Cancer, a simple 6 letter word but a dangerous one!!! The word has become very common and has been developed in many forms. It is usually named after the body part from which it is originated. Its name has been now ranging from A to Z. There are two types of cells in the human body which are benign and malignant. The malignant cells are the most dangerous as it is cancerous and is the basic root cause of cancer. The benign cells are non-cancerous. Increment in the malignant cells can be due to multiple reasons. Proper examination and timely check can help in the early detection of cancer and exact treatment of cells.
Breast cancer as the name suggests the origin of this cancer is the brain. According to the research conducted, in the year 2020 total number of cancer patients is 1,392,179. There are certain breast cancer depending upon the position and spreading of cancer such as ductal carcinoma, ductal carcinoma in situ, lobular carcinoma, and lobular carcinoma in situ. The doctors mainly encounter with ductal carcinoma contributing to 80% of cases. In India, we mostly encounter these are the mouth, tongue, lung, cervix uteri, and breast. Some of the other unknown types are:
- Inflammatory breast cancer: It occurs in the skin’s lymph vessels and is different from other types of breast cancer.
- Angiosarcomas: These are rare and start in breast skin or breast tissue.
- Paget disease: The surrounding area of the nipple is affected.
- Phyllodes Tumors: This can be cancerous or non-cancerous (masses). It begins in the breast’s connective tissue, called the stroma.
The symptoms you might encounter are:
- Appearance of the nipple.
- A newly inverted nipple.
- Breast skin changes from pink to orange.
- Skin change over the breast.
- A breast lump can be found.
In case of any changes in the appearance visit a doctor immediately. There are several stages in cancer according to the advancement of cancer ranging from 0 to 4.
Stage 0: The disease is localized to milk ducts.
Stage 1: The size of the cancer is smaller and has not spread anywhere.
Stage 2: In this case, there can be one of the three things:
The size of the tumor can be small as well as variable.
Stage3: The “locally advanced breast cancer” of variable size with cancerous nodes.
Stage 4: This is termed as tumor affecting areas away from breasts such as lungs, brains.
There can be many factors about breast cancer in which some of them can be controlled while others cannot be. Let us have a look at both of these factors dealing with the controllable factors first:
- No to hard drink: Less and moderate consumption of alcohol is recommended for women.
- Maintain your weight: Don’t be an obese. Indulge into a physical activity.
- Exposure Radiation: Reduce the limit of harmful exposure like x-ray over the chest area.
- Treatment of hormones: The usage of oral contraceptive induce the hormonal imbalance. This in turn will help in the increment of cancer cells.
The non-controllable factors are:
- Age: Most of the cases reported are after the age of 45.The chances of having the cancer are reported after the menopausal.
- Genetics: As compared to man and woman, woman are more prone to cancer than man.
- History of breast cancer: If your family, nearby relative has a history of cancer inform your doctor. This may increase the chances of being prone to cancer.
- Dense breast tissue: This is a probable cause of cancer and is difficult to detect under mammograms.
- Breastfeeding and estrogen exposure: Saying no to breastfeeding can also increase cancer chances.
Prevention or declining the growth can be done by ensuring the proper examination. During the initial stage, the doctor will ask about the medical history ensuring the probability of cancer. While the later stages are defined by the screening or the imaging technique. Some of the techniques are:
- Digital mammography: X-ray of the breast is done and is recorded on a computer rather than a film. It can be used to found any abnormalities but most of the time the cells are benign.
- Ultrasound: This is done to differentiate a solid mass from a fluid-filled cyst or tumor.
- MRI: Most of the time above imaging technique will result in giving a suspicious result. So, the MRI is used to check for an abnormality. It is a combination of x-ray.
Biopsy
Later in the process, a part of the tissue is extracted. The tissue is then examined and is used to establish a relation between the tumor and its development. The biopsy is often done to find many other disease.
The treatment of the cancer is complicated as it takes time to recover. Most of the treatments include surgery, hormone therapy, chemotherapy, or drug therapy. In the case of breast cancer, the treatment is dependent on the doctor. Most of the time mastectomy is recommended in case of widespread.