Frequently Asked Questions

Breast cancer is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the tissues of the breast. 

The best way for you to learn about this disease is to register for our FREE Breast Awareness Masterclass here.

We talk 'everything' about breast cancer in this Masterclass. But here's what we cover in a nutshell:

 1) The breast cancer symptoms you need to know about. Know this: having the symptoms doesn't mean you have cancer.

2) A short list of simple, very actionable, everyday habits to improve your breast health.

3) How to assess your breast cancer risk. All women are at risk for breast cancer, but some women are at a higher risk than others.

4) The truth about mammograms. Do mammograms cause breast cancer spread or does it help breast cancer patients seek treatment at a crucial time? We got all the answers for you — the good, the bad, and the ugly stuff about mammograms.

5) How can you save a life — yours and someone else’s. The end goal of this Masterclass, is yes, you guessed it right, to save a life and you’ll leave the Masterclass knowing how.

This FREE Masterclass is facilitated by Lilly Women's Health's in-house experts, physicians and medical practitioners who do not only have extensive clinical experience in Breast Health Care but are also motivated by their unwavering passion to help women win the fight against breast cancer.

We look forward to having you join us. Click here to register for free.

Researchers have identified hormonal, lifestyle and environmental factors that may help boost your breast cancer risk. However, it's not yet fully understood why some people who have no risk factors (e.g. healthy lifestyle, no cancer history in the family, etc.) acquire cancer, yet other people with risk factors (e.g. smokers, has a history of cancer in the family, etc.) never do. It's very likely that breast cancer is caused by a complex interaction of your genetic makeup, your environment and lifestyle.

That being said, researchers figured that 5 to 10 percent of breast cancers are linked to gene mutations passed through generations of a family.

You have to know that there are some risk factors that you cannot do anything about, but there are some you can change.

Click here to know more about these risk factors.

The most effective way to prevent breast cancer is by having a bilateral mastectomy which decreases your risk significantly to that of a male’s (1%). The other evidenced based way is by taking chemo-prevention agents such as aromatase inhibitors. But please consult your doctor and other relevant professionals before doing this.

Proper diets, regular exercise, avoiding alcohol, avoiding smoking may also help in breast cancer prevention. Doing a breast self examination is also helpful so you know what’s normal for you and you can easily detect if something is not right. We have a free breast self exam tool for you here → Breast Self-Exam Tool.

Furthermore, it is best to do a regular yearly mammogram. It’s the most important screening test for breast cancer. It can detect breast cancer up to two years before a tumor can be felt by you or your doctor. A mammogram is the only imaging study PROVEN to save lives!

Early-stage breast cancer can be cured with treatment that combines surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, immunotherapy, HER2-targeted therapy, CDK4/6 inhibitor therapy, PARP inhibitor therapy, and sometimes medication.

The suggested course of treatment will rely on a variety of variables, including the patient's overall health and treatment priorities, the cancer's molecular and genetic characteristics, the stage of the disease, and the location, number, and size of tumors.

Breast cancer that has progressed to distant areas of the body still has no known cure, but the right care can help the patient live longer and have a better quality of life.

Please consult your doctor for more information about appropriate treatment plans.

Symptoms of breast cancer vary from person to person. Some common, early warning signs of breast cancer include:

• Skin changes, such as swelling, redness, or other visible differences in one or both breasts
• An increase in size or change in shape of the breast(s)
• Changes in the appearance of one or both nipples
• Nipple discharge other than breast milk
• General pain in/on any part of the breast
• Lumps or nodes felt on or inside of the breast
  

Symptoms more specific to invasive breast cancer are:

• Irritated or itchy breasts
• Change in breast color
• Increase in breast size or shape (over a short period of time)
• Changes in touch (may feel hard, tender or warm)
• Peeling or flaking of the nipple skin
• A breast lump or thickening
• Redness or pitting of the breast skin (like the skin of an orange) 

It's important to remember that other benign conditions may have caused these changes. For example, changes to the skin texture on the breast may be caused by a skin condition like eczema, and swollen lymph nodes may be caused by an infection in the breast or another, unrelated illness.

If you think this is a medical concern (you know your body better than anyone else), we highly recommend that you see a health provider or a physician to assess your breast health and your cancer risk. Seeing a doctor for an evaluation will help you determine whether something you notice is a cause for concern. The physician will then recommend the next appropriate steps that you need to take.

Furthermore, it is best to do a regular yearly mammogram. It’s the most important screening test for breast cancer. It can detect breast cancer up to two years before a tumor can be felt by you or your doctor. A mammogram is the only imaging study PROVEN to save lives!

