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.
Cancer; Breast cancer.
Reviewed by
Tpdsm
on
August 09, 2017
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