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BREAST CANCER |
Breast cancer is a type of cancer where cells in the breast tissue divide and grow without the normal control. The cancer usually begins as a small lump in a breast and then grows, either slowly or quickly. It can also spread to other parts of the body after a period of time. Early diagnosis is the key to survival.
About 85 percent of breast cancers originate in the mammary ducts, while about 15 percent arise in the lobules. Cancerous tumors in the breast usually grow very slowly so that by the time one is large enough to be felt as a lump, it may have been growing for as long as ten years. |
Symptoms of Breast Cancer |
Symptoms of breast cancer may include
- One breast larger than the other
- Red or pink skin
- Swelling
- Skin hot to the touch
- Pain and/or itchiness
- Ridges or thickened areas of breast
- Nipple discharge
- Nipples that appear inverted or flattened
- Swollen lymph nodes of the neck (sometimes)
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Causes of Breast Cancer |
In breast cancer, some of the cells in your breast begin growing abnormally. These cells divide more rapidly than healthy cells do and may spread (metastasize) through your breast, to your lymph nodes or to other parts of your body. The most common type of breast cancer begins in the milk-producing ducts, but cancer may also begin in the lobules or in other breast tissue.
Yet most genetic mutations related to breast cancer aren't inherited. These acquired mutations may result from radiation exposure - women treated with chest radiation therapy for lymphoma in childhood or during adolescence when breasts are developing have a significantly higher incidence of breast cancer than do women not exposed to radiation. Mutations may also develop as a result of exposure to cancer-causing chemicals, such as the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons found in tobacco and charred red meats.
Researchers are now trying to discover whether a relationship exists between a person's genetic makeup and environmental factors that may increase the risk of breast cancer. Breast cancer eventually may prove to have a number of causes. |
Breast Cancer Treatment |
There are now a wide variety of treatment options for breast cancer. The choice of treatment is based upon many factors which depend upon the extent to which the cancer has spread, characteristics of the cancer and general health of the patient.
- Hormone Therapy- Hormones are chemical signals which are released by different parts of the body and can carried in the blood to some other area to have an effect. Oestrogen is a sex hormone that promotes the growth of some breast cancers. Hormonal treatments, such as anti-oestrogens, aromatase inhibitors or LHRH analogues, are designed to block the effects of oestrogen or its production, which stops or slows the growth of cancer cells.
- Chemotherapy- Medicines that interfere with cancer cell growth and division are administered to reduce the size of tumors or kill them.
- Surgical Treatment-Removal of the lump (called a lumpectomy) is the preferred technique. Removal of lymph nodes in the armpit may be undertaken as well. Removal of the breast (called a mastectomy) is only performed if absolutely necessary.
- Radiation Therapy- X-rays or other high-energy rays are applied to the tumor and surrounding areas to destroy cancer cells.
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