Figure out Symptoms of Breast Cancer

Symptoms of breast cancer vary from patient to patient but some common symptoms include breast lumps, change in shape and size of the breast, change in the surface of the breast, discharge from a nipple. These changes do not always have breast pain associated with the changes. The changes are likely to be gradual and therefore being aware of what is normal for you will help you identify any changes early. Also, the development of these symptoms may have other less serious causes so it is always best to get any such changes checked by a physician.

Breastlight is a light that allows the women to "see" inside their breasts. It shines powerful and safe red light through the breast allowing you to see some of the internal structure of your breast. It is of great assistance to women who are not confident in carrying out their regular breast awareness routine.. Breastlight will clearly show you veins and other blood vessels as dark lines - they are normal. Over time you will get to recognize the normal internal structure of your breast while using breastlight if any other dark areas are seen it is best consult your GP. Other dark areas may be seen for various reasons including bruising, scar tissue or other benign causes but because it is possible that they are indicating the start of more serious abnormalities it is better to get them checked by a GP. The use of this breastlight device in addition to your normal breast awareness routine allows you to be more confident about your breast exam.

The results of a clinical trial conducted at Sunderland City Hospital to check the effectiveness of breastlight indicated the benefits of this device.

The Breastlight

Detected 12 out of 18 malignant tumors confirmed as positive using biopsy (giving a sensitivity of 67%)

Correctly identified as negative 240 out of 282 breasts (giving a specificity of 85%)

Detected malignant tumors as small as 7mm

Menopausal status, age or density or cupsize of breast did not make any difference to the accuracy or sensitivity of the device. In terms of usage, Breastlight was found to be easy to use. Researchers concluded that Breastlight correlates well in terms of sensitivity and specificity when compared to imaging techniques such as ultrasound and mammography, plus biopsy.