We have been taught and are reminded frequently by public service announcements and by the medical community that when a woman discovers a lump on her breast she should go to the doctor immediately. Some women who have inflammatory breast cancer may remain undiagnosed for long periods, even while seeing their doctor to learn the cause of her symptoms. “Our mission is to achieve prevention and a cure for breast cancer in our lifetime by providing critical funding for innovative clinical and genetic research at leading medical centers worldwide, and increasing public awareness about good breast health.
” This is a mission statement made from Evelyn H. Lauder. She is the founder of The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Breast Cancer takes a woman’s life every 13 minutes. This is a number that is outrageous. This is something that terrifies me to no end. When breast cancer runs in your family, you think about cancer a lot. It is the leading cause of death for women between the ages of forty and fifty five and this year more than 200,000 new cases are expected in the U. S. Women are not the only ones susceptible to the disease. It is estimated in 2004, 1,600 men will die of breast cancer.
With so many people affected by this disease, how is it that so many are unaware of the consequences of ignorance? No one is completely immune to the disease and it is important that everyone, male and female, educate themselves on the topic. Common myths need to be clarified; risk factors need to be addressed, early signs need to be recognized, and treatment options need to be discussed. Education is the first step toward beating this disease. I chose this topic because I am a young woman and I am at risk for breast cancer. My grandmother was diagnosed several years ago, and had a mastectomy.
I think it is very important for all women to be knowledgeable about breast cancer because one in every eight women will get the disease in their lifetime. If this was put up on a website, many people would have access to the information and could educate themselves on the disease. That is the first step toward beating it. More women in the United States are living with breast cancer than any other cancer, excluding skin cancer. Statistics show that approximately three million women are living with the disease: two million who have been diagnosed, and one million who do not yet know they have it.
A woman in the United States has a one in eight chance of developing invasive breast cancer in her lifetime. Breast cancer is described as invasive when the cancer has spread to nearby tissue, lymph nodes, under the arm, or other parts of the body. Non-invasive cancer is known as ‘in situ breast cancer’. Breast cancer is only one of 200 different types of cancer. It is considered a woman’s disease but both men and women have the disease. Every year, more than 200,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer. Twelve percent of all women will get the disease and 3.
5% of them will die. Breast cancer is the leading cause of death among women who are 40 to 55 years old. Cancer occurs when cells divide uncontrollably. Cells keep dividing even though new cells are not needed. Change from normal to cancerous cells requires gene alterations. Altered genes and uncontrolled growth may lead to tumors. These tumors can be benign (NOT cancerous) or malignant (cancerous). Benign tumors won’t spread but it can damage tissues around it. Malignant tumors invade, damage, and destroy nearby tissues and can spread.
Cancer can spread throughout the body when cancer cells break away from malignant tumors and enter the bloodstream. Cancer cells from breast cancer are mostly found in the lymph nodes under the arm when it “spreads. “ When cancer spreads to other parts of the body, it has the same name as the original cancer. So, if you breast cancer ends up in your lungs, it is still called breast cancer! Breast cancer usually occurs in women between the ages of 35 and 65, even though fifty percent of all breast cancer is of women sixty-five and older.
The chance of women getting breast cancer has risen within the last couple decades. Between 1973 and 1989, the chance of getting breast cancer rose, on average, at 1. 7% per year. In 1960, one out of twenty women had breast cancer. Sadly, it is now one out of nine. Even though the exact cause of cancer is unknown, there are many factors that increase your chance of getting the disease. These factors only account for only 30% of all cases of breast cancer. The other 70% are unknown. A family history of breast cancer may increase your risk of breast cancer.
But just because someone in your family has breast cancer does not mean you will have it too. About 75% of patients with breast cancer do not have a family history of breast cancer early menstruation, late menopause – Menstruation before the age of 12 and menopause after the age of 50 can increase your risk of cancer. Women who are older have a higher risk than women who are younger. Also, women who have their first pregnancy after the age of 40 may get the disease. Food with less fat and more fiber are safer. Being obese may also increase your risk.
Researchers in the New York State Department of Health have found that women on Long Island who grew up within a mile of a chemical plant have a greater chance of getting breast cancer if they lived further away from the chemical plant. Even though white women are more likely to get cancer than African-American women, African-American women are more likely to die from cancer. Asian, Hispanic, and American Indian women have a lower risk of getting breast cancer. A study showed that women using birth control pills have a slightly greater risk of breast cancer.
Hormone replacement therapy – Most studies suggest that use of HRT for relief of menopause symptoms for more than 5 years may slightly increase the risk of breast cancer. Women who have 2 to 5 drinks daily have about 1 1/2 times the risk of women who drink no alcohol. There are several symptoms of breast cancer. Early cancer may not show any symptoms at all but as time goes by and the cancer grows, there may be symptoms. You may get a lump or a thickening in or near the breast. Change in its shape or contour, swelling, thickening, pore enlargement, retraction or dry skin of the nipple, nipple discharge, pain or tenderness.
