Everything You Need to Know about Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is the collection of cancer cells in your breast tissue. Breast cancer can begin in the ducts or lobules of the breast. They grow slowly and form a lump on your breast. It is mainly found in women and at times in men also. The cancer cells slowly spread to other parts of our body through the bloodstreams and contaminate them. If left untreated, it can surely be fatal. Luckily for us, the cancer treatment in India has seen huge advancement in the last few years and deaths related to breast cancer have fallen drastically.

Symptoms of Breast Cancer :-

Knowing the different symptoms of any disease is always useful. To treat something you have to first recognize it. Although, breast cancer on early stages do not show any symptoms, but you can look for the following leads :-

Green, yellow or bloody fluid coming out of your nipple may be a sign that you have breast cancer.
A formation of an uneven and edgy lump in the armpits or on the breasts can be a sign of breast cancer.
 Any change in the size or shape of the breasts or nipples can be a symptom of breast cancer.

Advanced Breast Cancer symptoms

• Weight Loss.
• Discomfort or pain in the breasts.
• Bone Pain.
• Ulcers on the skin.
• Welling in the armpit.

Carcinoma :-

The most common types of breast cancer found are Carcinomas. They start in cells that make up the skin or the tissue lining organs. Just like any other type of cancer they slowly divide and spread through your entire body, but that is not the case always. There are commonly two types of Carcinomas found :-

Ductal Carcinoma In Situ:

In this type of cancer, the cancer cells are found inside the ducts of the breast. But fortunately, they are not fully developed and cannot spread in the rest of our body. Nearly, all women suffering from this cancer are diagnosed successfully.

Invasive Ductal Carcinoma:

This type of cancer starts in a milk duct but unlike Ductal Carcinoma In Situ, they can spread to the nearby tissues. If proper measures are not taken within time, it can spread in your entire body through the lymph system and the bloodstream. This type of cancer can prove to be fatal in a lot of cases.

The treatment options :-

• Surgery: Depending on the type of cancer, the tumor from your body may be surgically removed to prevent any further damage or spreading of the cancer cells.
• Radiation: Radiation therapy for breast cancer is done to cure it, prevent it from returning, and to slow or stop its growth. It is used when cancer affects a particular area only.
• Chemotherapy: It is the medication therapy that is used to kill the cancer cells when they spread in the entire body. These medications are inserted into the body through bloodstream either orally or by some intravenous injection.   

Preparatory Steps for A Bypass Heart Surgery

A bypass heart surgery, also known as coronary artery bypass surgery, is carried out to create new pathway for smooth flow of blood in heart. It is done so by diverting the flow of blood blocked in a damaged artery. The idea of having a bypass surgery can be dreadful. Although it is natural to feel scared, gaining knowledge about the procedure, your heart’s condition, the recovery period and aftercare can help a lot. Preparing yourself both mentally and physically is essential before a heart bypass surgery to alleviate the fears.   

Preparatory steps for a bypass heart surgery are as follows:-      
  
1. Say good bye to smoking

Smoking causes heart diseases. It can not only increase the risk of developing a chest infection but deadly blood clots too. Continued smoking after a bypass surgery can cause harm to the new bypass. Hence, the very reason for having a bypass surgery loses importance. Quit smoking as soon as possible to avoid health consequences related to smoking. Make it a point to inform your doctor about your smoking habit. Your heart health is not going to improve if you are not able to get rid of this bad habit.

2. Take care of your diet

It is rightly said that ‘you are what you eat’. Following a heart friendly diet including organic meats and fish can help a great deal. Cut out foods which are rich in sugar, salt and trans fats. Try to shed off those extra pounds in case you are overweight as this will help in lowering the blood pressure too , hence reducing the chances of complications during surgery.

3. Monitor your health

Getting your health monitored frequently before bypass surgery is essential. You will have a thorough examination of your body. Make sure to get all the suggested tests done well in advance. Red blood cell count, ECG, chest X rays, clotting tests are some of the important tests that you might have to undergo. Also, be financially ready to incur the cost. Bypass surgery cost in India will cost you more than 3 lakhs.

4. Exercise frequently

While heavy workouts and hours of running on tread mill might be difficult for you, light exercise is still recommended to improve your heart muscles. Follow an active lifestyle and shed a few pounds which will help avoid any complications and boost recovery. Exercise is essential to deal with the stress too as it releases endorphins.

Finally, focus on yourself without worrying too much about the complications. Think more about the positive effects. Having a bypass surgery done can help in avoiding heart attack treatment. Focus on how better your life is going to be post-surgery.
   

Recovering from Breast Cancer

Being diagnosed with breast cancer can throw your life out of balance. Emotions are affected, physical health deteriorates, and you may even find handling relationships more difficult. You day-to-day life is disrupted and you find yourself spending more time meeting your physicians than doing things you love. One wonders how long the treatment cycle of breast cycle go on for? Individual therapies like mastectomy, radiation therapy for cancer can take their own time for recovery depending on the diagnosis and stage of cancer.

