High Risk Profile
• Intake of alcohol, smoking and stoutness increase the risk of breast cancer.
• A woman is at a higher risk of having breast cancer if there is a history of breast cancer in her family.
• Women who start with the menstrual cycle at an early age (previous to 12 years) or achieve menopause at a very late age (after 55 years) are at a greater risk of developing breast cancer.
• A woman who had cancer in one breast is at an augmented risk of cancerous progression in the second breast.
• Women who have never veteran childbirth, those who had family after the age of 35 and those who have never breast-fed their babies are at a higher risk of developing breast cancer.
• The higher is your exposure to radiations, the greater are your chances of developing breast cancer.
Signs and Symptoms of Breast Cancer
The uncomplaining is most likely to first notice a lump in the breast. Lumps in the armpits may also be indicative of breast cancer.
There may be changes in size and shape of the breast. Inversion of the nipple may also be seen. Skin over the breast will look like skin of an orange and also show redness and dimpling. There may be discharge of pus-like fluid from the nipples.
All through the well ahead stages, the uncomplaining may complain of discomfort and pain in the breast, weight loss and swelling of the arm which is next to the breast with cancer.
Diagnosis
Staging for breast cancer is based on the size of the tumour (T), whether or not the tumour has spread to the lymph nodes (N) in the armpits, and whether the tumour has metastasized (M) (i.e. spread to distant sites) and this is called as TNM classification.
Stage 0 is a pre-cancerous condition, stage 1-3 cancers are surrounded by the breast or regional lymph nodes and stage 4 cancer is ‘metastatic’ and has poor prognosis. Thus the survival rate will depend on the type of cancer and its staging.
Breast cancer screening will help in early detection. Clinical examination, self examination, mammography and ultrasound are some of the screening methods/tests.
Breast cancer diagnosis will include clinical examination of the breasts, the armpits and the neck and chest region; mammography to spot a breast lump, a breast MRI to better spot the breast lump and a breast ultrasound to know the consistency of the lump. A CT scan may be done to see if there is spread of cancer to other sites.
Biopsy of the breast tissue can be done using fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC). Lymph node biopsy will help to detect cancerous spread.
Treatment
A team of breast cancer doctors will include breast cancer surgeons, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists and plastic surgeons.
The size, stage and progression of the tumor will establish the kind of breast cancer treatment that may be required.
Breast cancer surgery referred to as Mastectomy involves the confiscation of the tumor along with some of the surrounding, healthy tissue. The whole breast may be indifferent or only a part of it may be indifferent depending upon the tumor size and progression.
After breast confiscation, a cosmetic surgery may be performed for breast reconstruction so as to improve the aesthetic appearance. Some women may opt for breast prosthesis.
Chemotherapy and radiotherapy may be given after the breast cancer surgery. Chemotherapy will kill any cells that are rapidly dividing in the body. Chemotherapy results in temporary hair loss and may also cause digestive troubles. Chemotherapy regimens for treatment of breast cancer can cause early menopause.
Radiotherapy is used to end microscopic tumor cells that may have not been indifferent all through surgery.
Radiation and surgery are forms of local treatment whereas chemotherapy is a type of systemic treatment.
Blood tests and mammograms will continue after treatment as well.
Related posts:
- Not All Breast Cancer Patients Are Suitable For Breast Conserving Surgery
- All You Need to Know About Breast Cancer
- Introduction to Breast Cancer Treatment by Stage
- 7 Tips For Early Signs And Symptoms of Breast Cancer And Self-examination in Women
- CLS is Adjuvant Treatment For Breast Cancer Metastasize to The Axillary Lymph Nodes
