Breast Cancer - Touchable And Unbelievable

The most common form of cancer in women - which affects about 10% of the world's female population - is still the second most common cause of cancer deaths in women. about 20% of all breast cancer cases ending in death.

This form of cancer is the one considered to have the most serious psychological effects on women. Some specialists say that it happens because this form cancer affects what most women consider to be their symbol of femininity: the breast. Depression is often diagnosed in women who have breast cancer, which makes the treatment even harder.

Risk factors

Many factors are considered to be the possible causes of breast cancer. Contrary to what many people may think, breast cancer also affects men, in smaller proportions - about 1 case in 1000.

Here are some factors considered to be involved in the development of breast cancer:

Age

One thing is for sure about breast cancer: the risks increase with age . Statistics show that for a woman who lives to the age of 90, the risk of getting breast cancer is about 12,5% (or 1 in 8) . However, it's not impossible for young women to have breast cancer and when it happens, the cancer tends to be more aggressive. This is inflammatory breast cancer, difficult to detect because it does not appear in mammography or ultrasound and is often mistaken for mastitis, a simple breast infection .

Genes

Familial breast cancer is rare (less than 5%), but it can happen and it was found to be linked to two different genes. Although this is not a high risk factor for breast cancer, women who have cases of breast cancer among their relatives should have tests more often.

Hormones

The International Agency for Research on Cancer found that women who take combined estrogen-progestogen contraceptives and combined estrogen-progestogen menopausal therapy were at increased risk.

Symptoms and diagnosis

Earlier found, better chances of survival. This is the statement that summarizes the cure for breast cancer and it only makes more important the medical advice that says that women should have a complete check up, including a mammogram and an ultrasound, once a year, especially once they reach their 30s or 40s. A self-examination of the breasts should be done monthly.

Any sign of nodules or lumps found by the woman while doing her self-exam must be taken into account. Most women think that these lumps have something to do with their periods and in many cases they do, but they can also signify the presence of a tumor and that's why the doctor must be told as soon as possible .

The symptoms vary from woman to woman. Some have lumps and some don't. Some women have a white or light-yellow secretion "leaking" from the nipple, some women feel that their breast is tender and swollen. There are those women who feel nothing and these are the most dangerous cases .

The self-exam and the mammogram once a year are the best ways to diagnose breast cancer. If something is found by self-examination, regardless of whether the woman had already had a mammogram that year, another should be done.

Treatment

Medicine has improved a lot in the past few years and the treatments for breast cancer have become more powerful and effective .

There are different options for treatment of breast cancer and doctors can choose the correct one by taking into account the overall health of the woman affected:

- Local or Regional Treatments are directed right to the breast and also to the lymph nodes around the breast.

- Systemic Treatments are directed to the whole body.

- Alternative and Holistic Treatments are important to the person because they include not only the body, but also the mind and spirit as well.

In spite of that, the best treatment is no treatment at all, in other words, prevention.

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Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Breast Cancer

Breast Cancer; Facts and Figures

It would not be surprising, therefore, that any ailment or condition that endangers the look, health and functionality of this vital body part would be a real source of worry to every lady.

Breast cancer, despite all medical and technological advances, as been on the rise in the last 50 years or so. The figures that stare us in the face when we check the records are quite alarming. But, there is no running away from these figures, they are real.

It's alarming but it is true that there's more breast cancer now than ever before. It is true that between 1979 and 1986 the incidence of invasive breast cancer in the United States alone has increased 29 percent among white women and 41 percent among black women, and incidences of all breast cancers doubled. It's true that despite yearly mammograms and advanced medical and diagnostic technology the percentage of women dying from breast cancer has remained virtually unchanged over the past 50 years, and that every 12 minutes throughout the last half of the 20th Century another woman died of breast cancer.

It is also fact that more than two hundred thousand cases of breast cancer are diagnosed every year in the United States. In Canada about twenty thousand new cases, thirteen thousand in Australia and over forty one thousand in the UK. And it's true that breast cancer is the disease that women fear more than any other, that breast cancer is the biggest killer of all women aged 35 to 54, and that of the 2.5 million women currently diagnosed with breast cancer, half will be dead within ten years.

It really does not matter if you are 20 years old or 50 years old. You stand some risk of catching the monster. It is estimated that one in every nine women will get breast cancer at some period in her life

These are not pleasant tales. My purpose in painting these gory pictures, is not to scare anyone, but to make you see the importance of giving more attention to your breast. The more you know about breast cancer, the better.

Almost every woman is at risk of breast cancer, but records show that 80% of cases are found in woman over 50 years of age. There are several factors that can predispose one to breast cancer. Some are within your control and others are not. It therefore makes much sense to avoid the humanly controllable factors as much as possible. Most of these are the daily lifestyle choices we make. The problem is that these habits do not show the extent of damage they can cause to our body until we begin to get older, and by then the damage is done already.

Factors associated with breast cancer include:

- Taking an oral contraceptive pill

- Hormone replacement therapy

- Obesity and/or high fat diets

- Family history of breast cancer

It is worth stating here, however, that most breast cancers are hormonally related Other factors may also affecting the risk, include stress, carcinogens, excessive use of stimulants like alcohol, caffeine and cigarettes and exposure to pesticides and radiation.

Early detection of breast cancer is still the best guarantee of getting cured. Presently, six out of every seven patients diagnosed with breast cancer are cured at an early stage. However, if they are diagnosed when the cancer has become advanced, the cure rate falls to about one in seven. It is extremely important to catch breast cancer at an early stage if it is to be satisfactorily cured. This therefore makes knowing the symptoms very crucial.

Breast cancer, in its early stages hardly shows any sign at all. It does not cause any pain in most instances. Some of the symptoms associated with breast cancer include:

- Itching in the armpit or around the breast region

- Pink, red, or dark colored area (called erythematic) with texture similar to the skin of an orange

- Ridges and thickened areas of the skin of nipple or breast

- Appearance of a bruise that does not go away

- Nipple getting inverted

- Breast warm to the touch

- Pain in the breast which could vary from a constant ache to stabbing pains

- Change in texture as well as color of the skin around the nipple

- Change in the shape or size of a breast

- Dimpling of the breast skin

- Swelling or a lump in the armpit

- Discharge from the nipple

None of these symptoms is clear evidence of breast cancer, as most of the signs may also arise due to other conditions affecting the breast. Only a doctor can made a definite statement about the presence or otherwise of breast cancer after an exhaustive examination.

Know your breast, and how to self examine your breast and always report the slightest changes to a doctor. It's not worth taking chances with breast cancer. It's real and it's spreading like wild fire in the ever-polluted society we live in today. Do the little you can to keep your name off the breast cancer list, the sacrifice is worth it.

Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Breast Cancer