Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among women between the ages of 20 and 59 worldwide. One out of eight women will develop breast cancer symptoms some time during her life, according to the National Breast Cancer Coalition (NBCC). Breast cancer is 3 times more common than all gynecologic malignancies put together and that's why you want breast cancer prevention tips.
Breast Cancer Development
Breast cancer occurs when a cell within a breast under-goes changes, that cause it to grow and divide un-controllably. Usually the cancer arises from tissue that forms milk ducts .
(1) At first, extra cells begin to form in this lining a condition called hyperplasia (="too many cells").
(2) Then these cells become odd-looking and start filling the milk duct. In this stage the cancer is called ductal carcinoma in situ or pre cancer.
(3) In about 1/3 of the cases, the cells develop the ability to break out of the duct and destroy tissue around it. Any tissue in the breast can be affected. At that stage it is called cancer .
Cancer cells can also spread, or metastasize , to other parts of the body through the bloodstream. These cells can travel to other tissues and spread new forms of tumors to main organs of the body like: the lungs, brain, bones or the liver. This is what actually causes death.
Know the signs and symptoms of breast cancer, because as earlier breast cancer is detected, as better are the chances for breast cancer prevention! |
Types of Breast Cancer
Another step in preventing breast canccer is educating yourself about breast cancer is to learn about the different forms. There are many different types of breast cancer, but the vast majority (over 80%) begins in either the milk ducts or the lobular (milk-producing) tissue. These two types are called ductal carcinoma and lobular carcinoma . Either type, if diagnosed early enough, may be called " in situ ", which means that the cancer has not invaded surrounding fatty tissues in the breast nor spread to other organs in the body. The outcome for the invasive or infiltrating version of either type depends on many factors, such as the stage of the cancer, your age, and your general health.
There are also some other types of breast cancer, which appear in a less percentage of all breast cancers:
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Medullary carcinoma. This type of infiltrating breast cancer accounts for about 5% of breast cancers. It has a rather well-defined, distinct boundary between tumor tissue and normal tissue and special features, including the large size of the cancer cells and the presence of immune system cells at the edges of the tumor.
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Inflammatory breast cancer. This type of invasive breast cancer accounts for about 1% to 3% of all breast cancers. It makes the skin of the breast look red and feels warm and gives the skin a thick, pitted appearance.
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Tubular carcinoma. Tubular carcinomas are a special type of infiltrating breast carcinoma. They account for about 2% of all breast cancers and have a better prognosis than infiltrating ductal or lobular carcinomas.
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Paget's disease of the nipple. This type of breast cancer starts in the breast ducts and spreads to the skin of the nipple and then to the areola, the dark circle around the nipple. It accouns only 1% of all cases of breast cancer. The skin of the nipple and areola often appears crusted, scaly, and red, with areas of bleeding or oozing. The woman may notice burning or itching.
Stages of Breast Cancer
If physicians talk about breast cancer, they also use terms such as "early" or "advanced". Although these terms are not medically precise (they may be used differently by different doctors), here is a general idea of how they apply to the official staging system and a short discription:
Stage 0: This stage describes non-invasive breast cancer. There is no evidence of cancer cells breaking through to or invading neighboring normal tissue.
Stage I: This stage describes invasive breast cancer in which the tumor measures up to 2cm AND no lymph nodes are involved.
Stage II: This stage describes invasive breast cancer in which the tumor measures 2-5cm OR cancer has spread to the lymph nodes under the arm on the same side as the breast cancer.
Stage IIIA: This stage describes invasive breast cancer in which the tumor measures larger than 5cm OR the tumor has spread to lymph nodes, and nodes are clumping or sticking to one another or surrounding tissue.
Stage IIIB: This stage describes invasive breast cancer in which a tumor of any size has spread to the breast skin, chest wall, or internal mammary lymph nodes (located beneath the breast inside the chest) and includes inflammatory breast cancer.
Stage IV: This stage includes invasive breast cancer in which a tumor has spread beyond the breast, underarm, and internal mammary lymph nodes to main organs of the body, like the lungs, brain, bones or liver.
Breast Cancer Prevention
Almost every woman worries about breast cancer and would like to do everything for breast cancer prevention so that she can reduce her chance of ever getting this disease. And if you're a woman who has already had breast cancer, you certainly want to do everything possible for breast cancer prevention.
With our complete and precise information on breast cancer prevention you can get to know your own realistic level of risk and the common risk factors at Causes And Awareness of Breast Cancer ! Then you can work on "undoing" any of the risk factors that are in your control, and building up your defenses. To decrease the risk of having untreated breast cancer, you should make a breast self exam regularly.
