Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women affecting one in eight women during their lives. It may develop at any time but the risk of developing it increases as women get older.
CAUSE
The cause of breast cancer is not known and while it can also occur in men, the much higher occurrence in women implicates estrogen. Today, breast cancer, like other forms of cancer, is considered to be the final outcome of multiple environmental and hereditary factors.
Breathing secondhand smoke increases breast cancer risk by 70% in younger, primarily pre-menopausal women. A newly released study indicates a correlation between the drop in breast cancer and the drop in women taking HRT.
SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS
Breast cancer elicits so many fears, including those relating to surgery, death, loss of body image and loss of sexuality, however it is more easily treated and often curable if it is found early, therefore regular self examination and screening is essential. Breast cancer usually shows as a lump or thickening in the breast tissue, although most breast lumps are not cancerous.
Certain predisposing factors are clear.
Women at high risk are those who:
Have a family history of breast cancer.
Have long menstrual cycles, began menses early or menopause late.
Have never been pregnant
Were first pregnant after age 31.
Have had unilateral breast cancer.
Have endometrial or ovarian cancer.
Were exposed to low level ionizing radiation.
Many other possible factors are still under investigation including, obesity, alcohol and environmental factors.
Those with lower risk include women who:
Were pregnant before age 20.
Are Native American or Asian.
Breast cancer occurs more often in the left breast and in the upper quadrant.
Indications of breast cancer other than a lump may include changes in breast size or shape, skin dimpling, nipple inversion, or spontaneous single-nipple discharge.
TYPES
When breast cancer cells invade the dermal lymphatic’s, small lymph vessels in the skin of the breast, its presentation can resemble skin inflammation and thus is known as inflammatory breast cancer (IBC). Symptoms of inflammatory breast cancer include pain, swelling, warmth and redness throughout the breast, as well as an orange peel texture to the skin referred to as pea d'orange.
The most common pathologic types of breast cancer are invasive ductal carcinoma, malignant cancer in the breast's ducts, and invasive lobular carcinoma, malignant cancer in the breast's lobules.
Occasionally, breast cancer presents as metastatic disease, that is, cancer that has spread beyond the original organ. Bone or joint pains can sometimes be manifestations of metastatic breast cancer, as can jaundice or neurological symptoms.
TREATMENT
Much controversy still exists over treatment of breast cancer, options include; Surgery, chemotherapy, Radiotherapy, Hormonal therapies, Herceptin and complementary treatments.
The mainstay of breast cancer treatment is surgery when the tumor is localized, with possible adjuvant hormonal therapy (with tamoxifen or an aromatize inhibitor), chemotherapy, and/or radiotherapy.
In February 2007, the Mamma Print test became the first breast cancer predictor to win formal approval from the Food and Drug Administration. This is a new gene test to help predict whether women with early-stage breast cancer will relapse in 5 or 10 years, this could help influence how aggressively the initial tumor is treated.
PREVENTION
Routine (annual) mammography of women older than age 40 or 50 is recommended by numerous organizations as a screening method to diagnose early breast cancer and has demonstrated a protective effect in multiple clinical trials. Women with one or more first-degree relatives (mother, sister, and daughter) with premenopausal breast cancer should begin screening at an earlier age.
PROGNOSIS
There are many prognostic factors associated with breast cancer: staging, tumor size and location, grade, whether disease is systemic (has metastasized, or traveled to other parts of the body), recurrence of the disease, and age of patient.
With advances in screening, diagnosis, and treatment, the death rate for breast cancer has declined by about 20% over the past decade, and research is ongoing to develop even more effective screening and treatment programs.
Breast Cancer Symptoms
Breast cancer symptoms can be experienced by men as well as women but breast cancer is very rare in men compared to women. More than 1 in 10 women are likely to suffer from breast cancer symptoms, and be diagnosed with breast cancer, in a lifetime. Breast cancer symptoms can be detected when a lump, tumor, or cyst grows large enough to either be felt or seen on a mammogram. Breast cancer symptoms don’t often manifest themselves until the cancer is already in its later stages of growth, and may have already metastasized to other more vital areas of the body. Breast cancer symptoms are often subtle, and self discovery can be elusive. Due to the high incidence of breast cancer among older women, screening is now recommended in many countries.
