Know more about breast cancer symptoms, causes & Treatment

Table of Contents

Breast Cancer Risk Factors and Testing for Breast Cancer

The very common type of cancer among women in the United States is breast cancer, except skin cancer. Each year, in the United States not less than 200,000 women are treated with breast cancer. Breast cancer is the very common cancer in female and is rare in people younger than 40 years and becomes more common with age and accounts for 1 in 8 cancers diagnosed in women each year. Breast Cancer is also one of the principal causes of death in women.

Treatment for breast cancer is based on the stage of the disease and can include surgery, radiation therapy, hormone therapy (for certain types of hormone receptor-positive cancers), chemotherapy and/or a clinical trial.
Cancer can spread from the breast to nearby tissue or to other parts of the body, but it does not spread from person to person. The cells of the breast are the starting point where Breast cancer begins. It is not roll out from origin part of the patient to another body part.

Cancer begins when a cell set off abnormal and begin to lengthen out of control. The most common time for this change to occur is after menopause (when a woman stops having periods) or after age 50. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) has been directly related with an increasing the risk of breast cancer.

The mass breast cancers starts from the glands that produce milk. These are called ductal carcinomas. The more common types of these cancers are—

Invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC): In IDC, cancer cells form a tumor that grows into or invades the surrounding breast tissue and spreads beyond the area where it started. This is called “distant metastasis.
Invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC): In ILC, cancer cells grow into the lining of the milk ducts and may form tumours that are bigger than 1 centimetre across.

Tissues that connect and support the breasts are called breast tissues. Breast cancers often start in or near the Breast tissues. Cancers that begin in these tissues are called invasive cancers. This cancer starts in the breast tissue, and then spreads to other parts of the body.

The first sign of it may be a lump or mass that can be felt in the breast or armpit, or a change in the size or shape of one breast.

Examine yourself if you happen to see or feel a lump in your breast or underarm, consult your doctor right away. Breast self-exams and mammograms may not be able to detect invasive carcinoma early enough to save your life, but they are very good at finding lumps that are not cancer. When any lump is discovered, it should be examined by a doctor to establish if it is cancerous or not.

What are the factors which causes of Breast Cancer?

Being female: Women are most affected by breast cancer. Risk increased to 5 times to develop invasive breast cancer if you are a female than male.
Toxic Chemical: Toxic chemicals in your environment, at home, and at work can increase your risk of breast cancer. The more pesticides you are open to, the higher your risk of breast cancer may be. If you are exposed to high levels of radiation, your risk may also be higher. Some medicines can also increase your breast cancer risk.
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT): Some medicines used for HRT increase the risk of breast cancer, especially HRT taken before menopause.
Testosterone therapy: This hormone is sometimes given to women who have low levels of it because of surgery or other reasons, but there is some evidence that this increases the risk of breast cancer in younger women.
Treatments for other cancers: Some treatments may increase your risk of breast cancer, so talk to your doctor if you have had cancer in the past.
Increasing age: As you get older, your risk for many types of cancer goes up. Age-related changes in your cells also play a role in some cancers, including breast, skin and colon cancers. Another important set of risk factors is related to lifestyle choices you can control such as Tobacco use, Alcohol consumption and eating junk food.
Family history of breast cancer: : If someone on either side of your family has had breast cancer at a young age (under 45), keep an eye out for symptoms and talk to your doctor about getting screened for breast cancer at an earlier age than usual. Your doctor may suggest more frequent mammograms and even MRI scans if someone in your family has had breast cancer at a young age.
Consumption of Tobacco: Tobacco use is the single most important modifiable risk factor for developing breast cancer. Women who smoke or have smoked in the past have a higher chance of getting breast cancer than those who don’t use tobacco products.
Air Pollution: Being exposed to air pollutants, and having higher than normal levels of estrogen are risk factors for developing breast cancer. The best way to reduce these risks is to stop smoking, avoid smoggy areas and areas with other types of pollution, or reduce exposure to estrogen through hormone replacement therapy (HRT) or birth control pills.
Not having proper diet: Needless to say, people today ignore the importance of consuming fruits and vegetables on regular basis. This way, they get deprived from some very important nutrients capable of fighting cancer. Carotenoids, vitamin C and a variety of phytochemicals and antioxidants present in these natural foods can prevent cancers of prostate and oral cavity. Cancer of larynx, bowel and breast can also be prevented by maintaining regular consumption of these foods.
Abnormal Body weight: People who are obese may end up getting affected by a number of deadly diseases, one of them being cancer. A number of studies have established that abnormal weight acts as catalyst for the occurrence of cancers of gallbladder, kidney, colon, pancreas, esophagus and other body organs. Breast cancer can also occur among obese women. You should be extremely concerned to maintain a healthy weight by participating in physical activities.

