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Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world. Every year in the UK there are more than 55,000 new cases and the disease kills 11,500 women. In the United States, it attacks 266,000 each year and kills 40,000. But what causes it and how can it be treated?
What is breast cancer?
Breast cancer develops from a cancer cell that develops in the lining of a duct or lobe in one of the breasts.
When breast cancer has spread to the surrounding breast tissue, it is called “invasive” breast cancer. Some people are diagnosed with “carcinoma in situ,” in which cancer cells have not grown beyond the duct or lobe.
Most cases develop in women over 50, but younger women are sometimes affected. Breast cancer can develop in men, although this is rare.
Staging means how big the cancer is and whether it has spread. Stage 1 is the earliest stage, and stage 4 means that the cancer has spread to another part of the body.
Cancer cells are classified from low, which means slow growing, to high, which is fast growing. High-grade cancers are more likely to come back after being treated for the first time.
What Causes Breast Cancer?
A cancerous tumor begins from an abnormal cell. The exact reason why a cell becomes cancerous is not clear. Something is believed to damage or alter certain genes in the cell. This makes the cell abnormal and multiplies “out of control.”
Although breast cancer can develop for no apparent reason, there are some risk factors that can increase the chance of developing breast cancer, such as genetics.
What are the symptoms of breast cancer?
The usual first symptom is a painless lump in the breast, although most breast lumps are not cancerous and are fluid-filled cysts, which are benign.
The first place breast cancer usually spreads is the lymph nodes in the armpit. If this happens, you will develop a swelling or lump in your armpit.
How is breast cancer diagnosed?
- Initial evaluation: a doctor examines the breasts and armpits. They may perform tests such as a mammogram, a special X-ray of breast tissue that can indicate the possibility of tumors.
- Biopsy: A biopsy is when a small sample of tissue is removed from a part of the body. The sample is then examined under a microscope to look for abnormal cells. The sample can confirm or rule out cancer.
If it is confirmed that you have breast cancer, more tests may be needed to assess whether it has spread. For example, blood tests, a liver ultrasound, or a chest X-ray.
How is breast cancer treated?
Treatment options that may be considered include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and hormone treatment. A combination of two or more of these treatments is often used.
- Surgery: Surgery to preserve the breast or removal of the affected breast depending on the size of the tumor.
- Radiation therapy: A treatment that uses high-energy radiation beams that are focused on cancer tissue. This kills the cancer cells or stops the cancer cells from multiplying. It is mainly used in addition to surgery.
- Chemotherapy: Cancer treatment using anticancer drugs that kill cancer cells or stop them from multiplying.
- Hormonal treatments: Some types of breast cancer are affected by the “female” hormone estrogen, which can stimulate cancer cells to divide and multiply. Treatments that lower the level of these hormones, or prevent them from working, are commonly used in people with breast cancer.
How successful is the treatment?
The outlook is better for those who are diagnosed when the cancer is still small and has not spread. Surgical removal of a tumor at an early stage can provide a good chance for a cure.
The routine mammogram offered to women between the ages of 50 and 70 means that more breast cancers are diagnosed and treated at an early stage.
For more information visit breastcancercare.org.uk, breastcancernow.org or www.cancerhelp.org.uk
