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We have taken every care to ensure that drug dosages and related medical advice in this book are accurate. However, drug and disinfectant dosages can change and are updated often, so always double-check dosages and procedures against a reliable, up-to-date formulary and the given drug’s documentation before administering it.

Breast Care: A health professional’s guide to the diagnosis and management of common breast conditions

First published in 2014 by Bettercare. Updated: 29 March 2014, 13 August 2014, 16 October 2014, 12 January 2015. This version produced on 26 February 2025.

Text © Jenny Edge and David Woods 2014
Illustrations by Fiona Gawronsky, adapted for low-bandwidth access by Kevin Shelley and Arthur Attwell

ISBN (paperback): 978-1-920218-76-8
ISBN (international paperback edition): 978-1-717897-84-8
ISBN (reflowable edition): 978-1-920218-91-1

Excluding content explicitly credited to others, this book is published under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives License. For details, see creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0.

This licence means you may share, copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format under the following terms:

  • Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the licence, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
  • Non-Commercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes.
  • No Derivatives — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you may not distribute the modified material.

For any other uses, please contact Bettercare.

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      1. Home
      1. How to use our books
      2. Buy printed books
      3. About Bettercare
      4. FAQs
      5. Contact us
      1. Reviews
      2. Preface
      3. Acknowledgements
      4. Introduction
        1. About Bettercare
        2. Why decentralised learning?
        3. Free Bettercare Online Learning Platform
        4. Learning programmes
        5. Format of the courses
        6. Contributors
        7. Updating the course material
        8. Contact information
        9. Registration
      5. 1 The normal breast
        1. Objectives
        2. Case studies
        3. Normal breast appearance
        4. Normal breast anatomy
        5. Changes in the breast which may be worrying
        6. Case studies
      6. 2 Clinical assessment of the breast
        1. Objectives
        2. Case studies
        3. History taking
        4. The examination of the breasts
        5. Case studies
      7. 3 Special investigations of the breast
        1. Objectives
        2. Case studies
        3. Special investigations
        4. Breast imaging
        5. Breast screening
        6. Mammograms
        7. Ultrasound scan
        8. MRI scanning
        9. Cytology
        10. Histology
        11. Excision biopsy
        12. Case studies
      8. 4 Benign changes of the breast
        1. Objectives
        2. Case studies
        3. Introduction to benign changes to the breast
        4. Breast fibroadenomas
        5. Breast cysts
        6. Painful breasts
        7. Non-cancerous changes of the nipple-areola complex
        8. Nipple discharge
        9. Infections of the breast
        10. Case studies
      9. 5 Cancer of the breast
        1. Objectives
        2. Case studies
        3. Introduction to breast cancer
        4. Types of breast cancer
        5. Clinical presentation of breast cancer
        6. Imaging changes in breast cancer
        7. Case studies
      10. 6 Treatment of breast cancer
        1. Objectives
        2. Case studies
        3. Introduction to breast cancer treatment
        4. Surgery in breast cancer treatment
        5. Mastectomy
        6. Breast reconstruction after mastectomy
        7. Axillary surgery
        8. Chemotherapy
        9. Hormone (endocrine) treatment of breast cancer
        10. Targeted therapy
        11. Radiotherapy
        12. Case studies
      11. 7 Side effects of breast cancer treatment
        1. Objectives
        2. Case studies
        3. Side effects of chemotherapy
        4. Side effects of hormone treatment
        5. Side effects from radiotherapy
        6. Side effects due to surgery
        7. Lymphoedema
        8. Case studies
      12. 8 Palliative care
        1. Objectives
        2. Case studies
        3. Introduction to palliative care
        4. Providing palliative care
        5. The management of pain
        6. Managing discomfort
        7. Managing open wounds
        8. Managing bedsores
        9. Managing constipation
        10. Managing breathlessness
        11. Nausea and vomiting
        12. Mouth care
        13. Psychological and social problems
        14. Case studies
      13. Epilogue
        1. What does holism mean?
        2. Alternative healers
        3. Community groups and networking
        4. Education
        5. Support
        6. Advocacy
      14. Support groups in South Africa
        1. Adopt A Pink Piggy (APP)
        2. amaBele Belles
        3. Breast Cancer Survivor
        4. BreastSens (BS
        5. Breast Health Foundation (BHF)
        6. Bosom Buddies (BB)
        7. Campaign for Cancer (C4C)
        8. The Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA)
        9. HPCA Hospice Palliative Care Association
        10. Journey of Hope (JoH)
        11. Look Good, Feel better (LGFB)
        12. People Living With Cancer (PLWC)
        13. Pink Drive (PD)
        14. Pink Trees for Pauline (PTP)
        15. Reach for Recovery (RFR)
        16. Sinomusanothando – Community Development (SCD)
        17. Wings of Hope (WoH)
      15. Other organisations
        1. 8twenty8 (18T)
        2. Avon Justine iThemba Crusade of Hope (CoH)
        3. Breast Course 4 Nurses
        4. Phakamisa (PKM)
        5. Vrede Foundation (VF)
      16. Organisations active by region
      17. Useful websites
        1. Blogs
        2. Information
        3. Pictures
      18. Recipes and diets
        1. Home-made oral rehydration fluid to manage diarrhoea
        2. Carrot soup for patients with diarrhoea
        3. The BRATT diet
        4. The ABC diet
        5. Sour water for digestive problems
      19. Examination form
      20. Investigations
      1. How to use our books
      2. Buy printed books
      3. About Bettercare
      4. FAQs
      5. Contact us

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