Breast Cancer
Health Science 1
Monday & Wednesday 2:30-3:55
12/1/2014
Alondra Placito
April Pilon
Jamie Burnett
Nicole Boden
According to breastcancer.org, breast cancer is the uncontrolled growth of breast cells and also referred to as a malignant tumor. A malignant tumor has the potential to be dangerous and can eventually spread beyond the original tumor to other parts of the body. Breast cancer usually originates in the cells of the lobules, which are milk producing glands, or they can also begin in the ducts, which are openings that drain milk from lobules to the nipple (breastcancer.org). After time, the cancer cells attack neighboring healthy breast tissue and make way into
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According to nationalbreastcancer.org, identifying any symptoms involve three things. They include: a change in how the breast or nipple feels, change in appearance in the breast or nipple and any nipple discharge. Usually the nipple feels tender or one may feel a lump in or on the breast or underarm area. There may also be a change in the skin texture or enlargement of pores in the skin of the breast or a lump in the breast. When trying to identify symptoms for the appearance it is always best to ask and be safe that it is not cancerous. The appearance changes include: unexplained change in shape or size of the breast, unexplained swelling in the breast, unexplained shrinkage in the breast, dimpling anywhere in the breast, or a nipple that is turned slightly inward or inverted (nationalbreastcancer.org). As for the discharge, it is very important to note that a milky discharge present when a woman is not breastfeeding should be checked out by a doctor, but it is not linked to breast cancer …show more content…
These methods include: a breast exam, mammogram, breast ultrasound, biopsy, and MRI. On the website, mayoclinic.org, there was a brief explanation about each of these methods. For breast exams the doctor usually checks both breast and the lymph nodes in the armpits or other abnormalities. An x-ray is used for mammograms in order to screen cancer. Now for the breast ultrasound, they use sound waves to make images and can help distinguish between a solid mass or fluid filled cyst. A magnet and radio waves are used to create images of one’s breast, along with an injection of dye, for an MRI. A biopsy actually can help influence treatment options that one receives. It is a laboratory analysis that helps determine if the cell is very cancerous (mayoclinic.org). Treatments for breast cancer also vary person to person and depend on the stage that the person is in. They can have breast cancer surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy and targeted drugs. Surgery involves removing the cancer or it can be as much as removing both breasts. Radiation therapy uses high beams of energy, like x-rays, in order to kill the cancer cells and chemotherapy uses drugs in order to kill the cancer cells. Hormone therapy is often used to treat breast cancers that are sensitive to hormones and the targeted drugs are used to attack specific abnormalities
Depending on the time of diagnosis and the particular stage at which the cancer is present in the body, treatment options range from a mastectomy, chemotherapy, or surgery (Haas, 2008). A mastectomy is the surgical removal of the breast, it is an approach often taken to halt the spread of cancer cells to other parts of the body. Chemotherapy is an alternative to a treating the cancer. Chemotherapy for breast cancer is a systemic treatment, which affects most of the cells in your body. Most often chemotherapy is classified as the therapeutic use of chemicals to treat or control a particular disease. Potent drugs are used to kill or hinder the uncontrolled growth of cancer cells by interrupting their DNA, protein production, preventing cell division, starving them of their nutrients or blocking hormone receptors (Stephan, 2010).
