Symptoms And Treatment Of Breast Cancer Essay

Situation: The client is a 50-year-old female teacher who was notified of an abnormal screening mammogram. Diagnosis of infiltrating ductal carcinoma was made following a stereotactic needle biopsy of a 1.5 x 1.5 cm lobulated mass at the 3:00 position in her left breast. The client had a modified radical mastectomy with lymph node dissection. The sentinel lymph node and 11 of 16 lymph nodes were positive for tumor. Estrogen receptors and progesterone receptors were both positive. Further staging work-up was negative for distant metastasis. Her final staging was stage IIB. Her prescribed chemotherapy regimen is 6 cycles of CAF after a single-lumen central line was placed.

“Cancer” is the name for a group of diseases that start in the body at the cellular level. Even though there are many different kinds of cancer, they all begin with abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These abnormal cells lump together to form a mass of tissue or “malignant tumor”. Malignant means that it can spread to other parts of the body or Metastasize . If the breast is the original location of the cancer growth or malignant tumor, the tumor is called breast cancer. (American Cancer Society, 2014, as cited in cbcf.org)

Triple-negative breast cancer occurs when cells lack estrogen receptors and progesterone receptors from not having an excess of the HER2 protein (Rosen, 2011). The gene HER2 helps cells grow, divide, and repair; this spreads the disease faster. HER2-positive breast cancer becomes a more aggressive cancer and has a higher risk for recurrence (Chen, 2010).Typically found in younger women and African-American women; this cancer grows and spreads quickly (Rosen, 2011).

Cancer is defined by the National Cancer Institute as ?the title given to a group of related diseases. All types of cancer are categorized by uncontrollable growth of cells that metastasize to surrounding tissues.? Cancer can develop at almost any part of the human body and anyone can develop cancer, although risk typically increases with age because most cancers tend to require many years to develop. ?Typically, human cells tend to grow and divide and ultimately form new cells as the body needs them. When an organisms cells grow old or get damaged, the cells die, and new ones replace them. However when cancer

This paper aims to provide the gaps in our understanding of breast cancer by examining the functions and to enhance our ability to distinguish the anatomy of female human breast. The author also attempts a better understanding of some of the different types of human breast cancer namely: ductal carcinoma in situ, lobular carcinoma in situ, invasive ductal carcinoma and invasive lobular carcinoma. It is hoped that this paper will inform those who do not have the understanding and knowledge about the risk factors, diagnosis, treatments and preventions of the breast cancer.

As the cells change, it begins to divide rapidly causing a tumor to form. The term “breast cancer” refers to a malignant tumor that has developed from cells in the breast. Breast cancer can begin in different areas of the breast, or in some cases, the tissues in between. There are many different types of breast cancer, including non-invasive, invasive, recurrent, metastatic breast cancer, as well as the intrinsic or molecular subtypes of breast cancer. Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) is overexpressed in around 20-30% of breast cancer tumors. It is associated with a more aggressive disease, higher recurrence rate, and increased mortality.

Breast Cancer is made up of glands also known as lubes. In a women breast the small tubes (lobules) carry milk to the nipples (ducts) . Breast cancer begins in the cells that are in the in the ducts. It can also start in other cells of the breast tissues. There is a pathway in the breast called lymph. Lymph causes the cancer to spread throughout the breast. The vessels that carry clear fluid instead of blood connect lymph.

Breast cancer is cancerous growth of cells in the breast which can be often felt as lump. It becomes dangerous when the cancerous cells becomes malignant and starts invading other tissues of the body. However, this can be prevented by early detection. The incidence of breast cancer is mostly with females although there are few reports of men suffering from the disease. In most cases, the cells with the ducts of milk glands are often associated and few can arise from other cells of the breast and can be termed as sarcomas as well as lymphomas that are different from breast cancer which is an adenocarcinoma (Al-Hajj, Wicha, Benito-Hernandez, Morrison, & Clarke, 2003). Common type of breast cancer includes ductal carcinoma in situ which is considered non-invasive and not life threatening. The invasive ductal carcinoma is associated with the milk duct and can invade nearby tissues of the breast as well as other body parts through the blood stream. Another form of invasive lobular carcinoma starts from the milk glands and can metastasize. Other less common types includes inflammatory breast cancer, Paget disease, phyllodes tumour and angiosarcoma.

Factors that determine how to treat breast cancer are stage and grade of tumor and if it has spread to other tissue in the breast. The sensitivity to hormones of the cancer cells, health of the patient, age of the patient, and preference of the patient. Treatment may include surgery, if surgery is necessary it may be in the form of a lumpectomy, mastectomy (total breast removal), biopsy of sentinel node, dissection of axillary lymph node, and breast reconstruction surgery if a mastectomy has been done. Lumpectomy surgery is the removal of the DCIS area and a margin of healthy tissue that surrounds it. If necessary lymph nodes under the armpit and total breast removal including the nipple and areola may be removed which is known a mastectomy. After this procedure has taken place further treatment may occur such as radiation in the form

The TNM classification is used for clinical staging of breast tumors. The American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCQ 7th edition stages breast cancer as follows: 12

What is the difference between the following 3 goals for cancer treatment (chemo, radiation, surgery) 257

Breast cancer is a malignant tumor in the glandular tissues of the breast. Such tumors, also called carcinomas, form when the chemical processes that control normal cell growth break down, enabling a single abnormal cell to multiply at a rapid rate (Hickman). Carcinomas,

There are many ways to treat breast cancer, one being chemotherapy. Chemotherapy uses drugs that kills cancer cells. One of the three major purposes of chemotherapy is to prevent the cancer from coming back after surgery and radiation. That is called adjuvant therapy. Another one of the reasons that patients choose the treatment of chemotherapy, is to shrink the tumor. If the tumor is smaller than it will be easier to remove during surgery. There is an advantage to chemotherapy because the surgery becomes more risky if the tumor is bigger. The last reason for chemotherapy is

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in women, it accounts for one of every three diagnoses in the United States. Breast cancers are malignancies, life threatening tumors that develops in one or both breasts.

There are four stages of breast cancer. The Stage 0 is noninvasive breast cancer, that is, carcinoma in situ with no affected lymph nodes or metastasis. Stage zero is the most favorable. Now Stage 1 breast cancer is less than two centimeters in greatest dimension and is only in the breasts. In Stage 2, the cancer is no larger than two centimeters but it has spread to the lymph nodes under the arm. The