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Overview about breast cancer
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The Breast Cancer Myth
1. Breast lump means cancer: Some studies estimate that as many as 80% of breast lumps are benign. Benign lumps include fibroadenomas, fibrocystic disease, cysts, etc. Women are encouraged to report any changes in the breast or lump to doctor for early diagnosis. You may require mammogram, ultrasound, or biopsy to determine whether a lump is cancerous.
2. Only older patients get breast cancer: In India, 25 years back, out of every 100 breast cancer patients, 69% of the patients were above 50 years of age. Presently, 4% are in 20 to 30 yrs age group, 16% are in 30 to 40, 28% are in 40 to 50 age group. So, almost 48% patients are below 50. An increasing numbers of patients are in the 25 to 40 years of age, and this definitely is a very disturbing trend.
3. Deodorant or antiperpirant causes breast cancer: There is no conclusive evidence to show
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Breast implants can raise your cancer risk.
Women with breast implants are at no greater risk of getting breast cancer. Standard mammograms may not always work on these women, however, additional X-rays, ultrasound or MRI are sometimes required to fully examine breast tissue.
8. Small-breasted women have less chance of getting breast cancer. There's no connection between the size of the breasts and risk of getting breast cancer. Very large breasts may be harder to examine than small breasts, with clinical breast exams—and even mammograms and MRIs—more difficult to conduct. But all women, regardless of breast size, should commit to routine screenings and checkups.
9. Since my menstrual periods have not begun again and I am taking tamoxifen, I cannot get pregnant.
Even if your periods have not returned or they are irregular, tamoxifen does not protect you from getting pregnant. Tamoxifen has the potential to harm the fetus so while taking tamoxifen, non-hormonal form of birth control should be practiced.
10. If you have a family history of breast cancer, you are likely to develop breast cancer,
Abnormal cysts have a distinct membrane and division on nearby tissue of the outer or capsular portion of the wall of the area it is located. There are three different types of benign breast lumps: cyst, fibro adenomas and pseudo lumps. Fibro adenoma is a benign breast lump that usually occurs in women under the age of forty and is usually genetically passed down from their mothers. They can sometimes disappear on their own accord
The same implants used in breast augmentation surgery can be used in breast reconstruction. These implants are often the best choice in cases where all of the breast is removed (radical mastectomy). They can be done on one side or both.
At this point in time, scientists and doctors have yet to discover the specific causes for breast cancer. However, what is known are the different risk factors that may trigger or put women more at danger of acquiring this disease. Aged women who have experienced menopause are more vulnerable at containing this disease. Women are also more at risk if breast cancer is common within their family because it is hereditary. In addition, smoking and drinking are other factors that can put women at risk as well (Stephan, 2010). Obesity in particular is a huge risk factor. Women who are overweight, especially those who have a thicker upper body, are more likely to develop malignant cancers in the breast than a healthy woman (Vona-Davis and Rose, 2009).
Every woman has her own reasons behind her decision to get breast implants. Some women have undergone mastectomies, and get breast implants in order to feel “normal” again. According to the National Women’s Health Network (http://www.womenshealthnetwork.org) women who have lumpectomies have the same survival rate of women who have mastectomies as a result of breast cancer. They concluded that up to 40 percent of women who were diagnosed with breast cancer underwent unnecessary mastectomies. These mastectomies, whether necessary or not may lead to women to undergo breast augmentation surgery.
Breast cancer is a type of cancer originates from breast tissue, generally from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas whereas from ducts are called ductal carcinomas. (Ref: Breast Cancer, National Cancer Institute) Invasive breast cancer is breast cancer that has spread from the point of origin in the breast ducts/lobules to the surrounding normal tissue cells. In exceptional cases, breast cancer can start in at other sites in breast. Breast cancer occurs in both women and men, though male breast cancer is uncommon.
...st has 3-4 fold risk of developing new cancer in the other breast this is different from a recurrence of first cancer. “Overall, white women are slightly more likely to develop breast cancer than African Americans women.” 5-10 percent of breast cancer is caused by inherited genetic mutations. “2-5 percent caused by inherited mutations in BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 genes”. High doses of radiation, such as treating the disease, in women under 30 shows the higher increased risk for breast cancer.(2) Having a risk factor, or even several, doesn’t mean that you will get the disease. If you are overweight the connection between that and breast cancer risk is complex about 25 percent. “You will need to exercise as little as 1.25 to 2.5 hours per week of walking reduced the breast cancer risk by 18 percent”.(2) High fat diets is a high risk that causes breast cancer 50 percent exact.
