Cancer; Breast cancer.

Overview:

Breast cancer is a cancer which affect the tissues of the breast.

Causes:

·        Age and gender.

·        Family history of breast cancer

·        Genes --

·        Menstrual cycle

Other risk factors include:

·        Alcohol use --

·        Childbirth.

·        DES.

·        Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) --.

·        Obesity

·        Radiation --

Symptoms:

·        Breast lump or lump in the armpit that is hard, has uneven edges, and usually does not hurt.

·        Change in the size, shape, or feel of the breast or nipple -- for example, you may have redness, dimpling, or puckering that looks like the skin of an orange.

·        Fluid coming from the nipple -- may be bloody, clear to yellow, green, and look like pus.

4-Men get breast cancer, too. Symptoms include breast lump and breast pain and tenderness.

Symptoms of advanced breast cancer may include:

·        Bone pain.

·        Breast pain or discomfort.

·        Skin ulcers.

·        Swelling of one arm (next to breast with cancer).

·        Weight loss.

Exams and Tests:

·        Mammography to help identify the breast lump.

·        Breast MRI exam to help clear the breast lump.

·        Breast ultrasound exam  to identify  whether the lump is solid or fluid-filled.

·        Breast biopsy, needle aspiration, or breast lump removal to remove all or part of the breast lump for closer examination by a laboratory specialist.

·        CT scan.

·        Sentinal lymph node biopsy.

·        PET scan.

Treatment:

In general, cancer treatments may include:

·        Chemotherapy medicines to kill cancer cells.

·        Radiation therapy to destroy cancerous tissue.

·        A Surgery to remove cancerous tissue . A lumpectomy which  removes the breast lump, mastectomy that  removes all or part of the breast and possible nearby structures.

Hormonal therapy is prescribed to women with ER-positive breast cancer to block certain hormones that fuel cancer growth.

·        An example of hormonal therapy is the drug( tamoxifen). This drug blocks the action of estrogen, which can help breast cancer cells to survive and grow. Most women with estrogen-sensitive breast cancer benefit from this drug.

·        Another class of medicines called( aromatase) inhibitors, such as exemestane(Aromasin), have been shown to work just as well or even better than tamoxifen in postmenopausal women with breast cancer.

Targeted therapy, also called biologic therapy, is a newer type of cancer treatment. This therapy uses special anticancer drugs that target certain changes in a cell that can lead to cancer. One such drug is trastuzumab (Herceptin). It may be used for women with HER2-positive breast cancer.

Cancer treatment may be local or systemic.

-  Local treatments involve only the area of disease. Radiation and surgery are forms of local treatment.

-  Systemic treatments affect the entire body. Chemotherapy is a type of systemic treatment.

Most women receive a combination of treatments. For women with stage I, II, or III breast cancer, the main target is to treat the cancer and prevent it from returning. For women with stage IV cancer, the target is to improve symptoms and help them live longer. In most cases, stage IV breast cancer cannot be cured.

·          Stage 0 and DCIS -- Lumpectomy plus radiation or mastectomy is the standard treatment. There is some controversy on how best to treat DCIS.

·          Stage I and II -- Lumpectomy plus radiation or mastectomy with some sort of lymph node removal is standard treatment. Hormone therapy, chemotherapy, and biologic therapy may also be Devised after surgery for prevention.

·          Stage III -- Treatment involves surgery possibly followed by chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and biologic therapy.

  Stage IV -- Treatment may include  surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, or a combination of such treatments.