It is usually found in a person’s breast as a hard lump that is painless. In some cases, pain and tenderness may occur. Bloody discharges occur in about 33% of patients with breast cancer. Your breast may also begin to look and feel different. Your breasts may look like an orange peel with ridges and pitting of the breast. Your breasts and nipples may also become warm, swollen, red, or scaly. Types of breast cancer include Ductal Carcinoma in Situ (DCIS) is an early type of breast cancer. This type develops within the milk duct but it generally has no symptoms.
This type of breast cancer is non-invasive, which means it “stays” where it is developed in. Even so, if it is left untreated, it may eventually spread into other parts of the breast. DCIS is also referred to as a Stage 0 breast cancer. Lobular carcinoma is a type of breast cancer begins in the lobules, where milk is produced. Invasive Ductal Carcinoma is the most common type of breast cancer. Eight percent of all cases of breast cancer is of this type. They originate from the ducts, but unlike DCIS, it is invasive, which means it may spread to other parts of the breast.
Medullary Carcinoma is a type of invasive breast cancer accounts for 5% of all breast cancers. Colloid Carcinoma is a type of cancer is also called Mucinous Carcinoma. It is formed by mucus producing cancer cells. There are several tests used in the diagnosis of breast cancer. A mammography is an x-ray taken to examine the breasts. It is usually taken on women over the age of 35. It is not taken on younger women because they have denser breast tissues and this can make it difficult to detect anything on the mammogram.
An ultrasound is used to see if a lump is solid or if it contains fluid. A small device, which emits sound waves, is passed over the breasts. The echoes are converted into a picture of the breast tissue by a computer. Using a fine needle and syringe, a sample of cells from the lump on the breast is taken. It is taken to a lab where it is tested to see if it contains any “bad” cells. The area of the breast where the lump is present is numbed. A needle is then used to take a biopsy, a small piece of tissue. It is then taken to a lab where it is checked for cancer.
Your blood may be tested to see if it contains any particular chemicals which are sometimes produced by cancer cells. The whole lump is removed and sent to a lab for examination. It is important to know about the cancer before you can start the treatment. Lab tests are done to learn about the cancer. There are several options that the patient can choose from. In order to choose the best treatment for you, the doctor would want to know the size of your tumor and if the tumor is present in other parts of your body.
Most people have surgery to remove their tumors. There are several types of surgery such as Lumpectomy and Partial or segmental mastectomy. Lumpectomy, Thos type of surgery is the removal of the tumor and the tissue around it. Sometimes, the doctor may also take out the lymph nodes under the arm. This type of surgery is usually followed by radiation therapy. Partial or segmental mastectomy, in this type of surgery the cancer is removed as well as the tissue around it and the lining over the chest muscles below the tumor.
The lymph nodes under the arm may also be removed. This type of surgery may also be followed by radiation. radiation therapy, high-energy x-rays are used to kill cancer. Radiation may come from a machine from outside the body or a material may be placed inside the body that produces radiation through thin plastic tubes. Chemotherapy involves the use of drugs to kill cancer cells. Some of the drugs are injected into the vein or the muscle. Others are given by mouth. The drugs flow through the bloodstream into nearly every part of the body.
Hormone therapy changes the way the hormones in the body help the cancer cells grow. Hormone therapy may be done by using drugs to change the way the hormones work or by surgery to take out the organs that make the hormones. Biological therapy uses materials that are synthetic or formed naturally by the body to restore the body’s defenses against diseases. This treatment is currently only being given in clinical trials. Bone marrow transplantation is when the breast cancer becomes resistant to radiation or chemotherapy, very high doses of chemotherapy may be used to treat the cancer.
Because this type of chemotherapy can damage or destroy the bone marrow, it is taken from the bones before treatment and frozen. Side effects of the treatment can be extreme or mild. There are side effects occur with breast cancer, just like any other treatment for any other disease. In any type of cancer treatment, patients may have a loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, and mouth sores. The side effects of surgery depend on the location of the tumor, the type of operation, and other factors. Pain from the operation can be controlled with medicine.
Chemotherapy drugs kill rapidly growing cancer cells, but it also kills some “healthy” cells. These healthy cells include blood cells, cells that line the digestive tract, and cells in hair follicles. This results in side effects such as infections, tiredness, temporary hair loss, and mouth sores. And because the drugs lower the patient’s blood count, it may cause anemia. It may also cause the patient to bruise more easily. Radiation may cause a decrease in the number of white blood cells. Other side effects are tiredness, rashes or redness in treated areas, and loss of appetite.
Most women treated for early types of cancer live healthy lives after the recovery. But your chance of recover depends on many factors such as the type and stage of your breast cancer, how fast the cancer is spreading, how much the cancer cells depend on female hormones for growth, your age, your menopausal status, and your health. The American Cancer Society predicts that 211,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed this year and 43,300 people will die because of the disease. The incidence of breast cancer has increased steadily from an incidence of 1:20 in 1960 to 1:8 women in 2004.
Autopsies show that 2% of the population has undiagnosed breast cancer at the time of their death. With all these shocking facts, it is baffling to think that some women (and even more men) still believe that they are not at risk. It cannot be stressed enough that the best way to beat breast cancer is to catch it in the early stages and take care of it. Women, I urge you to perform breast self examinations (BSE) at least once a month and if you are older, get a mammogram at least once a year. We can beat this disease by squashing it before it has a chance to affect us: all we need to do be smart about it. References
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