Don’t be afraid of breast tumors, timely treatment is the key!

If I ask you which disease has the highest incidence rate among women in recent years, I believe many women will answer breast tumor. Yes, it is this disease, which accounts for 60-85% of breast diseases. The most common of them should be fibroadenoma, with an incidence rate of about 10%. We always hear that breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer in women. In clinical practice, breast tumors often appear as nodules or lumps. This continuously growing tumor not only affects the appearance of the body, but also has serious consequences, namely cancer. Women in adolescence or pregnancy should pay more attention to it because in these two stages, the risk of disease increases due to the increase in estrogen. So, how should we treat and prevent it?

(1) Timing of surgery: ① For unmarried women with a clear diagnosis, elective surgery can be considered, preferably before marriage; ② For patients who are not pregnant after marriage, surgical resection is recommended before planning pregnancy. Because both pregnancy and breastfeeding can accelerate tumor growth; ③ If the tumor is discovered after pregnancy, it is advisable to undergo surgical removal between the 3rd and 6th months of pregnancy; ④ For those over 35 years old, surgical treatment should be performed in time; ⑤ In the absence of pregnancy, breastfeeding, trauma and other conditions that promote tumor growth, if the tumor suddenly grows faster in a short period of time, surgery should be performed immediately.

(2) Notes on surgical treatment : Surgical specimens should be routinely sent for pathological biopsy for final diagnosis. The design of surgical incision should take into account both aesthetic and functional needs. If breastfeeding is required, a radial incision centered on the nipple should be made. If the patient does not need to breastfeed in the future, a circular incision can be made along the edge of the areola. If the tumor is multiple, breast incision can be performed.

During surgery, it is best to remove the entire tumor and some of its normal breast tissue at the same time, or to perform a segmental resection of the affected part of the breast, because the chance of recurrence is greater if the tumor is simply removed. In fact, even after segmental resection, recurrence is still possible, and each additional recurrence increases the risk of malignancy. However, if the same tumor occurs again in the breast other than the removed tumor, or in the contralateral breast after surgery, it should not be considered a recurrence. Strictly speaking, it should be considered a multiple incidence. The reappearance of this tumor in the original site is considered a recurrence.

(3) Literature reports on TCM treatment indicate that for pre-married female patients, if the tumor grows slowly and is small in size, TCM treatment can be tried. For multiple breast fibroadenomas, after the large tumors have been removed, the small tumors can be treated with TCM. The principle of TCM treatment is to relieve liver depression, resolve phlegm and disperse nodules. Commonly used prescriptions are:

Bupleurum 6g, Angelica 9g, Red Peony Root 12g, Curcuma Radix 9g, Whole Trichosanthes (pestle) 30g, Processed Pinellia 9g, Curcuma 30g, Fritillaria 12g, Lithospermum officinale 30g, Ice Ball Seed 9g, Panicum 9g.

For patients with irregular menstruation, add 30g of Xianlingpi and 12g of Curculigo; for patients with multiple fibroadenomas, add 30g of raw Astragalus and 30g of Codonopsis pilosula appropriately; if the effect is not obvious after 1 to 3 months of Chinese medicine treatment and the tumor increases, surgical treatment can be performed.