Senology is the branch of medicine that deals specifically with the study of diseases that affect the breasts.
Senology affects an increasing number of other specialized branches such as endocrinology, radiology, oncology, and pathological anatomy.
What does a senologist do?
A senologist is a doctor, usually specialized in oncology, who deals in the study of diseases that affect the breast, with a focus on cancers that affect this part of the body.
What diseases are treated by a senologist?
The disease most often treated by a senologist are all those that concern the breast such as abscesses, cysts, mastitis, inflammatory and infectious conditions, and breast cancer.
The need to create a new branch of medicine that deals specifically with the breasts comes from the growing awareness that breast cancer is a widespread disease, and is characterized by high mortality rates as it is the second leading cause of cancer death in women after lung cancer. It is so complex that a multidisciplinary approach is needed both at the time of diagnosis with a sonographer and radiologist, and in the staging with a pathologist, until the choice of treatment with the help of an oncologist, endocrinologist and radiation oncologist.
What are the procedures used by a senologist?
Among the diagnostic procedures most often used by this specialist are a clinical breast examination through observation and touching of the breast, instrumental tests such as ultrasound, mammography, magnetic resonance imaging, PEM, PET test, and genetic tests for assessing the inheritance chance of breast cancer.
Among the procedures for the treatment of breast cancer include the quadrantectomy, and mastectomy which is the surgical removal of the breast.
When should a patient visit a senologist?
After sexual maturation, women should be examined by a senologist regularly, even in the absence of specific symptoms or problems, to monitor the health of their breasts.
It is recommended to visit a senologist if a patient is experiencing localized pain, redness or swelling, visible nodules, alterations of the nipple either outwards or inwards, and changes in shape of the breast or skin such as peau d'orange.
