What you need to know about Breast Cancer Symptoms

Breast cancer begins in a cell, which divides and multiplies at an uncontrolled rate. A small clump of cancer cells are too tiny to be felt, so the earliest stages of breast cancer usually have no symptoms. A mammogram can detect cancer before you can feel a lump, which is why your annual screening mammogram is so important. Some benign breast conditions can seem like cancer, so it’s good to know the difference, and get a health professional to check out worrisome lumps.

Understanding Symptoms
The classic symptom for breast cancer is a lumpfound in the breast or armpit. An aggressive type of this disease, inflammatory breast cancer (IBC), grows in sheets or nests of tumor cells that invade the skin and can resemble a rash. Doing your monthly breast self-exam (BSE) is a great way to be familiar with your breasts’ texture, cyclical changes, size, and skin condition. Early detection is the best way to protect your health and improve your odds of survival. Don’t hesitate to see your doctor or nurse for a clinical breast exam (CBE) if you have a question about a change in your breasts.

Symptoms You Can See or Feel:

• swelling or lump (mass) in the breast
• swelling in the armpit (lymph nodes)
• nipple discharge (clear or bloody)
• pain in the nipple
• inverted or retracted nipple
• scaly or pitted skin on nipple
• persistent tenderness of the breast
• unusual breast pain or discomfort

Symptoms Seen On Breast Imaging

• Microcalcifications in tight clusters
• Dense mass with spiky (spiculated) outline

Some Symptoms of Advanced (Metastatic) Breast Cancer
Stage 4, or metastatic breast cancer is the most advanced stage of this disease. Metastatic breast cancer is defined as having spread beyond the breast and underarm lymph nodes into other parts of the body.

• bone pain (bone metastases)
• shortness of breath (lung metastases)
• drop in appetite (liver metastases)
• unintentional weight loss (liver metastases)
• headaches, neurological pain or weakness (could be brain metastases)

Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC) – Aggressive and Unusual Symptoms
One type of breast cancer that does not appear in lumps is called inflammatory breast cancer (IBC). This aggressive cancer grows in sheets instead of lumps, and it invades nearby skin, resembling a rash. It will not respond to topical creams or antibiotics, and should be treated very promptly.

Symptoms:

• a sudden increase in mature breast size (as much as a cup size in a few days)
• itching in the skin of the breast that is continuous and not relieved by pills or creams
• a change in the breast skin color, resulting in pink, red, or dark-colored areas
• breast is excessively warm to the touch, or harder or firmer than usual
• unusual pain, which occurs out of the regular cycle
• sometimes a change in skin texture, similar to the skin of an orange
• breast skin ulcers (later stage IBC)

Symptoms of Breast Cancer Recurrence

Recurrence of breast cancer is classified as local, regional, and distant. A distant recurrence is the same as advanced (metastatic) breast cancer. A local recurrence is breast cancer that has returned after treatment, in or close to the original tumor location. It can often be effectively treated. Regional recurrence may be in the chest wall muscles, or in lymph nodes located beneath your sternum, just above your collarbones, and around your neck.

Local Recurrence Symptoms:

a small lump or rash in the excision scar, on or under the skin

Regional Recurrence Symptoms:

• swollen lymph node in the same armpit where cancer was previously removed
• swollen lymph nodes above collarbones or sides of neck

A New Tumor Is Not a Recurrence

If a new tumor appears and has a different pathology than the original breast cancer, it is not considered a recurrence. It is called a new primary, and can occur in a different area of the breast that was originally affected, or in the opposite breast. A new cancer is diagnosed and treated independently from the original tumor.

Yoga is a science that has been practiced for thousands of years, and substantial research has been conducted lately to evaluate the health benefits associated with yoga. A lot of classes offered focus on learning the actual physical poses; however there are also styles of yoga that enable you to increase your flexibility, strength and balance. So what are the specific health benefits you should expect from doing yoga regularly?

You will notice a difference in your flexibility and strength which in turn will reduce many types of pain. When stretched in new ways, your body becomes more flexible and you will have greater range of motion in your muscles and joints. Some exercises require you to transition slowly from pose to pose, which also increases strength. Since increased physical activity is great for relieving stress, yoga can be very therapeutic. It is also great for increased concentration due to the focus needed to maintain proper form.

