What Is Breast Cancer
The cancer affecting our breast cells is termed as breast cancer. Breast cancer can start from any part of our breasts; however, majority of the breast cancers begin from milk ducts of the patients. The cancer beginning from the patient's milk ducts is called ductal carcinoma. Breast cancer ranks second after skin cancer in the list of most common cancers affecting American women. A man can also develop breast cancer; however, incidence of breast cancer in men is much less common compared to the women. In the past decade the survival rate of breast cancer patients has increased significantly, thanks to the medical researches occurring all across the world for finding out new treatments of this cancer type and the well designs breast cancer awareness programs.
What are the common breast cancer symptoms? A person with breast cancer might experience the following symptoms:
- Occurrence of a lump in the breast or a area in the breast that is thicker than the surrounding regions
- Change in breast shape or size
- Bloody or abnormal discharge from nipples
- Changes in skin texture of the breast, for instance dimpling of skin
- Scaling, flaking or peeling of skin covering the breast
- Inverted nipples
- Change in the color of the breast skin; the skin might turn orange or red
Certain genetic factors can be responsible for occurrence of breast cancer. Parents can pass the gene mutations responsible for increasing the risk of developing breast cancer to their children. Gene mutations that are known to increase one's chances of getting breast cancer are: BRCA1 and BRCA 2. However, having these gene mutations does not mean that one would inevitably suffer from breast cancer. The other breast cancer risk factors include:
If you are having any of the above risk factors or experiencing common signs of breast cancer, you should get yourself diagnosed for breast cancer. Detection of the cancer at an early stage increases the chances of survival extensively. The physician will ask you to undergo tests like mammogram and breast ultrasound. If the results of these tests show indications of presence of cancerous lesions, a biopsy will be conducted for ensuring the occurrence of breast cancer.
Breast Cancer Symptoms to be Watchful About
Generally formation of lumps or thickened region of tissues in the breast is the main breast cancer symptom. In majority of the situations, breast lumps are noticed by the women that are having them and it is important to be wary about any formation of lump or alteration in the way the breast appears, feels or form. The earlier a malignant lump is identified, more improved is the likelihood of successful treatment outcome.
Breast Cancer Symptoms:
Changes that a woman should be vigilant about
It is imperative to seek medical opinion in case one has noticed any of the below mentioned signs which could be indicators of breast cancer symptoms.
Formation of lump or lumps or region of tissue thickening in one or both breasts.
Discharge being emanated from either one or both nipples that [...]
Breast Cancer Risk Factors Varies Among Racial Populaces
A novel research printed online in the peer-assessed medical journal of the ACS (American Cancer Society) has suggested that factors augmenting breast cancer risk factors in white females had lesser impact on females belonging to Spanish American race. The research suggested that investigation is required for evaluating how breast cancer risk factors vary across ethnic populaces.
Breast cancer has greater frequency of occurrence among particular racial populaces, though the true reasons why such disparities exist are still blurred. For investigating this matter, Lisa Hines from the Univ. of Colorado, Colorado Springs, helmed the research which took into consideration how ascertained breast cancer risk factors – inclusive of history (menstrual, family, reproductive), hormonal usage, height, [...]
Blood Test for Improved Breast Cancer Diagnosis
Investigators of a study have reported that they are inching nearer to their goal of creating a blood test which could help in earlier and effective breast cancer diagnosis.
During the course of this latest study, researchers employed data taken from the large WHI or Women Health Initiative. They uncovered that the levels of marker EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) could shoot up in the blood samples of females before even seventeen months of their breast cancer diagnosis. Epidermal growth factor receptor is a marker that plays a vital role in the development and metastasis of breast cancer cells.
Study author, Dr. Christopher Li stated that on its own, epidermal growth factor receptor failed in proving to be beneficial as a marker for breast cancer identification.
Dr. Li who [...]
Startling Diagnosis of DCIS Breast Cancer Type in Tennis star Martina Navratilova
Lately, Tennis star Martina Navratilova made a heartening revelation about her on-going fight with DCIS breast cancer type.
Having won Wimbledon Singles for 9 times, the champ expressed the reports as a tragedy with as much marring effects as that of the 9/11 attacks. After getting news of her diagnosis with breast cancer type DCIS during February, Navratilova stated that she wept inconsolably.
The over fifty year old tennis legend who has taken retirement from competitive tennis just 3 years back was in a state of utter disbelief and the news was nothing short of a bolt from the blue.
Navratilova unequivocally spoke about feeling completely inundated with grief and her life being way beyond her control.
She stated that in her impressive lengthy tennis career spanning decades, she [...]
7 Caveat Precursors of Breast Cancer
A widely known fact is that breast cancer when spotted early on could be helpful in arresting its increase and controlling the disease.
Being attentive to the caveat signs of breast cancer could essentially aid in diagnosing this lethal disease and as a result save many lives.
As breast cancer is one of the increasingly widespread forms of cancer worldwide, hence it is crucial that all women become sentient about the caveat symptoms of breast cancer which would be helpful in early diagnosis.
1. Any Palpable lumps or thickening on the breast area or armpits
A woman could sense a number of bodily changes during the course of her monthly menstrual cycle that could be physically palpated. But, in case there is an abnormal lumpy formation or growths which a woman could palpate during any [...]
Male Breast Cancer Staging & Grading
Breast cancer among men is atypical and constitutes for below one percent of all the breast cancer cases with the key cancer forms being analogous among both the sexes.
