Understanding Breast Cancer - Symptoms

What Are the Symptoms of Breast Cancer?

In its early stages, breast cancer usually has no symptoms. As a tumor develops, you may note the following signs:

• A lump in the breast or underarm that persists after your menstrual cycle; often the first apparent symptom of breast cancer, breast lumps are painless, although some may cause a prickly sensation. Lumps are usually visible on a mammogram long before they can be seen or felt.
• Swelling in the armpit.
• Although lumps are usually painless, pain or tenderness in the breast can be a sign of breast cancer.
• A noticeable flattening or indentation on the breast, which may indicate a tumor that cannot be seen or felt.
• Any change in the size, contour, texture, or temperature of the breast; a reddish, pitted surface like the skin of an orange could be a sign of advanced breast cancer.
• A change in the nipple, such as an indrawn or dimpled look, itching or burning sensation, or ulceration; scaling of the nipple is symptomatic of Paget's disease, a localized cancer.
• Unusual discharge from the nipple that may be clear, bloody, or another color. It's usually caused by benign conditions but could be due to cancer in some cases.
• A marble-like area under the skin.
• An area that is distinctly different from any other area on either breast.

Want to keep the weight off? Get on your bike...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Just five minutes of riding a bicycle each day can help a younger woman keep the pounds off, U.S. researchers reported on Monday in a study offering one potentially easy way to help Americans slim down.

"Small daily increments in bicycling helped women control their weight. But the more time women spent bicycling, the better," said Rania Mekary, of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, who worked on the study.

"Women with excess weight appeared to benefit the most. This is encouraging for women with weight problems because they could substitute bicycling for slow walking or car driving."

The research could help public policymakers trying to find ways to slow the U.S. obesity epidemic, the researchers wrote in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Two-thirds of U.S. adults are overweight or obese and 16 percent of children and adolescents are overweight.

The accompanying disease burden costs billions and President Barack Obama has assigned his wife Michelle Obama and cabinet secretaries to find ways to counter this trend.

Their plan includes changes to neighborhoods and cities to make it easier for Americans to exercise.
Mekary and colleagues studied 18,414 healthy women who had not yet gone through menopause taking part in the Brigham and Women's Hospital-based Nurses' Health Study, an ongoing study of women's health over time.

On average, the nurses gained about 20 pounds (9.3 kilograms) over the 16-year period.

The women who did not bicycle in 1989 who had started by 2005 were a quarter less likely to have gained weight, even if they rode for just five minutes a day, the researchers found.

Comparatively, women who started out exercising on bikes for more than 15 minutes day in 1989 but who slacked off over time gained weight.

Overweight and obese women who were bicycling just two or three hours a week were 56 percent less likely to gain weight.

Brisk walking, but not slower strolling, was also helpful in keeping weight off, the study found. Actually, "if women walked slowly, not only did they not control weight, they gained weight," Harvard's Dr. Anne Lusk, who was involved in the study, told Reuters Health.

This finding, Lusk said, contradicts the conventional wisdom that has driven physician recommendations for decades that any kind of walking is better than no walking at all.

SOURCE: http://link.reuters.com/qec84m Archives of Internal Medicine, June 28, 2010.

Why you should use exercise balls

By Jeanne Faulkner
Reviewed by QualityHealth's Medical Advisory Board

In the past few years, exercise balls have become all the rage as they've encouraged us to get fit in fun, new ways. Here, the top five reasons to bring balls into your workout routine.
1. Balancing Act. Balls are unstable, and sitting on one requires more balance than you'd expect. It contracts the small muscles in your abdomen, back, and spine into the most physically correct alignment. Exercising on the ball means you get a double whammy from your work out-the muscles the exercise intends to target plus the ones that keep you from falling off. Over time, you'll find your balance and your posture will improve.
2. Core Work. According to the American Council on Exercise, think of your core as a strong column that links the upper and lower body together. Having a solid core creates a foundation for all activities, and is especially important when you add a heavy load, such as weights to your workout. Exercising with stability balls helps to develop and strengthen those muscles. Try doing crunches "on the ball," and feel the difference between those on the ground and those done while trying to balance. It's a whole different ball game.
3. Office Equipment. Using your exercise ball as your office chair provides an all day workout with proper spinal alignment during what would otherwise be "sitting around time." Every movement, like turning to answer the phone, requires subtle adjustments using your core muscles. Traditional office chairs are hard on the butt and back and can impede circulation between the upper and lower body. Exercise balls, however, require low-level exertion that improves circulation.
Updated: August 24, 2009