Breast Cancer: how to prevent it and more detailed information

Definition of Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is cancer that starts in the tissues of the human breast. It's the second most common cancer in women, but can also affect men. There are two main kinds of breast cancer. The more typical of the two, ductal carcinoma, begins in the ducts, or tubes, that carry milk from the interior of the breast to the nipple. The other major type is lobular carcinoma. It begins in the lobules, which are the parts of the breast that secrete milk.

Description

Breast cancer is one of the most feared cancers for women, not only because it's potentially fatal but also simply because it can lead to disfigurement and worries about the loss of femininity. It may also develop for a long time before obvious symptoms appear. One reason why periodic screening for changes in breast tissue is so important for women over the age of twenty is that breast cancer is highly treatable when caught early.

In the early stages of breast cancer, a woman (or man) may not notice any differences in the size and shape of the breasts. The most noticeable symptom of breast cancer is a lump or thickened region in the breast. Not all such lumps are cancerous; many women notice that the texture of their breasts changes during pregnancy or their menstrual periods. Lumps in the breast can also be caused by noncancerous cysts. Nonetheless, a woman (or man) who notices a lump in the breast should tell their doctor.

Demographics

Breast cancer is one of the most typical cancers in women, affecting one in every eight women in the United States in the course of her lifetime. According to the American Cancer Society, there are about 68,000 cases of carcinoma in situ (noninvasive or stage 0 breast cancer) in the United States each year, and 183,000 cases of invasive breast cancer (stages I through IV).\

About 2,000 American men will probably be diagnosed with breast cancer. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of death from cancer among women in the United States; only lung cancer is deadlier. About 41,000 American women and 450 men die each year from breast cancer. The death rate has decreased in recent years, largely as a result of earlier detection. There had been an estimated 2.5 million survivors of breast cancer in the United States as of 2008. Risk factors for breast cancer include:

Gender. The female/male ratio for breast cancer is 99:1.
Age. Two out of three invasive breast cancers are discovered in women over fifty-five.
Genetic mutations. Between 5 and 10 percent of breast cancers are thought to be caused by inherited mutations in two genes recognized as BRCA1 and BRCA2. Women with either of these mutations have an 80 percent chance of developing breast cancer in their lifetime.
Family history of breast cancer. A woman who has a mother, sister, or daughter with breast cancer has double the risk of developing breast cancer herself.
Race. Caucasian women are slightly more likely to develop breast cancer than women of other races; however, breast cancers in African American women are often more aggressive. The reason for this difference isn't known.
Early menstruation (before age twelve) or late menopause (after age fifty-five).
First pregnancy after age thirty or no pregnancy.
Obesity.
Smoking.
Exposure to radiation during adolescence.
Use of birth control pills or hormone replacement therapy after menopause.
Heavy drinking.
History of precancerous changes in the breast.

Causes and Symptoms of Breast Cancer

The cause of breast cancer isn't known. Most researchers think that the illness results from a combination of genetic elements and environmental influences. Breast cancer has no symptoms in its earliest stages. The first noticeable symptoms might include:

A lump or thickened area in the breast large enough to be felt during a breast self-examination.
A watery, bloody, or yellowish discharge from the nipple.
A change in the shape or size of the breast.
A flattened, puckered, or indented area in the skin of the breast.
An orange-peel appearance to the skin of the breast.

Diagnosis

Regular screening for breast cancer is important. All women over twenty should discover to perform breast self-examination and check their breasts once a month after the menstrual period. Other screening tests include a breast examination by the doctor as component of a routine office go to, and a mammogram, which is an x-ray study of the breast. Imaging studies (magnetic resonance imaging [MRI] or ultrasound) are done when a mammogram yields abnormal findings.

The definitive test for diagnosing breast cancer is really a biopsy. The physician might remove some tissue via a fine needle (aspiration biopsy) or if a larger sample is needed, via a larger needle (core biopsy). The most accurate technique is a surgical biopsy, in which the surgeon removes all or part of a lump for examination under a microscope.

Breast Cancer: Treatment

The first step in treating any kind of cancer is staging. Staging is a description of the location of the cancer, its size, how far it has penetrated into healthy tissue, and whether it has spread to other parts of the body. Breast cancer is classified into five stages:

Stage 0: The cancer is in a lobule or a duct but has not spread beyond it. Breast cancer in this stage is known as carcinoma in situ. This type of breast cancer is considered noninvasive.
Stage I: The cancer is no more than three-quarters of an inch across and has not spread beyond the breast.
Stage II. The cancer is between three-quarters and two inches across and may have spread to the lymph nodes under the arm.
Stage III. The cancer has grown into the chest wall or the skin of the breast, is larger than two inches across, and has spread to lymph nodes behind the breastbone and under the arm.
Stage IV. The cancer has spread to other parts of the body. Surgery is usually the first line of treatment for breast cancer. Complete removal of the breast and underlying chest muscle, called a radical mastectomy, while more typical in the past, is now rarely performed.

Surgeons are more likely to recommend one kind or another of breastsparing surgery:

Lumpectomy. In this kind of surgery, the surgeon removes the cancer itself and a small quantity of tissue around it.
Partial mastectomy. The surgeon removes the cancer, the breast tissue surrounding it, and some of the underlying muscle.
Easy mastectomy. The surgeon removes the entire breast.
Modified radical mastectomy. The surgeon removes the entire breast and nearby lymph nodes but leaves the chest muscles in place.
Reconstruction. Many women have plastic surgery at the same time as a mastectomy or as a later operation to restore the shape of the original breast. The surgeon might use an artificial implant or the patient's own tissue to reconstruct the breast. Other treatments for breast cancer that may be utilized after surgery include:
Radiation therapy. The radiation may come from a large machine outside the body or from implanted plastic tubes containing a radioactive substance. The tubes remain in place for a number of days and are removed before the patient leaves the hospital.
Chemotherapy.
Hormone therapy. This approach to treatment involves taking drugs by mouth to block the production of estrogen and other female hormones. Estrogen encourages the growth of some breast cancers, and hormone blockers are effective in slowing these tumors in some patients.
Biological therapy. Also known as targeted therapy, this approach stimulates the body's immune system to fight cancer cells rather than attacking them directly. It may also be utilized to control side effects from chemotherapy and radiation therapy, which often include nausea, vomiting, hair loss, and fatigue.

Prognosis

The prognosis for breast cancer depends on its stage at the time of diagnosis and the number of lymph nodes that had been involved when the cancer was discovered. Women whose tumors had been smaller than three-quarters of an inch with no lymph node involvement have a survival rate of 96 percent five years after diagnosis; those with tumors larger than two inches with several lymph nodes involved have a five-year survival rate of only 45 percent.

Prevention

You will find no guarantees that a particular woman will not get breast cancer, but you will find some steps women can take to reduce their risk:

Genetic testing. Women with a family history of breast cancer can get tested for a mutation in the BRCA gene. They can then consult their doctor about their own risk of developing breast cancer.
Taking drugs that have been shown to decrease the risk of breast cancer. These include tamoxifen and raloxifene.
Preventive mastectomy. Surgical removal of both breasts before cancer can develop is a treatment occasionally undertaken by women who are at very high risk of breast cancer or who have been diagnosed with a lobular carcinoma in situ.
Surgical removal of the ovaries. Since the ovaries are the main source of estrogen in a woman's body, this kind of operation is occasionally recommended for women with a known BRCA mutation. Other preventive measures recommended by the American Cancer Society include getting regular exercise, limiting alcohol intake, keeping weight at a healthy level, and avoiding the use of hormone replacement therapy after menopause.

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