One way of diagnoses for breast cancer is a mammogram. A mammogram is an x-ray picture of the breast. But the diagnostic mammogram
One of the current treatments for male breast cancer is surgery. More often than not the surgery describes opening the body and cutting out the cancer cells and surrounding “bad” tissue. “Surgery is one of the oldest methods of cancer treatment that is still effective.” (Cancer.net, 2016) Before a surgery can be conducted, a biopsy must be done. A biopsy is when the doctor or surgeon takes a very tiny piece of tissue from the tumor to send to a lab to be analyzed. Once it is confirmed to be cancer, the most common way of handling it is to cut out the tumor and a good portion of the surrounding tissue as cancer has a way of infiltrating the healthy flesh around itself. Although, two side-effects of surgery is the problem that the cancer may not be completely eliminated. Some could still be lingering inside of the bloodstream undetected. The surgery can also leave a nasty scar on the body of a person that could pose a lifelong self esteem issue by making people unconfident with their own body. A second treatment for this cancer is chemotherapy. Chemo is given in many different forms: pills, liquids, and
Currently mammography and ultrasound are basic imaging techniques for detection and localization of breast tumor. Breast Ultrasound is a typically painless medical test that uses reflected sound waves for further evaluation of a breast abnormality or a specific area seen on mammography. Ultrasound can locate and measure abnormalities or changes to determine if a breast lump is solid or filled with fluid. A mammogram is an x-ray of the breast which may find tumors that are too small to feel. Women aged 40 to 74 years should have annual screening mammograms to lower chance of dying from breast cancer(2,15).Mammograms are less likely to find breast tumors in women younger than 50 years. This may
It’s pretty simple, right? It’s just cancer of the breast. What if this cancer makes it to another part of the body like the liver? Is it, now, liver cancer? How do I know it’s actually breast cancer? Most likely, you noticed an abnormal lump on your breast when you get out of the shower one day. Alternatively, you could have your yearly mammogram and your physician could notice a change in your breast tissue (“Signs and Symptoms of Breast Cancer”). Whatever the reason, it would be an urgent need to see your regular physician and have them refer you to a physician who specializes in breast cancer as soon as possible. According to the American Cancer Society, when there is a suspected mass in your breast, your attending oncology physician will ask you to consent to a breast biopsy. With this, they will send the specimen to be looked at by a pathologist. A pathologist is a medical doctor who is specially trained to look at cells under a microscope and identify diseases (“Your Breast Biopsy Results”). Because these pathologists are specially trained to differentiate between each type of tissue, they will know if it is breast cancer by the unique tissue markers it portrays (Hoonakker). Once you get your test results back, it can go one of two ways: it can be benign—where a simple surgery can remove the abnormal mass or it can be malignant—a lot more serious and have the possibility to metastasize to other parts of the body, like the liver. There is a
Three-quarters of all breast cancer patients are not in any of the groups considered at increased risk for breast cancer, indicating that not all risk factors are understood. As a result, doctors recommend that every woman should familiarize herself with the techniques for monthly breast self-examination. X-ray examination of the breasts, a technique called mammography, can detect tumors before they are large enough to be felt and increase the odds for successful treatment. The American Cancer Society recommends that women over age 40
- Mammogram: Is a machine, which takes an x-ray of the breast that shows any tumors or lumps on the breast. Two types of Mammogram include screening and diagnosis mammogram.
¨Breast cancer will form a small lump under the breast that will change the shape, dimpling of it. You will also have fluid coming out of your nipple and a small little red patch somewhere on the breast, you also will have a little pain¨ (webMD).
But another mammogram may be done to look more closely at the breast problem you might have. MRIs use radio waves and strong magnets instead of x-rays to take pictures. MRIs can be used to learn more about the size of the cancer and look for other tumors in the breast. Breast ultrasound: For this test, a small wand is moved around on the surface of your skin.
Breast cancer is one of the cancer diseases which can be detected early by looking at its symptoms. Symptoms may include a lump or thickening
In addition, there are more than 18 other sub-types of breast cancer. Some cancers develop from pre-invasive lesions such as ductal carcinoma in situ. The diagnosis of breast cancer is confirmed by taking a biopsy of the concerning lump. Once the diagnosis is made, further tests are done to determine if the cancer has spread beyond the breast and which treatments it may respond to.
One of the main stages in detecting breast cancer is self-examinations, as this allows the patients to identify suspicious lumps and to go see their GP, who will then refer them to a medical oncologist. Routine screening(most commonly as mammograms) is a system put in place to detect cancer at early stages as there is a long growth period before the symptoms start to show, this is also known as the detectable preclinical phase.(Early Diagnosis and Treatment of Cancer Series: Breast Cancer) There are two types of mammograms: screening and diagnostic. Diagnostic mammograms show a more detailed x-ray of the breast and can show the exact location of the abnormality. Screening mammograms are usually aimed at
Breast Cancer is hideous form of cancer in the breasts that affect mostly women but can also affect men. It is
Having any of the symptoms in the breast should result in seeing a doctor to fully understand what is going on, and why it is happening.
Breast cancer is a disease that comes unexpectedly; many people tend to overlook the symptoms. There are different types of breast cancers that require treatments and surgery. The course of treatment varies from patient to patient because there are many factors that can contribute to a patient’s treatment plan. Once the plan is in place, there are many things that will need to be done in order to ensure that the cancer will not return. Trying to beat cancer can be a long, extraneous, and in some cases a fatal process. Its important to catch cancer at its earliest stage. Knowing the symptoms of certain cancers may just save a life.