Know Your Disease
Breast Cancer
Overview
Breast cancer is a malignant tumor affecting the human breast. It is the result of overdeveloped growth of breast cells that can metastasize to other parts of the body, causing body processes and fatal systemic breakdown. Over the last ten years, breast cancer has been steadily rising and is now the most common cancer among women in India. The age-adjusted rate is 25.8 per 100,000 women and the mortality rate is 12.7 per 100,000 women. With the advent of effective screening models it is now possible to detect the cancer and start breast cancer treatment at an earlier stage. The five-year survival rate of early-stage breast cancer is over 90%.
Breast Cancer Symptoms
The main symptoms and signs of breast cancer may include, but are not limited to:
- Formation of a thick lump in the infected breast or under the armpits
- Persistent pain in the infected area, from mild to severe
- Breast skin developing pits and redness
- The infection carries spots on the nipple(s)
- Bleeding from the nipple of the infected breast
- An upturned or deep-set nipple
- Acute discrepancy in the shape or size of the breast
- With effects such as nipple skin, peeling, flaking king or scaling
Types of Breast Cancer
It is divided into two categories:
Ductal breast cancer
Ductal carcinoma in situ: It is not an invasive condition, where cells begin to draw your breast ducts and appear cancerous. However, DCIS cells do not invade the surrounding breast tissue.
Invasive ductal carcinoma: This is a common type of breast cancer that starts in the milk ducts of the breast and also invades the surrounding tissues. It can also spread to other tissues or organs.
Lobular breast cancer
Lobular carcinoma in the condition: It grows in the mammary glands of the breast but does not invade the surrounding tissues.
Invasive lobular carcinoma: It develops in the lobules of the breast and spreads to other nearby tissues.
Breast Cancer Treatment
The most common options for treating breast cancer are:
Surgery
A variety of surgeries are performed to remove breast cancer. Some common surgeries for breast cancer treatment are mastectomy, lumpectomy, sentinel node biopsy, eclary lymph node dissection and contraindicated prophylactic mastectomy.
Radiation therapy
In this treatment option, a high-power radiation beam passes through your skin to kill the cancer cells.
Chemotherapy
It is a drug treatment to destroy cancer cells. This treatment is usually done with surgery. It is done to shrink the tumor cells before surgery to avoid surgery.
Hormone therapy
In this breast cancer treatment option, the production of the hormones estrogen and progesterone is blocked, as these hormones can lead to the growth of tumors.
Medications
Some drugs, such as herceptin, are also prescribed to block the body’s production of the HER2 protein, which helps grow breast cancer cells.