Breast Cancer: The First Sign Isn't Always a Lump By Stephanie Pappas, Live Science Contributor

Credit: Tyler Olson/Shutterstock.com

Around 1 in 6 women eventually diagnosed withbreast cancer initially go to their doctors with a symptom other than a lump, according to a new study conducted in England.

Women who have a symptom of breast cancer other than lumps are also more likely to wait to see a doctor, compared with women who do have lumps, the researchers found. That might put them at risk of worse outcomes if the cancer isn't caught quickly.

"It's crucial that women are aware that a lump is not the only symptom of breast cancer," study leader Monica Koo, a doctoral candidate at University College London, said in a statement. "If they are worried about any breast symptoms, the best thing to do is to get it checked by a doctor as soon as possible."

Breast cancer symptoms

Koo and her colleagues used data from the English National Audit of Cancer Diagnosis in Primary Care involving about 2,300 women who were diagnosed with breast cancer between 2009 and 2010. They classified each patient by the symptoms that brought her to the doctor, which could include more than one. In total, 83 percent of these women had a breast lump, the most well-known symptom of breast cancer. Seven percent had nipple abnormalities, 6 percent had breast pain, 2 percent had breast skin abnormalities and 1 percent had breast ulceration. Less than 1 percent each had abnormalities of the contour of the breast or breast infections. [6 Foods That May Affect Breast Cancer Risk]

A small number of women also reported symptoms that weren't related to the breast itself. One percent had a lump in the armpit, 1 percent experienced back pain and less than 1 percent experienced muscle pain or breathlessness.

The researchers then grouped the patients together by symptom clusters. The vast majority of the women fell into one of four groups: The researchers found that 76 percent of all the women had a breast lump as their only symptom, and 11 percent had a breast symptom that was not a lump as their only symptom, and 5 percent had only a non-breast symptom.

Six percent had a breast lump as well as at least one additional breast symptom.

Getting care

The researchers then looked at how long it took the women to get to the doctor after their symptoms started. They focused on those who waited more than 90 days, because a three-month delay in seeking a diagnosis is linked to lower five-year survival rates. They found that although only 7 percent of women with a breast lump waited that long, 15 percent of women with symptoms other than a lump, and 20 percent of women with both a lump and other types of symptoms, waited 90 days. [Wonder Woman: 10 Interesting Facts About the Female Body]

"This research shows that, all too often, women are delaying going to their doctor with symptoms of breast cancer," Karen Kennedy, director of the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) in the U.K., said in a statement. "This could be because people are simply unaware that breast cancer can present in many different ways, not just through the presence of a lump. With a disease like breast cancer, it's essential to be diagnosed as early as possible so that a treatment plan can be developed and started. Awareness campaigns need to raise awareness of all of the potential symptoms of breast cancer so that people know how to spot the signs and when to go to a doctor."

Koo presented her work this week at the NCRI Cancer conference in Liverpool, England.

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Low Vitamin D Linked with Higher Asthma Risk By Rachael Rettner, Senior Writer

Credit: Child with asthma photo via Shutterstock

People who don't get enough vitamin D may be at increased risk for asthma, a new study suggests.

In the study, researchers analyzed information collected from more than 25,000 adults ages 18 to 79, and more than 9,700 children ages 6 to 17, who took part in a yearly U.S. national health survey conducted between 2001 and 2010. The participants were asked whether they had been diagnosed with asthma or experienced wheezing (a symptom of asthma) in the past year. The participants also had a test to determine the level of vitamin D in their blood.

Overall, of the study participants, 68 percent of the children and 70 percent of the adults had levels of vitamin D that were lower than what's usually considered adequate for healthy people (30 nanograms per milliliter), which is known as vitamin D insufficiency. In addition, about 1,200 children and 1,800 adults had been diagnosed with asthma. The disease involves inflammation and a narrowing of the airways, both of which make it difficult to breathe.

Children with vitamin D insufficiency were 1.35 times more likely to have asthma compared with children with adequate levels of vitamin D, the researchers found. Adults with vitamin D insufficiency were not at increased risk for an asthma diagnosis, but they were more likely to say they experienced wheezing in the past year, compared with those who had adequate levels of vitamin D. [9 Good Sources of Disease-Fighter Vitamin D]

The exact reason behind the link is not known, but it's thought that vitamin D decreases levels of inflammation in the body, said Yueh-Ying Han, a research assistant professor in pulmonary medicine, allergy and immunology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, who presented the new findings this week at the meeting of the American Public Health Association in Denver. It's also possible that vitamin D improves people's response to drugs that treat asthma, Han told Live Science.

