As you know there are some types of cancers such as breast cancer and ovarian cancer that occur with greater frequency in certain families or under certain circumstances as the result of one or more risk factors. You probably heard that many tests that can be useful in assessing a person's risk of developing breast cancer are available for you.



Since breast cancer is the second most common form of cancer among women and at the same time one of the main causes of death for women worldwide, I feel that it is necessary to present a few breast cancer tests. This is one of the most important subjects regarding this terrible and life threatening disease and it is definitely worth getting informed about it, although most of you have the tendency to ignore it.



First of all, you must know that one of the most common breast cancer tests nowadays is the genetic test. Genes are portions of DNA that send characters from parents to offspring. They determine how the body will function and will develop, but at one point some genes might not work normally because of their structure. Such errors are called mutations and the affected genes will be altered. So the modified genes will be transmitted like normal genes from one generation to another. Some genetic changes carried by those genes predispose a person to a number of diseases and one of them is breast cancer.

Scientists have discovered several genetic mutations in families with a history of breast cancer. The mutations responsible for transmission of breast cancer are most frequently found in genes called BRCA1 and BRCA2 (Breast Cancer Gene). Both women and men possess these genes, so genetic defect can be transmitted by both mother and father. For an early diagnosis and detection of the disease it is strongly advised to test you for those genes. Although the tests for determining if the risk factors really determined your condition are very useful for early detection, the most efficient way is still a mammography.

It is actually the only efficient method of screening and it can detect cancers as long as several years before signs and symptoms become apparent to a doctor or patient. The mammography is an X-ray radiography of the breast. It can be used to diagnose breast disease in women who already have symptoms, as opposed to screening, it is used to reveal disease in asymptomatic women. Also very important is for you to familiarize with the appearance of normal breast and consistency and keep in mind that self-examination should be performed monthly. It is important that the examination to be performed about the same day of each month. If the woman is in her menstruation period, the examination will be performed in the last day of the menstrual cycle, when breasts are less sensitive to palpation and less swollen.



There are many breast cancer tests, some of them are actually efficient and strongly recommended, some of them are maybe not that accurate, but still there is one thing that we know for sure: considering how the technology evolves and the new cutting edge technologies in the medicine department, very soon breast cancer will become a treatable disease in almost 100% of the cases.