The cancer staging depicts the extent and if the cancer has metastasized past its initial location. When doctors gain knowledge of the exact form and the staging of the cancer it assists them in deciding on the apt line of treatment.
Among a number of individuals the cancer could have metastasized to other areas of the body either making an entry into the blood or via the lymphatic system (the system that partly dons the role in the body’s safeguard from infection and ailment. The lymphatic system comprises of a net of lymph glands (nodes) which are interconnected via lymph fluid filled delicate ducts. The area adjacent [...]
Ways of Detecting Male Breast Cancer
An approximate 440 males have faced fatalities due to breast cancer in 2009 with above nineteen hundred newly evolved cases of males detected with breast cancer in the U.S.
Nearly ninety percent of all cases of breast cancer originate in the duct or lobe and about seventy-five percent of all breast cancers originate in the cell lining of the milk ducts and are known as ductal carcinoma. About thirty percent of male breast cancers are lobular carcinoma that originates in the lobules present in both the breasts.
A form of breast cancer that has metastasized beyond the ducts and into the adjacent tissues is known as IDC or infiltrating carcinoma that constitutes most of the male breast cancer cases. In case the cancer originates at the end of the duct, it is known as infiltrating lobular [...]
Metaplastic Breast Cancer
Metasplastic Breast Cancer (metaplastic carcinoma of breast) is an atypical form of breast cancer quite diverse from the classical ductal (lobular) breast cancer. It illustrates a form of cancer which has originated in one cell form and alters into another cell form. Metaplastic breast cancer depicts an array of cancers having varied epithelial cells (cell lining of the breast) and mesenchymal cells (the breast’s connective tissue).
Majority of the metaplastic breast cancer cases originate in the epithelial cells after which they transform into non-glandular or squamous cells. Since the cells that lead to metaplastic breast cancer do not belong to the healthy breast gland, this form of cancer does not show the presence of estrogen or progesterone receptors or the HER2 (a protein form present [...]
Treatment Outline For Male Breast Cancer
Male Breast Cancer is an atypical occurrence and acts in analogous ways to breast cancer among females, hence treatment of male breast cancer is generally in similar lines to that employed in case of female breast cancer and could involve a merger of treatments.
Surgery
In majority of the males, surgery is usually the foremost treatment option. But among males, the mere removal of the lump by lumpectomy is not possible due to the quite diminutive amount of breast tissue and due to the tumor site mostly found close to or underneath the nipple area. Majority of the men undergoing surgery require complete removal of the breast tissue and the nipple by the mastectomy procedure. A few or every one of the lymph nodes located in the armpit area could also be taken out.
Hormonal therapy [...]
Male Breast Cancer
Male breast cancer is the malignant development of cells in the miniscule quantity of breast tissue which males have in the area behind the nipples. Lesser than one among one hundred breast cancers develop in males. Yet in the United Kingdom, nearly 250 male breast cancer diagnoses are done on an annual basis.
Male Breast Cancer Causes
There is still inadequate information regarding the causes leading to male breast cancer, however few of the men appear to be having greater than normal likelihood of contracting this condition.
This atypical form of cancer is mostly detected among elderly men past sixty years old. It is prevalent among men having:
A number of close kin members (both sexes) that have in the past been diagnosed with breast cancer.
A close blood relation who has been [...]
Top 3 Breast Cancer Determining Factors
Breast Cancer could be elicited by three crucial factors that could be major contributors for the condition occurring or raise the risk of relapse.
1. Weekly intake of 3 wine glasses ups the risk of breast cancer relapse by thirty percent
United States scientists from the Kaiser Permanent Division of Research, Oakland, California, have claimed that women that have had success with breast cancer treatment must curb their intake of alcohol to lower the likelihood of the disease recurring. Obese and women after reaching menopause are especially prone to facing relapse as a consequence of alcohol. Several studies have ranked the degree of heightened risk from 4-7% per alcoholic drink or unit of alcohol that is the quantity present in a small-sized wine glass.
The recent study took into consideration [...]
Microbubbles – The Innovatory Technique Of Breast Cancer Detection
Revolutionary British know-how could now prove immensely beneficial for numerous breast cancer patients by preventing further surgical intervention.
Employing microscopic bubbles, the doctors from the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust have evolved an innovative means of detecting cancer that has metastasized to the lymph nodes.
This method would mean the removal of malignant tissue present in the breast and lymph nodes in just one operative procedure, instead of the need to go in for another one –which is presently the practice followed.
With more than forty-five thousand women being detected with breast cancer annually, it turns out to be the prevalent form of cancer in the United Kingdom.
During the surgery for removal of the breast tumour, the surgeons additionally require [...]
Breast Cancer Type and Breast Cancer Symptoms
Breast Cancer is a cancer that develops in the breast due to uninhibited multiplication of abnormal tissue.
There are two breast cancer type:
Ductal carcinoma
It commences in the ducts or tubes that carry milk to the nipple from the breast. Majority of the breast cancers are of this form.
Lobular carcinoma
It originates in milk-producing parts of the breast known as the lobules.
Atypically, breast cancer could originate in other parts of the breast.
Several breast cancers show sensitivity to the estrogen hormone. This translates to the fact that estrogen leads to the growth of the breast cancer tumors. This kind of cancer is known as estrogen receptor positive cancer (ER positive cancer).
A few women develop the HER2-positive breast cancer. HER2 is a gene that aids in cell [...]
