INFORMATION ON BREAST CANCER

Breast cancer is cancer of breast tissue or we can say the cancer that starts in the breast. It is the most universal type of cancer in women. . How swiftly the cancer grows, whether it would increase, and what would be the outcome all these depends on various factors such as:-

What type of cancer it is.
Where it had begun actually
When it was detected, at an earlier stage or later
Whether it is estrogen-receptor positive or negative,
Whether it is responding, to the type of treatment which is being given.

Considerable efforts are being made so that the disease can be detected at an earlier stage as about 20% of every women die from breast cancer, and it is the second most common cause of cancer deaths in women.

TYPES OF BREAST CANCER

The major kinds of breast cancer are:-
1. Ductal carcinoma.
2. Invasive ductal carcinoma.
3. Lobular carcinoma .
4. Invasive lobular carcinoma.
5. Medullary carcinoma.
6. Paget's disease of the nipple.

RISK FACTOR INVOLVED IN BREST CANCER

Age and health history, child birth at older age or never given a birth to a child, early age menstruation., if your mother or sister had breast cancer, Treatment with radiation therapy to the breast/chest ,Taking hormones such as estrogen and progesterone and lot of Intake of alcoholic beverages.

DIAGNOSIS OF BREAST CANCER

Mammogram : Mammogram is An x-ray of the breast.
Biopsy : In this cells or tissues are removed to view under a microscope by a pathologist to check for signs of cancer. If a lump in the breast is found, the doctor may need to cut out a small piece of the lump. There are four types of biopsies :-
Excisional biopsy : It is the process in which entire lump or suspicious tissue is removed.
Incisional biopsy : It is the process in which part of lump or suspicious tissue is removed.
Core biopsy : It is the process in which part of lump or suspicious tissue is removed using a wide needle.

STAGES OF BREAST CANCER

Tests are done to find out if cancer cells have spread within the breast or to other parts of the body once breast cancer has been diagnosed.

In order to plan out a treatment it is essential to know the stage of breast cancer. Staging is the process thru which whether the cancer has spread within the breast or to other parts of the body is found out. The information which is gathered from the staging process is used to determine the stage of the breast cancer.

TREATMENT OF BREAST CANCER

Different types of treatment are available for patients with breast cancer. Some treatments are standard (the currently used treatment), and some are being tested in clinical trials.

There are four major type of Standard treatment:-
Surgery :- Surgery the standard treatment used for most of the patients for the removal of cancer from breast . Few of the lymph nodes are usually taken out from under the arm and observed under a microscope to spot if they contain cancer cells.

Various operations used to remove the cancer but not the breast itself are :-

Lumpectomy: It is a surgical procedure in which a tumor (lump) and a small amount of normal tissue around it is removed.
Partial mastectomy : Also called a segmental mastectomy is the procedure in which the part of the breast that contains cancer and some normal tissue around it are removed. This procedure is Breast-conserving surgery.
Lymph node dissection:-.some of the lymph nodes from under the arms are also removed for biopsy for patients who are treated with breast-conserving surgery. Lymph node dissection is done through a separate incision .

Few other types of surgery can include:-

Total mastectomy : In this surgical method the whole breast that contains cancer is removed . This procedure can also be termed as a simple mastectomy.
Modified radical mastectomy: Modified radical mastectomy is the surgical procedure in which the whole breast that contains cancer, many of the lymph nodes under the arm, the lining over the chest muscles, and occasionally, part of the chest wall muscles are removed.
Adjuvant therapy: - It is treatment given after surgery to enhance the chances of cure . Even if all of the cancer is removed at the time of surgery, the patient is still given radiation therapy, chemotherapy, or hormone therapy to kill any cancer cells that were missed out or was not visible at that moment.

Radiation therapy High-energy x-rays or other types of radiation are used to kill cancer cells. There are two types of radiation therapy. In an External radiation therapy machine is used outside the body to send radiation toward the cancer. In an Internal radiation therapy radioactive substance sealed in needles, seeds, wires, or catheters are placed directly into or near the cancer. Type of radiation therapy to be used depends on the stage of the cancer being treated.