About 12% of women in the United States will develop breast cancer in their lifetime, more than any other type of cancer (www.breastcancer.org, 2015). Many people lack the knowledge of how breast cancer is developed. Some people think they will not get cancer because they do not smoke cigarettes, but this is not the only cause of cancer developing in the breast. Anyone can get cancer. Everyone is potentially at risk for developing some form of Cancer (American Cancer Society, 2015).
Of the few people that know what breast cancer is some of them just believe that it is a lump. They do not know that there is a process to breast cancer they do not know that the tumor comes from somewhere and does not magically appear. Breast cancer can happen a few different ways in the breast, but “the most common type of breast cancer is ductal carcinoma” (cancer.gov). This type of breast cancer begins in the lining of the milk ducts. The ducts are the tubes that carry the milk from the lobules to the nipple. Think of them as little veins running from the nipple to a little pouch. Another place that the cancer could start is...
Cancer has become a very common illness worldwide for any age, but mostly affecting adults. One can get cancer from different places in the body, that is why there are so many people with cancer, because of all the different types. Cancer can affect any gender, female or male, and any age. It varies from ovarian cancer to prostate cancer, skin cancer to lukemia. Cancer has been a problem for many years, yet we have not found a cure to treat and prevent cancer.
Breast cancer is a disease that is frightening and can be harmful to many people, however as more time passes more is known. The thirty percent decrease in death due to breast cancer is tremendous and it is just a start. By understanding the prevention, treatment, symptoms breast cancer is a disease that can be beat.
There are many different reasons that woman maybe at a higher risk for breast cancer than other woman. Family history is risk factors that increase a woman’s likelihood of getting breast cancer. What this means is if a woman is in a family where this disease is common among female or even males they are at a higher risk for being diagnosed with breast cancer than someone who is in a family where breast cancer is not common. If the relative that has this disease is one that is very close meaning they are either a sister, mother, or daughter the likelihood that said person will also contract the disease is then doubled. This is mainly due to the fact that in close relations you are able to inherit the genes BrcA-1 or BrcA-2, these genes are mutation genes that play a role in controlling the growth of cancer cell. Only a small portion of women inherit this gene about 1 in 500 to be exact, however when they do inherit this gene they have a 80% chance of developing breast cancer in their lifetime. This gene causes woman to develop cancer at a younger age usually before the time they hit menopause. Also, women with this gene have a greater risk of developing cancer in both breasts which is called bilateral breasts cancer. This is due to the fact that once the cancer develops in one breast the risk for developing it in the other breast increases. (“Breast Cancer”) "About 5 to 10% of breast cancer is hereditary, passed from one generation to the next via a variety of mutated genes". (Port 95-105) Lastly,
...learned a lot about breast cancer, I think prevention and early detection are critical. First, we need to learn more, information can be found in National Cancer Institute website and many medical journals. It’s important that we do self-examination periodically. By identifying risk factors, we will be able to take preventative steps accordingly. If breast cancer does occur, we need to stay calm and take necessary steps. If the tissues need to be removed, they should be. Many women show a lack of confidence after the major surgery because they do not have real breasts. This situation needs to be changed. Angelina Jolie, the celebrity, was brave enough to make the choice of removing breast tissues. She believes that the results of breast reconstruction can be beautiful, so should the rest of us. Also, family support during the treatment will make a huge difference.
Breast Cancer As defined by Majure, breast cancer is an “uncontrolled growth of abnormal breast cells” (Majure: 110). It is also one of the cancers that women fear the most. Not only do women get diagnosed with breast cancer, men do too. However, it isn't as bad, or as common, in men as it is in women, so doctors don’t recommend screening for men.
Almost 50 percent of breast cancer cases are women 65 and older. In the research of those women, only eight percent of those women received chemotherapy. Ageism has been the main cause of the Elderly not receiving adequate treatment. Age discrimination prevents the very treatment that kills cancer cells so the person can survive. Age discrimination is killing people who need the treatment.
Nagelin-Anderson, M.A., Elizabeth and Diana Zuckerman, Ph.D. “Complications of Saline Breast Implants: What You Should Know Before You Decide on Reconstruction.” breastimplantinfo.org, n.p. February 2008. Web. 17 February 2012.