What Is Breast Cancer?

Breast cancer as the term implies is the cancer affecting the tissues of the breasts especially, the lobules and the ducts that make and carry the milk to the nipples. Lymph nodes present in the underarm region very near to the breast region trap the bacteria, cancer cells and other harmful substances as a protective measure. If the breasts are affected with cancer there is a great chance of it being spread to other organs like the lungs, brain and liver via the adjacent lymph nodes. The disease is more common in women than in men. Among women the high risk group includes those who have crossed the menopause stage, women who had their first menstrual period before age 12, older the age at the time of having the first child and those who never had children. Women with family history of cancer and overweight have high chance of having breast cancer.

Symptoms:

Symptoms that are manifested in breast cancer include changes in breast and nipple size, look and feel. Nipples may become tender and turned inwards in to the breasts. The breast area may show lumps generally of pea size and are hard to identify. Skin can be red or swollen.

Diagnosis:

Diagnosis can be done by physical examination where the doctor examines the breast for lumps and changes in breast size and shape. Lumps could be benign type which move freely and are soft unlike the cancerous lumps which stick to breast tissue very firmly and irregular in shape. If anything unusual is identified during the physical examination mammogram, x-ray pictures of the breast region are taken for clear examination of the abnormal regions. Images taken from ultrasound devices or magnetic resonance imaging devices are used along with the mammograms for detailed examination of the breast tissue. For final confirmation and initiation of the treatment, doctor may advise for biopsy where the fluid or tissue from the breast tissue is examined for the presence of cancer cells.

Stages of Breast Cancer

Stage 0: cancer cells are found in the layer lining the walls of ducts and lobules.

Stage 1: Cells have spread around 2 centimeters of area but are restricted to the breast area.

Stage 2: In this stage, the tumor may increase up to an area of 5 centimeters and still remains within the breast area or it could be the same 2 centimeters size and has spread to the nearby lymph nodes in the underarm region.

Stage 3: This stage is identified by the presence of cancer cells in the lymph nodes present in the underarm region.

Stage 4: Cancer cells are found in other organs of the body.

Treatment:

Before you go for the treatment know the stage of the disease and available treatment options. Find out which treatment methods gives best results. Do not hesitate to take a second opinion.

Swelling of the area causes severe pain and it is essential to have appropriate drugs to obtain relief.

A variety of treatment options are available depending on the stage of breast cancer. Most common treatment is surgical removal of either a part of the breast or entire breast along with the nearby lymph nodes.

Radiation therapy is used to kill the cancer cells at the early stage or after the surgery to kill any remaining cells.

Chemotherapy is another treatments option which involves the use of drugs to kill cancer cells.

Jonathan Pitts

Copyrighted material; do not reprint without permission.

 

View all articles by Jonathan Pitts