The most effective way to prevent breast cancer is by having a bilateral mastectomy which decreases your risk significantly to that of a male’s (1%). The other evidenced based way is by taking chemo-prevention agents such as aromatase inhibitors.

Proper diets, regular exercise, avoiding alcohol, avoiding smoking may also help in breast cancer prevention. Doing a breast self examination is also helpful so you know what’s normal for you and you can easily detect if something is not right. We have a free breast self exam too for you here.

Furthermore, it is best to do a regular yearly mammogram. It’s the most important screening test for breast cancer. It can detect breast cancer up to two years before a tumor can be felt by you or your doctor. A mammogram is the only imaging study PROVEN to save lives!

Boils are brought on by bacterial development in a sweat gland or hair follicle, which can spread as pus and dead skin buildup behind the follicle. The most common bacteria that causes boils is Staphylococcus aureus. They can also be caused by fungi living on the skin surface.

Maintaining cleanliness and not picking, popping, or squeezing your breast boil will help you treat it and prevent further irritation, swelling, and infection.

For boils to heal, the pus must be removed. Use a warm compress many times per day to force the pus to the surface so that your boil can drain.

As soon as your boil begins to drain, keep it bandaged to prevent infection from spreading. Please see your doctor if, after two weeks, it still isn't draining.

A boil is typically not harmful, but larger boils may occasionally be a form of breast abscess, which could be a sign of mastitis or breast cancer. It is therefore best to talk to a doctor if you have any concerns.

When breasts are developing, it's common to feel bumps, and these typically go away on their own. For teenage girls, this is most likely the case.

But if the lump is giving her discomfort, and seems to be growing, or you are just simply concerned about it, we highly recommend that you speak to your doctor or a school nurse.

Even though it's quite improbable that anything is wrong, a doctor can examine you and ease your concerns. If it makes you and your daughter feel more at ease, request to see a female physician or the practice nurse.

Other reasons to consult a health care provider include:

• Finding a new breast lump or thickening that feels different from the surrounding tissue or the other breast
• Noticing a change in the size, shape or appearance of a breast
• Having breast pain that doesn't go away after the next period
• Noticing skin changes on a breast, such as itchiness, redness, scaling, dimpling or puckering
• Having a newly inverted nipple
• Noticing nipple discharge

Again, most often they're noncancerous (benign), particularly in younger women. Still, it's important to have any breast lump evaluated by a healthcare provider, especially if it's new or if one breast feels different from the other breast.

Breast cancer may be present if a breast lump is painless, firm, asymmetrical, and dissimilar to the surrounding breast tissue. The skin over the tumor may appear red, pitted, or dimpled like orange skin. You might also notice a change in the size and contour of your breasts or nipple discharge.

But we wouldn’t know for sure unless you undergo a breast screening.

You may book a breast screening appointment us here.

Breast pain can be due to many reasons. Although many women with pain in one or both breasts may be concerned that it is breast cancer, breast pain is NOT always a symptom of cancer.

There are a number of harmless causes for breast pain and tenderness. These can include:

• Puberty
• Menstruation and premenstrual syndrome (PMS)
• Pregnancy - more often during the first trimester
• Infection
• Stress
• Etc. 

However, if you think this is a medical concern (you know your body better), we would highly recommend that you see a health provider or a physician to assess your breast health and your cancer risk. The physician will then recommend the next appropriate steps that you need to take.

In the meantime, you can also do a breast self exam to know what’s normal for you and for you to easily find out if something seems not right. You can get the free tool here.

Furthermore, if you are 35 years old or older, it is best to do a regular yearly mammogram. It’s the most important screening test for breast cancer. It can detect breast cancer up to two years before a tumor can be felt by you or your doctor. A mammogram is the only imaging study PROVEN to save lives!

While swollen nipples and pain can be cancer symptoms, it can also be caused by things other than breast cancer (e.g. menstrual cycle, infection, wearing the wrong type of bra, friction with clothes, allergy, etc.)

That being said, we don't discount the possibility of cancer so we would advise that you see a physician who can check on you further and who will then recommend the next steps for you to do.

You should definitely talk to your doctor if you experience breast swelling that’s accompanied by any of the following symptoms:

• cracking of your nipple
• changes in the color of your nipple or the skin on your breasts
• dimpling or puckering of the skin on your breast
• excess breast swelling that prevents breast milk from coming out after you give birth (if applicable to your situation)
• a hardened lump in your breast tissue that doesn’t change during your menstrual cycle
• a sore on your breast that doesn’t heal
• unexpected discharge from your nipple

If you're 35 years old and above, you can also directly visit our clinic and get a mammogram (an x-ray picture of the breast). A mammogram is done to look for early signs of breast cancer. It's the only tool that can detect breast cancer early, often up to two years before it can be felt. So if you're feeling some pain a mammogram can help determine if that symptom is indicative of the presence of cancer. 

