Cancer is a common disease throughout the world. A type of cancer that many people, especially women, question about is breast cancer. Although more common in women, men can get breast cancer too. Breast cancer begins in the cells of a breast by a type of tumor called a malignant tumor. A malignant tumor is a cluster of cancer cells that attack surrounding areas of the body or tissue. The first sign of breast cancer can be several different symptoms. Some of the symptoms include strange lumps in the breast, apparent nipple changes, areas that seem to have thickened, or noticeable dimples in the breast.
When classifying how serious the breast cancer is we need to be able to answer a couple questions; has the cancer spread to the
lymph nodes, how big is the cancer, has the cancer spread to anywhere else in the body, and if the cancer is non-invasive or invasive (invasive being serious). Answering these questions will help us determine what stage the patient is in. Cancer stages go from 0-4. Stage zero being non-invasive and stage four being extremely invasive. Determining what stage the patient is in, the doctor will then determine what the prognosis is. Stage zero would be a non-invasive cancer stage. There are no signs of any cancer cells in the breast at all. Stage one now has cancer cells and they have started to invade other cells and tissue. A tumor can starts to grow in stage one and can potentially grow up to 2 centimeters or there could be balls of cancer cells growing. Although the cancer is spreading, it still remains inside the breast. Stage two can be classified when a tumor can potentially grow to 5 centimeter or tiny balls of cancer cells have
spread to the lymph nodes underneath the arms. Stage three can be explained when the balled up cancer cells are found in the lymph nodes or by the breastbone sticking to the structures, the cancer can be any size, or the cancer has traveled and spread to the breast skin or chest wall.
Some visual symptoms of stage three breast cancer can be redness of the breast, the breast can be warm to touch, or breast appears to be swollen. Stage four cancer has not only spread from the breast to the lymph nodes, the cancer has spread to the organs. Stage four breast cancer is the most advanced stage. Some of the treatments to receive when going through breast cancer can be a single or double mastectomy, a total removal of the breast. Lymph node removal and radiation may be required if the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes. Chemotherapy may also be used to reduce the reoccurrence of the cancer. Hormonal therapy and targeted therapy may
also be used in recovery depending on what state the breast cancer is in or how severe it is. Many people question how to prevent such a disease from happening. There is no way to prevent the disease, but there is a way to lower your risk. You can keep your body in a controlled and healthy body weight, get daily physical activity, and make sure to receive regular breast exams. There is even genetic testing for those women who have certain genes linked to breast cancer. Although breast cancer can not be preventable, hopefully, this information will help you lower your risk and increase your knowledge.
REFERENCES:
http://www.cancer.org/Cancer/BreastCancer/OverviewGuide/breastcancer-overview-prevention
http://www.breastcancer.org/questions/bc_signs.jsp
