Valenzuela health office teaches women self breast examination as part of its campaign against breast cancer

MANILA, Oct. 4 (PNA)-— Knowing that early detection is winning half the battle in breast cancer, the Valenzuela health office said that it is disseminating information on how to do self breast examination so that women in the city can do their checking for lumps or possible malignant growth in their breasts.

Dr. Antonio Oligaryo, Valenzuela Health Office (VHO) chief, said that the method involves feeling breasts for possible distortions or swelling.

Women interested in learning this method are advised to stand in front of a mirror with their top expose and look for signs of dimpling, swelling, soreness, or redness in all parts of their breasts.

Apart from this, the health official said women are also instructed to palpate their breasts with their fingers, feeling for lumps and check the nipples and the area just beneath them.

Patients are also instructed to squeeze each nipples for any discharge.

Oligaryo said that self breast examination is similar to clinical breast examination except that in the latter the tests is performed by a doctor or nurse rather than the patients themselves.

He said that all VHO medical personnel assigned to Valenzuela’s 32 barangay medical centers are instructed to teach interested parties this cheap form of detecting breast cancer.

The VHO chief also said that early detection is very crucial in treating breast cancer as it is the number killer of women in the country.

Oligaryo pointed that breast cancer alone caused the death of some 502,000 people in 2005.

He also that breast cancer can spread to the patient’s lungs, liver and bones.

Oligaryo also said that women who frequently drink alcohol beverages and smoke are in more risk of developing the disease.