All About Breast Cancer

All about breast cancer - This is an article about breast cancer that I took from proyectosalutia.com. Hope this article will help you. Happy reading.

Breast Cancer Overview

General information: Breast cancer is a malignant tumor that develops in the breast tissue (although there may be tumors in supporting tissues, but they are not real breast cancers). If on the other hand, tumor cells outside of the ducts and lobules, the tumor will acquire invasive character. It is the cancer of higher incidence in women and also the increased mortality for such causes.

Actually a woman every nine may suffer from this disease. Breast cancer is a disease whose frequency increases with age is most common after age 50, still rare before age 35. It is advisable to begin annual mammograms at age 40; some specialists prefer to perform a base mammogram at age 35. In cases where there is a family history, mother or sisters are advisable to start with radiological studies beforehand.

The challenge of our century is to achieve early diagnosis by reducing the mortality figures, still high for what is A breast CANCER disease CURABLE. The likelihood of a breast cancer increases if there are cases in family members with link of first or second degree that suffered it (mother, sister or daughter) or also if the woman is postmenopausal. (Risk factors for getting breast cancer: to) age: incidence increases with age and doubles every 10 years until menopause. Ages with higher incidence: 45-60 years old. 75% of breast cancers occur in women over the age of 40 years. More than 50 years age is estimated as risk factor. (b) Place of dwelling: women living in Asian countries (China and Japan) have fewer incidences of breast cancer, than live in Central European countries (Spain, Italy, England) and North America. (c) Reproductive characteristics: women who had an early menarche and late menopause are more vulnerability to breast cancer. A menopause after age 55 gives twice as likely to develop breast cancer as the rest of the women. Women who have not had children than those that took are also more risk. Which had the first child after age 35 is more vulnerable to this type of cancer than were mothers at an early age. (d) heredofamilial factors: women who have a history of breast cancer in first-degree relatives have more risk. This hereditary factor can be transmitted both via maternal as paternal relatives. (e) Pre-existing disease of the breast: atypical hyperplasia of the breast (pathological multiplication of the cells of the mammary gland). (f) Lifestyle: the type of food (avoid the hipergrasa diet and consume more vegetables), prevent overweight and obesity, continuous and regular physical activity, avoid tobacco and alcohol. (g) Hormonal factors: some women who undergo treatment with estrogens, to reduce their cardiovascular risk especially in menopausal women, called "hormone replacement therapy", can develop breast cancer.

Symptoms of breast cancer

In the early stages of breast cancer, women do not experience any symptoms of breast cancer or apparent discomfort. For this reason, many of these diseases that are diagnosed today are performed in women attending routine gynecological controls, or prevention programs for breast cancer that has both the public health system and private systems and social works. In some cases, the first symptom is the appearance of a lump in the breast. The first thing that must be taken into account is that not all lumps or nodules appearing on the breast are breast cancer. The woman notices to bathe, shower, or replace any piece of clothing which comes into contact with the bulk. In some cases, women can be seen a change of property in the skin of the breast area, with depressions or wrinkles, which changes its appearance over time. In advanced cases, the affected skin area, can acquire the typical aspect called "orange peel". Sometimes this area or even all the breast, it may appear swollen, reddened, or even increasing in size. You can also see changes in the appearance of the nipple: which enter into the interior of the breast that abraded or flakes. Sometimes the appearance of the nipple is normal and what is produced are pathological mammary secretions, Milky, watery or bloody appearance. A warning sign that worsens the prognosis of breast cancer is the appearance of nodes in the armpit, usually of the affected breast: manifested as perfectly palpable lumps, and corresponds to the lymph node hypertrophy that results in this type of pathology.

Breast cancer diagnosis

Self-examination of breast cancer: It must be performed by women on their breasts, prior learning. The frequency of this self-examination should be monthly. Be positive, it must go promptly to the physician. Periodic gynecological exam. Consists of an initial comprehensive gynecologic examination, both general, both breasts, armpits and neck. This gets to determine a nodule in the breast or lymph nodes in the armpits. Mammography: This type of study is called "Imaging". Until today is the diagnostic method more precise for the breast study. Through this study, areas of different density of glandular tissue and even different pathology can be detected. It can be a counselor on the benignity or malignancy of these abnormal areas, but not a complete security. Ultrasound:It is a study that the gynecologist asks that you can rule out other diseases, such as for example the presence of breast cysts. Fine-needle aspiration breast: Carried out by doctor gynecologist, with the introduction of a needle inside the nodule, after local anesthesia. Gotten material is studied microscopically to determine the characteristics of the cell nuclei. Biopsy: It consists of a sample of tissue from the breast for observation under a microscope. This process can be done under local or general anesthesia depending on the situation of each patient and each case. There are times in which was decided to surgically remove the suspected nodule, and analyze it during the same surgery, in a way that if we had to expand the surgical area, can be performed all at once, without having to return the patient to the operating room at another time. 

Breast cancer treatment

The treatment of breast cancer is based on three approaches: the surgical, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. A treatment can use one, two or three therapeutic methods. Everything will depend on the type of tumor and the stage in which the disease is: involvement of lymph nodes, spread to other organs, etc. According to the evolutionary State of breast cancer, can be divided generally in three stages: early Breast Cancer: is the one that is confined to moms or the nodes in the armpit on the same side of the body. Locally advanced breast Cancer: It affects skin or chest wall areas close to the diseased breast, but it has not spread beyond the breast or armpit. His Outlook is worse than the type early, and their appearance is directly affected by the tumor, reddened, swollen skin. It is due to obstruction by cancer cells of the canals for drainage of fluids from the chest (lymphatic vessels), causing this inflammation of the area that can not be drained. Advanced Breast Cancer:Is the one that has spread beyond the breast and armpit, i.e., it has spread to other areas or organs of the body. For example: nodes in the neck, bones, liver, lungs, or brain. - All about breast cancer