Why You Should Take Your Early Stage Breast Cancer Seriously

When you go in to your doctor for your annual exam or you schedule an appointment because of an abnormality of some kind, you still do not want to believe that you could come away with a breast cancer diagnosis. However, for many people, when they hear they have a stage zero or stage one breast cancer diagnosis rather than late stage cancer, they feel a sense of relief. Along with this sense of relief often comes a lack of urgency when it comes to treatment. If you were diagnosed with early stage breast cancer recently, get to know some of the reasons that you should take your diagnosis seriously and that you should be vigilant about getting the best possible treatment for your cancer. 

Untreated Breast Cancer Will Inevitably Spread

Even if your cancer is stage zero, meaning it is a small isolated tumor in the breast (such as a single milk duct or cyst that became malignant), that cancer will eventually grow and spread beyond that small tumor if you do nothing about it. Breast cancer can be either slow-growing or aggressive in nature. 

The good news is that if your breast cancer was diagnosed in the earliest stages, it is likely not aggressive. That does not mean it will not change over time and become more fast-spreading. Waiting a few months or longer to get a lumpectomy or mastectomy, or to start radiation therapy, can be convenient and seem like a good idea but could result in catastrophic health consequences if your cancer spreads and advances to mid- or late-stage cancer. Cancer always spreads and it is never a guarantee when doctors predict how fast it will do so. 

You May Have a Genetic Predisposition to Breast Cancer

In recent years, medical researchers have been able to isolate what is commonly referred to as a breast cancer gene. Women with mutations to the BRCA1 or the BRCA2 gene are genetically more predisposed to developing breast cancer. Additionally, women with these specific gene mutations are at much greater risk of having recurring breast cancer even if they are able to get it into remission the first time. 

When you receive your breast cancer diagnosis, you should talk to your physician about scheduling an appointment with a genetic counselor to be tested for those gene mutations. If you find that you do have a gene mutation that greatly increases your chances of developing recurring or aggressive breast cancer, it may vastly change your approach to treatment. Oftentimes, women with this gene mutation aggressively treat their breast cancer with full double mastectomies, chemotherapy, and radiation to prevent future occurrences and to ensure their current diagnosis does not metastasize (spread beyond the breasts). 

Now that you know a few of the many reasons you should take your early stage breast cancer diagnosis seriously, you can be sure you are doing everything you can to deal with and treat your cancer as soon as possible. 


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