Lumps or masses in the breast are not unusual, and most of them are not cancerous. Some breast masses can be felt during a breast exam. Lump may form in the breast, chest or under the arm if the cancer is in the breast or near the chest wall. You will also notice a change in the size, shape and skin of the breast.
Earlier the diagnosis of breast cancer always involved the removal of the breast and the surrounding skin, muscles underneath the breast and the lymph nodes underneath the arm. Today’s method of diagnosis is well advanced without the above mentioned procedure radical mastectomy.
Among young women, a lump that moves may be a sign of fibrocystic breast disease. Generally, breast cancer is a much more aggressive disease in younger women. Generally a lump that is cancerous will not be tender to the touch, it will be hard, non-movable, and not change rapidly in size (within several days or weeks). If a lump is tender, it could be a cyst or a swollen lymph node. Genetic counseling and genetic testing should be considered for families who may carry a hereditary form of cancer.
Inflammatory breast cancer is an uncommon type of breast cancer, which includes the breast being warm, red, and swollen. The inflammation occurs because the cancer cells block the lymphatic vessels in the skin of the breast. Breast cancer is a common disease. Each year, approximately 200,000 women in the United States are diagnosed with breast cancer, and one in nine American women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. Breast cancer occurs much more commonly in women and less than 1 in 100 of breast cancers occur in men. In the UK, approximately 250 men are diagnosed with breast cancer each year. Breast cancer starts in the cells of the breast. The breast tissue covers an area larger than just the breast.
Women with one of these defects have up to an 80% chance of getting breast cancer sometime during their life. Women who attend Infinite Boundaries retreats are in all stages of breast cancer.
The more you drink, the greater your risk
Women had limited knowledge of their relative risk of developing breast cancer, of associated risk factors and of the diversity of potential breast cancer-related symptoms. Older women were particularly poor at identifying symptoms of breast cancer, risk factors associated with breast cancer and their personal risk of developing the disease. Women, sometimes, have lumps in their breasts which have been there for a lifetime. They’re usually harmless fibroids, and never conclusively mean you’ve developed breast cancer. Women are very conscious about their breast care. Beautiful and healthy breast are one of the most cherished dream of women.
CAUSE
The cause of breast cancer is not known and while it can also occur in men, the much higher occurrence in women implicates estrogen. Today, breast cancer, like other forms of cancer, is considered to be the final outcome of multiple environmental and hereditary factors.
Breathing secondhand smoke increases breast cancer risk by 70% in younger, primarily pre-menopausal women. A newly released study indicates a correlation between the drop in breast cancer and the drop in women taking HRT.
SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS
Breast cancer elicits so many fears, including those relating to surgery, death, loss of body image and loss of sexuality, however it is more easily treated and often curable if it is found early, therefore regular self examination and screening is essential. Breast cancer usually shows as a lump or thickening in the breast tissue, although most breast lumps are not cancerous.
Certain predisposing factors are clear.
Women at high risk are those who:
Have a family history of breast cancer.
Have long menstrual cycles, began menses early or menopause late.
Have never been pregnant
Were first pregnant after age 31.
Have had unilateral breast cancer.
Have endometrial or ovarian cancer.
Were exposed to low level ionizing radiation.
Many other possible factors are still under investigation including, obesity, alcohol and environmental factors.
Those with lower risk include women who:
Were pregnant before age 20.
Are Native American or Asian.
Breast cancer occurs more often in the left breast and in the upper quadrant.
Indications of breast cancer other than a lump may include changes in breast size or shape, skin dimpling, nipple inversion, or spontaneous single-nipple discharge.
TYPES
When breast cancer cells invade the dermal lymphatic’s, small lymph vessels in the skin of the breast, its presentation can resemble skin inflammation and thus is known as inflammatory breast cancer (IBC). Symptoms of inflammatory breast cancer include pain, swelling, warmth and redness throughout the breast, as well as an orange peel texture to the skin referred to as pea d'orange.
The most common pathologic types of breast cancer are invasive ductal carcinoma, malignant cancer in the breast's ducts, and invasive lobular carcinoma, malignant cancer in the breast's lobules.
Occasionally, breast cancer presents as metastatic disease, that is, cancer that has spread beyond the original organ. Bone or joint pains can sometimes be manifestations of metastatic breast cancer, as can jaundice or neurological symptoms.
