Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the United States. There are many differenttypes of cancer that are affecting people all over. Breast Cancer is one of these, and is found in man and women. Over 200,000 women and 1,300 men have been diagnosed with breast cancer this year. One in eight women will detect breast cancer in their lifetime. Men are less than one percent of the cases of breast cancer that are detected. Although prevention is not yet available, early detection is the best way to handle breast cancer, which can be treated in many ways.Breast cancer is a malignant tumor found in the glandular tissue of the breast. This tumor is called a carcinoma, which causes a single abnormal cell to multiple at rapid rates. A malignant tumor damages tissue and can spread. Cancer spreads when it breaks away and gets into the bloodstream. The tumor can be removed but there is still a possibility that they will grow back. When breast cancer spreads it is called metastatic breast cancer. If it is a benign tumor it is non cancerous, will not spread, but could damage some tissue. They are also not life- threatening andcan be removed, which they rarely grow back.Breasts are glands that can produce milk. There are two main types of breast cancer, ductal carcinoma and lobular carcinoma. Ductal carcinoma is cancer in the lining of milk ducts of the breast. Lobular carcinoma is cancer in the lobules where breast milk is produced.There has not been a way detected to prevent breast cancer yet. The best way to protect you against breast cancer is by getting a mammogram at age 35 and once a year after age 40. Also you should perform a self-exam of the breast each month after age 20 for protection. Finallygo to a health care provider every three years after age 20. One type of prevention that scientists are looking into is SERMs, selective estrogen receptor modulators. SERMs is a drug that has estrogen-like properties and anti-estrogen properties that is used to help prevent the loss of bone density in postmenopausal women and causes pre-menopausal women to be more fertile. This will help to block the effects of estrogen on breast tissue that will reduce the risk of breast cancer. Also a clinical breast examination or a screening mammogram by a physician is a way to detect breast cancer at early stages. By giving yourself a self-breast examination, by means of using yourhands to feel for bumps or tumors is a way to help prevent breast cancer from spreading. It is best if it is detected early. The biggest symptom of breast cancer is finding a lump on your breast. This doesn’t actually mean that you have breast cancer, but it is something you should get checked right away. It could by a cyst, which is a fluid filled sac that is not cancerous. A change in how the breast or nipple feels, such, as tenderness is also a symptom. Even a change in the size of your breast or nipple should be something to look out for. Recent studies have shown that women who use antibiotics double their chance of the riskof breast cancer. Scientists say that women should not stop using antibiotics to cure infections. Antibiotics affect the bacteria in the digestive system in ways that interfere with the ways the bodyuses food to protect against cancer. This is not a proven fact, but it is getting highly looked into.These symptoms occur from certain risk factors that are involved in breast cancer. Although scientists have no figured out exactly what causes this cancer. It is linked to the prolongexposure of female sex hormones, estrogen. Also those with a long menstrual period, having children after age 30, and the use of birth control pills can be at risk of breast cancer. Factors thatattribute to many things, such as our diets and everyday health for example exercise, amount of alcohol in take, and what you eat also affect breast cancer.The women who are at the greatest risk of breast cancer are the ones who have a family history of it. There is genetic testing that can be done to determine if women have the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene, and it is mutated. Breast cancer occurs five percent of the time due to a mutation to the gene, BRCA1. Mutation to the gene, BRCA2, affects mostly Jewish women of eastern and central European decent. A percentage of 50 to 60 women who have the mutated gene willdevelop this disease by the age of 70. Then it is advised that these women lower their fat in their diets, eat more fruits and vegetables, and reduce the amount of alcohol that they drink. Also an option for these women, which some prefer is to have a prophylactic mastectomy. This is when the doctor removes both breasts, so there is no way the tissue can be detected with breast cancer.Doctors normally perform a biopsy to determine if breast cancer has affected the tissue in the breast. There are three ways that they do this: fine-needle aspiration, core biopsy, and surgicalbiopsy. A fine-needle aspiration is when doctors use a fine needle to take out fluid, and send it to the lab to see if cancer cells exist. Removal of the breast tissue for checking is a core biopsy. Surgical biopsy is removal of part of the lump or the whole lump for detection of cancer cells.Once breast cancer is detected, there is treatment available. The treatment is most successful if the cancer is detected at the early stages. Treatment depends on a women’s age, health, size of tumor, location of tumor, if the tumor has spread, etc. Some types of treatments that are being used are chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, hormone therapy, or combinations of these treatments. A mastectomy is when the tumor is removed with the damaged tissue and the breast is still left in tact. A radical mastectomy removes the whole breast, lymph nodes, and chest wall muscle. If the cancer cells spread to lymph nodes, the doctor recommends chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is when cancer cell fighting drugs are released to stop the cancer cells growth or kill them. There is a down side to chemotherapy which is that is also affects your healthy cells. There can be many side affects of this treatment such as pain, fatigue, nausea, and anemia.There is a five-year survival rate for women with breast cancer. The percentage of survival has risen from 72 to 96. If the cancer has spread to other tissue then the rate goes down to 78. The hope of recovering from the diagnosis of breast cancer is extremely high. Women are becoming a lot more
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