There are several reasons why your breasts are itchy. It can be from skin irritation to rarer and more alarming causes, such as breast cancer. Here’s a couple of articles that you can refer to about it. Just click here and here.

You should definitely be concerned if the itching is persistent and there’s an appearance of a rash or small irritation similar to an insect bite as that can be a symptom of inflammatory breast cancer.

For anything that you think is unusual about your breasts, see your physician to assess your breast health and your cancer risk. The physician will then recommend the next appropriate steps that you need to take.

Furthermore, if you are 35 years old or older, it is best to do a regular yearly mammogram. It’s the most important screening test for breast cancer. It can detect breast cancer up to two years before a tumor can be felt by you or your doctor. A mammogram is the only imaging study PROVEN to save lives!

Sometimes, when breastfeeding, a milk duct in the breast can become blocked. This may cause a small, painful, hard lump.

Most of the time, these lumps are not serious, and only last a short time.

Gentle warm massage, frequent feedings with the affected breast, and cold packs after feedings are all options you can try. However, if you begin to feel unwell and your breasts are still swollen and painful, even after doing all these, visit your doctor right away.

While most of the time breast lumps are nothing to worry about, in rare instances they may be serious and require medical attention. We recommend that you see your doctor if the pain is too much of a concern for you.

When you’re not nursing or not pregnant, a discharge from the nipple may be alarming, but in most cases it is caused by injury, infection, or a benign tumor (not cancer).

It is possible to produce a milky discharge from one or both nipples without being pregnant or breastfeeding. This form of lactation is called galactorrhea. The hormone prolactin causes lactation during pregnancy and while breastfeeding. People who have galactorrhea may produce too much prolactin.

While nipple discharge can be serious, in most cases, it's either normal or due to a minor condition.

Breast cancer is a possibility, though, if:

• You have a lump in your breast
• Only one breast is affected
• The discharge contains blood
• The discharge is spontaneous and persistent

We highly recommend that you see your physician to assess your breast health and your cancer risk. The physician will then recommend the next appropriate steps that you need to take. If it is galactorrhea or something else, the physician will also give you the appropriate medical advice.

Furthermore, if you are 35 years old or older, it is best to do a regular yearly mammogram. It’s the most important screening test for breast cancer. It can detect breast cancer up to two years before a tumor can be felt by you or your doctor. A mammogram is the only imaging study PROVEN to save lives!

When you are breastfeeding and at high risk for breast cancer, or you notice a lump and have not had a screening mammography in several years and are above the age of 35, please discuss this with your health care provider because a screening mammogram may still be recommended. If you need a mammogram (or recommended by your physician to have one) while you are breastfeeding, please pump or breastfeed your baby about 30 minutes before your exam.

We do not recommend getting a screening mammogram when you are pregnant but if you notice any problems such as a lump, we would advise that you immediately see your doctor. Your doctor may ask you to have a breast ultrasound. Occasionally, a mammogram is also necessary to check the area of concern in your breast but it would only be done if absolutely necessary, and can be safely performed during pregnancy.

Mammograms involve very little doses of radiation. It is designed to look only at breast tissue and require very minimal radiation dosage — lower dosage than usual X-rays. In fact the radiation we normally get just from our natural surroundings is so much higher than the radiation you get from a mammogram. You don't need to do it every month. The recommended frequency is once a year.

The risk of harm from this amount of radiation exposure is so small and the benefits absolutely outweigh the risk. Furthermore, there has never been a case of breast cancer proven to be caused from radiation exposure during a mammogram.

Screening mammograms are the international gold standard for detecting breast cancer early. It can detect a tumor or lumps 2 or 3 years before you or your physician can feel them.

If you’ve been keeping away from a mammogram because of fear of radiation, here’s  the truth — a mammogram can save your life! :-)

While it’s true that it can be difficult to find breast cancer in women with dense breasts due to the masking effect, the standard of care still remains starting with a mammogram. To date, it’s the only imaging tool scientifically proven to decrease breast cancer mortality.

Breast density is included on imaging reports. It’s recommended for women with dense breasts to speak with their doctor or health care provider and develop a breast screening plan tailored to their unique situation such as dense breast, family history, personal history, genetic mutation etc.

In addition to a yearly mammogram, women with dense breasts may also benefit from supplemental ultrasound screening or high risk screening breast MRI.

