Targeted therapy is the use of drugs that target the specific genetic changes in the cells that cause cancer. The last treatment option is hormone therapy. Hormone therapy is often used to reduce the threat of the cancer returning and coming back again. It can also be used to treat returning cancer that has come back after treatment. Breast cancer is a very deadly disease and deserves full effort into researching more and finding new, and improved ways of curing the disease.
A. Background: Breast cancer has now become a disease which, in most cases, is easily treatable if detected early or non-aggressive. However, the major cause of death for patients with breast cancer is metastasis of tumor cells from the primary tumor to secondary sites throughout the body. Determining the hallmarks to differentiate aggressive tumors versus non-aggressive tumors will not only in how clinicians choose to initially treat the patients, but also could potentially be used as therapeutic targets to specifically target metastatic tumor cells. Determining the factors involved in allowing circulating tumor cells to adhere to each other and to blood vessel walls could lead to improved treatment options for patients with metastatic breast cancer.
They are called ER-positive cancer or estrogen receptor-positive cancer. Types of Breast Cancer: Breast cancer can be invasive or noninvasive. If the cancer has spread from the milk duct or lobule to other tissues in the breast and leads to the severe tumor formation , it is Invasive Cancer. Noninvasive refers that the cancerous cells have not yet invaded other breast tissue. Noninvasive breast cancer is also termed as "in situ."
Being that this form is not staged makes doctors consider this to be a precancerous form. In order to detect DCIS a simple mammogram is all that is needed to detect the cancer spot. The histopathologic lesions of DCIS have many different patterns of formation found when a mammogram has been performed. These patterns of DCIS are micropapillary, papillary, solid, cribriform, and comedo. (http://www.cancer.gov/,April 11,2014) In general breast cancer is caused by genetics, increased age, history of breast cancer, dense tissue in the breast, lumps in the breast, exposure to estrogen, overweight, ones height, consumption of alcohol, exposure to radiation, hormone therapy replacement, certain jobs, and breast augmentation.
Many preventive health programs have been initiated to spread awareness about self examination. Since breast cancer is a major cause of death in United States, education about it proves as a helping hand. Expert opinions are required to diagnose, treat and manage the malignancy. Cooperation and compliance from the patients helps the specialists achieve the disease free nation. Early detection of the breast cancer is easily treated and often saves the specialist from taking a decision such as surgery.
The other symptoms of breast cancer are architectural distortion and bilateral asymmetry, etc., Breast abnormalities are defined by an extensive range of features and may be easily overlooked or wrongly interpreted by radiologists while appraising large number of mammography images made available in screening programs. CAD and Computer Aided Diagnosis (CADX) tools are being designed to help the radiologists for providing an accurate diagnosis. CAD and CADX algorithms lend a hand in reducing the number of FPs and they help radiologists to make better decisions. This chapter gives a review of image processing algorithms that have been developed for detection of breast cancer. Breast cancer is the top cancer in women both in the developed and the developing countries [133] and it is one of the major reasons for the increase in mortality among middle aged women especially in developed countries [58].
Colon cancer has becoming more prevalent in the past few decades. However, it is one of the cancers that can be prevented through positive lifestyle and eating habits. The common symptoms that are seen in colon cancer include bloody, pencil-shaped stools, weight loss, tumor growth, abnormal bowel habits, etc. As Adrouny (2002) noted, the available treatments for colon cancer can be chemotherapy, radiation, as well as surgical, the primary treatment option involved in this type of disease (P. 69). When performing a surgical incision of cancerous tissue, Colonoscopy is the tool that is widely employed for verifying the location of cancerous tumor and removing the surrounding tissues that may be affected (p.71).
These risk factors are not however, totally conclusive. My mother, also being a victim of breast cancer had none of the above listed risk factors, but still developed the sickness. “Even if none of the risk factors applies to you, you must still be wary and attend regular examinations, because every woman is at risk.” (Subak-Sharpe, 42) Early detection of breast cancer is the key to surviving the illness. Once the tumor has grown too much, it is often too late. “Large tumors interact with lymph nodes which interconnect with the breast, facilitating the spreading of the disease, which in almost all cases, leads to certain death.” (Link, 144) There are essentially two methods of detection with breast cancer.
Along with scientific development in all aspects of life, diseases treatments have naturally affected by technology and novel procedures. The most common types of cancer treatment, such as surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, etc. were introduced one by one to extol life quality. Although these treatment types are very beneficial and effective in some cases, but drawbacks are the other side of the coin. Surgery has been used to treat cancer for many, many years.
Thermography is able to detect heat produced through metabolic processes in case of any suspected growth or tumors much before it actually appears and could be detected by x-rays. In case a cancerous growth starts developing, it builds up a separate blood supply in order to meet the increased growth process known as malignant angioge... ... middle of paper ... ... of these may cause damage to body cells. Research is also going on to check such tendencies and take measures to minimize these negative effects. References Diagnostic Breast Imaging Procedures: Positron Emission Tomography (PET), http://www.hersource.com/breast/11/c1.cfm Mammograms and Other Breast Imaging Procedures, http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_6X_Mammography_and_other_Breast_Imaging_Procedures_5.asp?sitearea=CRI Medical Imaging for Breast Cancer–Scintimammography, http://www.jlab.org/exp_prog/techtransfer/Medical_Imaging.pdf MRI: A Leap Forward in Breast Cancer Imaging, http://www.healthsystem.virginia.edu/internet/clinical-minutes/cm_mri.cfm The Latest Advances in Breast Imaging Technology, http://imaginis.com/breasthealth/news/news12.01.00.asp Thermography and Breast Health, http://www.healthandlongevity.org/breastcancerscreening.htm