If yoga seems like a healthy choice for you, come join yoga instructor Mayura Shah for a stress relieving yoga class! Mayura is a certified yoga teacher from the Lakulish Institute of Yoga, India. With over 15 years of experience, Mayura is a very caring, passionate, knowledgeable, and experienced teacher and her teaching approach helps her students develop flexibility, strength and endurance by honoring sound principles of proper alignment, breath awareness and relaxation. Mayura is also a volunteer for the Touched By Cancer Foundation, and she is offering classes for cancer survivors at our facility.

Classes begin again in Octobe, and will run every Saturday morning. Drop-in or single class rates are $10 a session. Please e-mail clewis@therapyconcepts.net for more information.

Class size is limited, so please call us at Therapy Concepts, 913-438-8000 to reserve your spot!

Separated Shoulder

A shoulder separation is an injury to the acromioclavicular joint on the top of the shoulder. The shoulder joint is formed at the junction of three bones: the collarbone (clavicle), the shoulder blade (scapula), and the arm bone (humerus). The scapula and clavicle form the socket of the joint, and the humerus has a round head that fits within this socket.

A shoulder separation occurs where the clavicle and the scapula come together. The end of the scapula is called the acromion, and the joint between this part of the scapula and clavicle is called the acromioclavicular joint. When this joint is disrupted, it is called a shoulder separation. Another name for this injury is an acromioclavicular joint separation, or AC separation.

Is a shoulder separation the same as a shoulder dislocation?
No! These two injuries are commonly confused, but they are very different conditions. As described above, the shoulder joint is located at the junction of three different bones: the clavicle, the scapula, and the humerus. In a shoulder separation, the junction of the clavicle and scapula is disrupted. In a shoulder dislocation, the humerus (arm bone) is displaced from the socket. Not only are the injuries different in anatomic terms, but the implications for treatment, recovery, and complications are also different.

How does a shoulder separation occur?
A shoulder separation is almost always the result of a sudden, traumatic event that can be attributed to a specific incident or action. The two most common descriptions of a shoulder separation are either a direct blow to the shoulder (often seen in football, rugby, or hockey), or a fall on to an outstretched hand (commonly seen after falling off a bicycle or horse).

What are the symptoms of a shoulder separation?
Pain is the most common symptom of a separated shoulder, and is usually severe at the time of injury. Evidence of traumatic injury to the shoulder, such as swelling and bruising, are also commonly found.

The diagnosis of shoulder separation is often quite apparent from hearing a story that is typical of this injury, and a simple physical examination. An x-ray should be performed to ensure there is no fracture of these bones. If the diagnosis is unclear, an x-ray while holding a weight in your hand may be helpful. When this type of x-ray is performed, the force of the weight will accentuate any shoulder joint instability and better show the effects of the separated shoulder.

Are all separated shoulders the same?
No. Separated shoulders are graded according to the severity of the injury and the position of the displaced bones. Shoulder separations are graded from type I to VI:

· Type I Shoulder Separation:
A type I shoulder separation is an injury to the capsule that surrounds the AC joint. The bones are not out of position and the primary symptom is pain.

· Type II Shoulder Separation:
A type II shoulder separation involves an injury to the AC joint capsule as well as one of the important ligaments that stabilizes the clavicle. This ligament, the coracoclavicular ligament, is partially torn. Patients with a type II separated shoulder may have a small bump over the injury.

· Type III Shoulder Separation:
A type III shoulder separation involves the same type of injury as a type II separated shoulder, but the injury is more significant. These patients usually have a large bump over the injured AC joint.

· Type IV Shoulder Separation:
A type IV shoulder separation is an unusual injury where the clavicle is pushed behind the AC joint.

· Type V Shoulder Separation:
A type V shoulder separation is an exaggerated type III injury. In this type of separated shoulder, the muscle above the AC joint is punctured by the end of the clavicle causing a significant bump over the injury.

· Type VI Shoulder Separation:
A type VI shoulder separation is also exceedingly rare. In this type of injury the clavicle is pushed downwards, and becomes lodged below the corocoid (part of the scapula)