Until proven otherwise by scientific data, mammography still remains the standard of care to begin imaging evaluation for non-pregnant women over the age of 30, and should not be for gone. There are findings such as is the case with ductal carcinoma in-situ (precursor to invasive cancer) which typically presents as calcifications. Calcifications are not well visualized on ultrasound and MRI and could be missed if screening is being performed with say ultrasound only.

The solution for now is in the setting of dense breast supplemental screening/evaluation with ultrasound should be considered in addition to mammography.

Sound waves are used in ultrasound imaging to produce a picture of the inside of the body. Usually, a breast ultrasound is not used as a breast cancer screening method. Instead, if a screening mammography yields unexpected results, a doctor may recommend an ultrasound of the breasts. While doing a breast biopsy, a doctor may also employ a breast ultrasound as a visual aid.

On the other hand, an x-ray image of the breasts is used to create a mammogram. It is one of the most widely utilized screening and early detection methods for breast cancer. A mammography can help a doctor find breast cancer two years before a growth would be palpable.

The processes between ultrasound and mammography differ in a number of ways such as the following:

1. The imaging technique: A diagnostic test's modality refers to the kind of imaging that is used. While x-rays use radiation from electromagnetic waves to produce images, ultrasound employs sound waves to produce images.
2. The level of picture quality: Different kinds of images are produced by x-rays and ultrasound. Generally speaking, microcalcifications cannot be seen on ultrasound scans. Those microscopic calcium deposits are frequently among the first indications of breast cancer. A mammography, however, can find them.
3. The purposes behind the imaging: To follow up on an abnormal screening mammography, a doctor may prescribe either an ultrasound or a diagnostic mammogram. An ultrasound of the breast is useful for purposes other than monitoring. A breast biopsy is a procedure where a doctor takes a sample of breast tissue and checks it for malignancy. To direct the needle to the appropriate location within the breast, they could employ ultrasound imaging.

Due to its potential to miss numerous early indications of a tumor, breast ultrasonography is currently not a recommended screening method for breast cancer. In some patients, an ultrasound may be a better option than a mammography.

In general, pregnant women should refrain from having x-rays taken unless the imaging is absolutely necessary. During pregnancy, a breast ultrasound may be a good substitute for a mammography. For younger women, especially those in their 20s, a breast ultrasound might also be a better choice.

The price for a mammogram is NGN25,000.

The price for an ultrasound is NGN20,000.

The price for our consultancy service is NGN10,000

No. Breast cancer is not exclusive to women who are 35 years and above. However, the younger you are, the lower the risk (generally).

One of the reasons why the general requirement is 35 years and above is because younger women have more dense breast tissue, and routine mammograms are not a great screening test for women in their 20s.

That being said, it does not mean you can't have a breast screening if you're not within that age range. You still can and in certain circumstances you must!

However, before doing any type of breast screening, it is advised that you do a risk-assessment first. In fact, especially for black women and those of Ashkenazi Jewish descent, it is recommended that they be evaluated for breast cancer risk no later than age 30 so that those at higher risk can avail themselves of cancer-preventative options such as mammogram, ultrasound and whatever test is appropriate and effective for them based on the risk assessment results and can avail of it earlier than the normal breast screening age for non-high risk women.

If you're in your 20s or 30s, we would advise that you talk to your physician or health provider first and discuss your breast cancer risk. Your physician should then be able to recommend the next step for you.

Lilly Women's Health has been doing a lot for the community - and for FREE. You'll find some (just some because we don't publish everything that we do behind the scene to help women in Nigeria) of our community outreach programs here. Follow us on social media too so you get a glimpse of what we do.

We've given free mammograms to thousands of women since we launched. We don't announce it because we don't think that's necessary but yes, we do provide FREE services to women WHO TRULY need them even if we are neither a CHARITY nor a NON PROFIT ORGANIZATION. We are a business organization that operates with a heart. :) 

Please explore this  website to know more about us.

If you do, you'll find that one of our platforms is the Woman for Woman™ Initiative. This initiative allows women to help other women. With every breast care service you pay Lilly Women's Health for, you also help another woman in need of breast care. The truth is, with this initiative, you are saving lives not just yours but also of another woman’s. Together with our partners and collaborators, we visit the most remote areas in Nigeria to connect with women in need of breast screenings, breast procedures, and other support services and we see to it that they get the gift of life, one woman at a time, Woman for Woman™.

We know that life is not easy. Those who need help should be helped and those that can help should help. That being said, we should also be mindful about investing in our health. To be honest, according to our research, there are more women who are willing to spend NGN20,000 for a wig but not as willing to pay for their mammogram. We know you're not one of those. :-)

We hope that enlightens you about our organization. Thank you. ❤️