The researchers also found that the portion of people with vitamin D insufficiency dropped from about three-quarters of participants in 2001 to about two-thirds of participants in 2010. Around that same time, the prevalence of asthma also dropped, from 8.2 percent in 2007-2008 to 7.4 percent in 2009-2010.

The findings agree with previous studies that found a link between vitamin D levels and asthma. For example, some studies have found that children whose mothers consume higher amounts vitamin D during pregnancy have a lower risk of asthma than children whose mothers consume lower amounts of vitamin D. Other studies have found that, among kids with asthma, those with low vitamin D levels have worse symptoms than those with higher vitamin D levels.Still, because the new study was conducted at a single point in time, it cannot prove that low vitamin D levels cause asthma. Future studies are needed to determine if providing vitamin D supplements to children with asthma can lead to improvements in their symptoms, Han said.

In fact, the researchers are currently conducting a study in which children with asthma who have vitamin D insufficiency are given either a daily vitamin D supplement or a placebo. The researchers want to see whether vitamin D supplements reduce asthma attacks or hospital visits due to asthma.

A review study published in September found that vitamin D supplements lowered the risk of asthma attacks in children and adults with the condition, but did not seem to improve daily symptoms of asthma.

It's important to note that people with asthma should not take vitamin D as a replacement for their current asthma treatment, Han said. But because vitamin D supplements are relatively safe, they are recommended for general health in people who do not get adequate levels of this vitamin, Han said.

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You must earn the trust of Nigerians, Buhari tells ministers

President Muhammadu Buhari has charged members of his cabinet to work hard to earn the trust of Nigerians.
According to Kayode Fayemi, minister of mines and steel development, the president gave this charge at the federal executive council (FEC) meeting on Wednesday.
He also revealed that the council approved the procurement of 38 units of four-wheel Nissan Patrol worth N326.781m for the mines inspectorate division of the ministry of mines and steel.
Fayemi added that FEC also ratified the Lake Chad Basin charter, which will now be sent to the national assembly for enactment into law. ‎
“We will be one year in office in two days time so this is an anniversary federal executive council meeting. And it gave us the opportunity to really reflect on the progress we have made as a government, the challenges that we still have to tackle and the commitment we have to reiterate,”‎ Fayemi quoted him as saying.
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“The challenges are still enormous, we read what you write and we get ‎the feedback coming from the populace and we can’t afford to rest on our oars.
“We need to communicate to Nigerian what we are doing. We would find a way to speak individually about what we have been doing in a last one year. At the ministry level there will be some kind of commemoration but noting extra ordinary.”
On the procurement of vehicles, the minister said all the states would get their share.
“For a decade, no vehicle has been purchased for the mines and steel inspectorate division to oversee what is going on in our various states,” he said.
“Over the last two to  three months, all the approvals we have got for vehicles not just ours in mines and steel ministry but the ones for the prisons service, immigration and EFCC are procurements authorised to buy vehicles from local assembly plants so that we can begin to strengthen our automotive industry.
“The government remains committed to that and this approval is further confirmation of the government’s commitment in that direction.
“It also speaks directly to our determination to begin to focus lot more seriously on the activities of informal or illegal miners.”

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‘I Have Missed Face And Blackface’ – 2Baba Reveals In Recent Interview

Popular Nigerian singer Tuface idibia in a recent interview with The Sun confesses that he misses members of the defunct group, Plantashun Boiz.
The African Queen sensation puts it this way:

“You know that once in a while you feel that way and nostalgia just overwhelms you and you are like ‘wow!’ It was really fun those days hanging out with Faze and Blackface, singing together, cracking jokes and living together in the hotel, and all the funny things we did.
“We have some plans to still do stuff, but right now, we haven’t fixed a particular date or anything concrete,” he confesses.
He talked up some of the high moment of his career: “I was also the first Nigerian artiste to have his music played on MTV Base Africa. In fact, the list is endless.”
He had good words for the mothers of his children: “my kids are huge sources of inspiration for me, even though, when they were coming and I was rejoicing that I was going to be a dad, some people were complaining; thanks to their mums and my wife.”

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