast to find if there is any lump in the breast.

“Massaging or palpation of the breast by husband would help in the campaign against breast cancer in women. It would help in discovering any lump in the breast which is known as the primary stage of breast cancer because at the level, the lump is still at the pre-cancerous stage and can be prevented from turning cancerous which is regarded as the secondary stage.

Not only that, if a lump is discovered, the man would be able to encourage the wife to quickly go to hospital to remove the lump before it gets out of hand,” he stated.