TREATMENT
Much controversy still exists over treatment of breast cancer, options include; Surgery, chemotherapy, Radiotherapy, Hormonal therapies, Herceptin and complementary treatments.
The mainstay of breast cancer treatment is surgery when the tumor is localized, with possible adjuvant hormonal therapy (with tamoxifen or an aromatize inhibitor), chemotherapy, and/or radiotherapy.
In February 2007, the Mamma Print test became the first breast cancer predictor to win formal approval from the Food and Drug Administration. This is a new gene test to help predict whether women with early-stage breast cancer will relapse in 5 or 10 years, this could help influence how aggressively the initial tumor is treated.
PREVENTION
Routine (annual) mammography of women older than age 40 or 50 is recommended by numerous organizations as a screening method to diagnose early breast cancer and has demonstrated a protective effect in multiple clinical trials. Women with one or more first-degree relatives (mother, sister, and daughter) with premenopausal breast cancer should begin screening at an earlier age.
PROGNOSIS
There are many prognostic factors associated with breast cancer: staging, tumor size and location, grade, whether disease is systemic (has metastasized, or traveled to other parts of the body), recurrence of the disease, and age of patient.
With advances in screening, diagnosis, and treatment, the death rate for breast cancer has declined by about 20% over the past decade, and research is ongoing to develop even more effective screening and treatment programs.
Breast Cancer Symptoms
Breast cancer symptoms can be experienced by men as well as women but breast cancer is very rare in men compared to women. More than 1 in 10 women are likely to suffer from breast cancer symptoms, and be diagnosed with breast cancer, in a lifetime. Breast cancer symptoms can be detected when a lump, tumor, or cyst grows large enough to either be felt or seen on a mammogram. Breast cancer symptoms don’t often manifest themselves until the cancer is already in its later stages of growth, and may have already metastasized to other more vital areas of the body. Breast cancer symptoms are often subtle, and self discovery can be elusive. Due to the high incidence of breast cancer among older women, screening is now recommended in many countries.
Lumps or masses in the breast are not unusual, and most of them are not cancerous. Some breast masses can be felt during a breast exam. Lump may form in the breast, chest or under the arm if the cancer is in the breast or near the chest wall. You will also notice a change in the size, shape and skin of the breast.
Earlier the diagnosis of breast cancer always involved the removal of the breast and the surrounding skin, muscles underneath the breast and the lymph nodes underneath the arm. Today’s method of diagnosis is well advanced without the above mentioned procedure radical mastectomy.
Among young women, a lump that moves may be a sign of fibrocystic breast disease. Generally, breast cancer is a much more aggressive disease in younger women. Generally a lump that is cancerous will not be tender to the touch, it will be hard, non-movable, and not change rapidly in size (within several days or weeks). If a lump is tender, it could be a cyst or a swollen lymph node. Genetic counseling and genetic testing should be considered for families who may carry a hereditary form of cancer.
Inflammatory breast cancer is an uncommon type of breast cancer, which includes the breast being warm, red, and swollen. The inflammation occurs because the cancer cells block the lymphatic vessels in the skin of the breast. Breast cancer is a common disease. Each year, approximately 200,000 women in the United States are diagnosed with breast cancer, and one in nine American women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. Breast cancer occurs much more commonly in women and less than 1 in 100 of breast cancers occur in men. In the UK, approximately 250 men are diagnosed with breast cancer each year. Breast cancer starts in the cells of the breast. The breast tissue covers an area larger than just the breast.
Women with one of these defects have up to an 80% chance of getting breast cancer sometime during their life. Women who attend Infinite Boundaries retreats are in all stages of breast cancer.
The more you drink, the greater your risk
Women had limited knowledge of their relative risk of developing breast cancer, of associated risk factors and of the diversity of potential breast cancer-related symptoms. Older women were particularly poor at identifying symptoms of breast cancer, risk factors associated with breast cancer and their personal risk of developing the disease. Women, sometimes, have lumps in their breasts which have been there for a lifetime. They’re usually harmless fibroids, and never conclusively mean you’ve developed breast cancer. Women are very conscious about their breast care. Beautiful and healthy breast are one of the most cherished dream of women.
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