It’s a fact that there are numerous risk factors to get affected from breast cancer. This doesn’t mean you will get breast cancer, but it does increase your chance. Some risk factors are things which you can get hold to and others you can’t.

What are the symptoms of Breast Cancer?

When people think of breast cancer, they usually think of a lump that can be felt in the breast or armpit. But as many as 80% of all breast cancers do not cause lumps or other symptoms. Many breast cancers are found when women go to their doctor for a mammogram or physical exam.

The most found symptoms of breast cancer are :

New lump in the breast or underarm (armpit): This is the most common symptom of all the types and stages of breast cancer. Usually, it is painless but it can be painful if it grows very close to nerves in the armpit.
Thickening or swelling of part of the breast: This is often painful, especially when you press on it. Irritation or dimpling of breast skin. This is also called peau d’orange because it feels like an orange peel.
Redness or flaky skin in the nipple area or the breast: Some people confuse this with thrush, a fungal infection that affects babies and causes white patches on their tongue and inside their mouth. Red skin can also be caused by rubbing from tight bras and clothes, so don’t automatically assume it’s caused by cancer. A health professional will check for thrush by looking inside your mouth.

Other common symptoms of breast cancer are:

changes in the size or shape of your breast;
a changes in your skin of the breast;
a new feeling of heaviness in the breast;
tenderness of the breast; and
Discharge from nipple like, milky, bloody, watery, or yellowish fluid coming from one or both nipples.

If any of above symptoms are possessed or examined by you in you or in someone you know, see a doctor right away. Not all breast lumps are cancerous, but it’s important that you get your doctor’s opinion as soon as possible.

Can breast cancer affect your ability to have baby?

Many women have breast cancer and are still able to have children. It is of great importance that your child’s father is been informed about your treatment decisions. If you have or cured from breast cancer, you may be wondering if you can have children. There are several options for female who want to have child after curing breast cancer treatment.

A woman who is diagnosed with breast cancer is often concerned about her future ability to have children. Chemotherapy and radiation can sometimes cause infertility, but this is not always the case. Women who are thinking about having children should talk to their doctor.

Some of the treatments for breast cancer may affect your ability to have a baby, but they do not cause infertility. Don’t be worried about knowing you are pregnant while you are receiving treatment, talk with your doctor.

Other treatments, such as hormone therapy, do not cause infertility. When you are making treatment decisions, consider how much time you may want or need before getting pregnant again.

Some treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiation, can harm a developing fetus. This means that if you take these treatments when you are pregnant, your baby can be injured or could die before birth or soon after birth.

What are the diagnosis available?

Treatment for breast cancer might include one or combination of the following:

Chemotherapy: Chemotherapy (chemo) is the use of drugs to kill cancer cells. Chemo is used most often with children who have advanced disease that has roll out to other organs of the body. The very seen side effects of chemotherapy contain nausea and vomiting, hair loss, and decreased appetite.

Use of radiation therapy: Use of x-rays to kill cancer cells and shrink tumours in Radiation therapy. For advanced or metastatic breast cancer Radiation therapy can be used.

Treatment with surgery: Surgery to remove breast or chest tissue may be used to treat some children with breast cancer. Lymph vessels send lymph fluid through nodes throughout the body. Lymph nodes are small structures, it works as filters for foreign substances, such as cancer cells and infections. If during surgery the tumour has spread to lymph nodes surgery can also be used to draw out lymph nodes.

What are the Preventive measures?

There are some tasks you can perform to stop the increase risk of getting breast cancer. These are:

Regular self-exams: Check yourself once a month, in a mirror and by hand. Look for any changes such as swelling, pain and lumps. If you find anything that is not right or looks unusual/ not normal, concern nearby doctor.
Proper diet: Eat natural vegetables, fruits, whole grains, greens, and nuts. Mixture of extra-virgin olive oil and mixed nuts may have a reduced risk of breast cancer.
Making changes in your daily life may help reduce your risk of developing this disease like, avoid tobacco use, including cigarettes, cigars, pipes and chewing tobacco.

The good news is that some things can help lower your risk. For example, weekly exercise has been resulted to reduce some amount of risk of breast cancer. And if you’re worried about toxic chemicals in the workplace, speak with other employees or with a union representative about changing jobs or changing processes to reduce exposure. Herbal remedies and dietary supplements you should avoid if you have breast cancer. – Sign Of Cancer

Breast Cancer Symptoms and Risk Factors