Amount of time and duration for recovery depends on the surgery one needs to undergo. Here are some popular methods of breast cancer treatment and surgery options and their usual recovery times:

• Lumpectomy

Recovery time: 1-2 weeks

This is an outpatient procedure with a relatively short check out time. Some patients leave within the day. However, there are surgical drains that would be plugged in so take it easy, don’t rush to work. If lymph nodes are ones that were removed during the surgery, you need to a longer break, over a week, to ensure that your body gets ample rest and time to recover. Avoid any heavy lifting work or physical chores requiring you to run around or bend down too often. Relaxation is the key. 

• Mastectomy 

Recovery time: 1- 4 weeks

A common procedure involving removal of breast tissues, this procedure would need you to be in hospital for at least a couple of days after surgery. Multiple surgical drains are implemented, lasting for a week, up to 3 weeks. They are eventually taken off once the procedure is completed. Any incisions usually heal within a month.  Here as well, one should take enough rest physically and emotionally before stepping out to take on the world. 

• Breast reconstruction

A way to reconstruct post mastectomy, breast reconstruction can be done with implants as well as a free flap transplant that sometimes takes more than two to three appointments at the doctor. This may get further delayed if you have to undergo chemotherapy.  Therefore, recovery for the same varies. 

• Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy to treat breast cancer is heavily dependent at the severity of your cancer. Usually one session of chemotherapy is given every 2 weeks, the treatment lasting 4 cycles. So this goes on for at least 8 weeks or 2 months. Overall, recovery and the complete procedure can easily take 4-6 months. You will be required to meet your physician regularly and have your blood drawn – this will all depend on the number of sessions recommended depending on the intensity of your prescribed chemotherapy. 

Exercises That Make Your Heart Stronger

An activity of 30 minutes and more at least five times a day is recommended for a strong, healthy heart. Regular exercise is efficient in burning calories, lowering blood pressure and raising good cholesterol. Thereby, exercise becomes an imperative part of your life. Heart hospital in delhi, recommends a set of exercises to boost the health of your heart. These specially focus on getting your heart rate up, burning excess body fat and improving metabolism. You should always check with your consulting physician about the type of exercises you should go with, but here are the most common ones you are likely to be recommended.

1. Aerobics

A cardio based exercise like running, jogging increases your heart rate and forces you to breathe harder. But the intensity of the exercise should be such that you should be able to talk to someone while you’re indulging in aerobic exercises, or else it means you are going overboard with the exercise. If you have joint problems, you can consult your hospital in Delhi. Chances are you will be recommended low-intensity workouts such as swimming or walking.

2. Strength Training

Indulge in doing some weight training, resistance bands training to improve your muscles’ ability to burn fat and calories even when not working out. Strength training is recommended at least thrice a week, with rest days recommended every once in a while.

3. Yoga

While Yoga may be on the lower intensity side, its benefits extend to mental and emotional space as well. Well-paced yoga routines can do wonders to burn excess fat as well as calories. Stretching forms an important part of any exercise, and with yoga you can strengthen the muscles as well as the flexibility.

Tips to keep in mind before taking up a workout program

•    Aim to work out at least five times a week, by indulging in at least 150 minutes of moderate to intense workout activity.

•    If you are new to exercising, build up slowly to work out at 30 minutes a day, five times a week.

•    When you work out, start out slowly to let your body warm up. Towards the end of the workout, end slowly to give your body ample time to cool down.

•    On your rest days, practice some light stretching such that your muscles don’t lose the progress made so far in terms of exercising.

•    Always pay attention to your breathing levels, if you’re finding it too difficult, you’re going too hard on yourself.

How to make your mornings better

We’ve heard so many people say that he/she is not a morning person.  No one is a morning person. You’re not born like that. You have to make efforts to turn into one.  And once you are one, you really need to make your mornings count. So what does one do to make his/ her mornings better?

Drink a glass of warm water

We’ve heard this many times before. Since time immemorial we’ve been lectured about the benefits of drinking warm water with honey and lemon in the morning. The truth of the matter though is that you can combine warm water with a lot of ingredients of your choice that benefit target areas. For example cardamom in warm water deals with bad breath and water retention along with tasting great. If its weight issues that you are facing then an amla with aloe vera in warm water should be your ideal preference.

Exercise 

It is not necessary that you hit the gym. You can also go for a brisk 30 minutes-walk. Some kind of physical activity will freshen you up and make you ready for the day. A morning exercise routine is healthy and especially beneficial because by the time it's evening you are either tired or lose the motivation to work out in any capacity. Doctors from Best Hospitals in Delhi recommend exercising every day for a healthy life.

Yoga 

In this age and time of social media, we are not with our selves even when we are alone. So, it is very important that we take some time off and practice basic pranayama to clear our headspace.

These are the various steps you can make your mornings better. Not just that it helps prevent various diseases like Cancer. Hospitals in Delhi and all over the world stress on the importance of the abovementioned points.