Every year, an estimate of 1 million women worldwide is diagnosed with breast cancer, not to mention the hundreds and thousand of women who died because of it. This makes breast cancer the most common kind of cancer to affect women. But exactly what is breast cancer?
Breast cancer is a tumor caused by the uncontrollable growth of cells of the breast. Genes control cell growth. Once genes become abnormal, they can no longer control cell division, thus, cancer cells develop. Gene abnormality may be inherited from a parent, or normal genes can develop an abnormality due to external factors such as toxins and free radicals. These are sometimes called carcinogens.
Tumor can start from the lobules, or the milk-making gland. Or it can begin from the ducts, or the tubes connecting the lobules and nipple, where milk passes through. The most common kinds of breast cancer start from these parts. The less common ones are those formed in the tissues around these parts. Tumor may be confined in the specific part, or it may move or spread to other organs through blood or lymph vessels. If cancer cells have moved to and infected other parts and organs, this is called metastatic breast cancer.
There are many symptoms of breast cancer. Among them are lumps, swelling or dimpling of the skin of the breast, or if the nipple is inverted or facing inwards, or if there are discharges in the nipple. Symptoms can be detected through self-examination, clinical breast exams, and through tests like mammogram and MRI scan. It is advised that women at age 20 should learn how to conduct a monthly personal check. Your doctor can advise you if you need to take these tests.
Showing posts with label cancer stages. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cancer stages. Show all posts
Monday, March 1, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Various types of breast cancer.
It should be stressed that breast cancer is not easy to define. By that I mean that there are various types of breast cancer, various stages of the growth of the disease, various methods of treatment and, of course, various outcomes with some women beating the disease, some living with it for different lengths of time and some succumbing to the disease. But to the question can breast cancer be defeated? the answer is most definitely, yes.
Once a diagnosis has shown the presence of breast cancer, there are several factors which must be considered relating directly to the patient's chances of survival. The first factor is that of the stage of the cancer. A zero rating means the cancer has been caught in its earliest stage, has not spread elsewhere in the body and the patient has an excellent chance of survival. There are other stages reaching the peak at stage 4 which is where the cancer has spread to other organs and places the patient in the most serious danger. Obviously the earlier the detection the more likely it is that a patient will have a low stage reading.
Any cancer diagnosis is difficult to say the least and can be devastating for the woman, her friends and family. But if it is possible to be calm in this crisis, it is important to look at today's survival statistics. They have improved enormously over the decades. In the USA, breast cancer detected early and found to be stage zero, that is localized within the breast, has the patient receiving an excellent chance of survival in the first five years of around 98%. As treatment techniques and new drugs are discovered and researched, chances of a much longer life expectancy continue to improve. Survival is not just a word these days but far more a reality.
Statistics can at times throw up some unexpected results and one is related to the age of the patient. Strangely a woman younger than forty would appear to have a tougher task of survival than a woman over forty. This is believed to be because a cancer can grow more aggressively in a younger woman.
Survival chances are determined to a large extent by the grade of the cancer cells in the breast cancer tumor. Experts can study cancerous cells under a microscope. If the cells are almost normal in appearance then they are listed as low grade and the cancer is deemed less dangerous. However, if the cancerous cells are markedly different from normal breast tissue cells then this tumor is regarding as serious.
The bottom line, as they say today, is that breast cancer survival rates depend on a number of factors. And as hard as it may be to stay calm once a diagnosis has found a tumor, it is vital that you as the patient, or as the spouse or friend of the patient, get all the facts from your doctor first. It is indeed possible to survive and to even beat the disease.
As isolated as you may feel right now, you are not alone. Cancer diagnosis is no longer the end of the story. Cancer survivors prove every day that this can be the beginning of a whole new positive chapter in your life.
Once a diagnosis has shown the presence of breast cancer, there are several factors which must be considered relating directly to the patient's chances of survival. The first factor is that of the stage of the cancer. A zero rating means the cancer has been caught in its earliest stage, has not spread elsewhere in the body and the patient has an excellent chance of survival. There are other stages reaching the peak at stage 4 which is where the cancer has spread to other organs and places the patient in the most serious danger. Obviously the earlier the detection the more likely it is that a patient will have a low stage reading.
Any cancer diagnosis is difficult to say the least and can be devastating for the woman, her friends and family. But if it is possible to be calm in this crisis, it is important to look at today's survival statistics. They have improved enormously over the decades. In the USA, breast cancer detected early and found to be stage zero, that is localized within the breast, has the patient receiving an excellent chance of survival in the first five years of around 98%. As treatment techniques and new drugs are discovered and researched, chances of a much longer life expectancy continue to improve. Survival is not just a word these days but far more a reality.
Statistics can at times throw up some unexpected results and one is related to the age of the patient. Strangely a woman younger than forty would appear to have a tougher task of survival than a woman over forty. This is believed to be because a cancer can grow more aggressively in a younger woman.
Survival chances are determined to a large extent by the grade of the cancer cells in the breast cancer tumor. Experts can study cancerous cells under a microscope. If the cells are almost normal in appearance then they are listed as low grade and the cancer is deemed less dangerous. However, if the cancerous cells are markedly different from normal breast tissue cells then this tumor is regarding as serious.
The bottom line, as they say today, is that breast cancer survival rates depend on a number of factors. And as hard as it may be to stay calm once a diagnosis has found a tumor, it is vital that you as the patient, or as the spouse or friend of the patient, get all the facts from your doctor first. It is indeed possible to survive and to even beat the disease.
As isolated as you may feel right now, you are not alone. Cancer diagnosis is no longer the end of the story. Cancer survivors prove every day that this can be the beginning of a whole new positive chapter in your life.
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