The 20 Things Every Woman Needs to Know About Breast Cancer

Cancer is a disease in which the body ‘s cells begin to multiply uncontrollably. When cancer originates in the breast it is called breast cancer . Furthermore,  breast cancer , excluding skin cancer , is the most common cancer among women. It is the type of cancer with the third highest incidence in the world. Even though it is a cancer that affects a large portion of the female population, doubts are still very frequent.Most women between the ages of 50 and 74 should have a mammogram every two years. If you are between 40 and 49 years old or think you may have a higher risk of breast cancer , ask your doctor when you should have a mammogram.

Some Factors May Increase Your Risk of Breast Cancer

  • The main factors that influence a person’s risk of breast cancer include being a woman and getting older.

Other risk factors include:

  • Inherited changes in certain genes (BRCA1 or BRCA2).
  • Having your period before age 12.
  • Not giving birth or having the first child at a later age.
  •  From menopause to age 55.
  • Taking hormones for more than five years to replace
  • Estrogen and Progesterone
  • Taking oral contraceptives (birth control pills).
  • Personal history of breast cancer , dense breasts and
    other health problems.
  • Family history of breast cancer (father, brother or son).
  • Receiving chest radiation therapy.
  • Being overweight, especially after menopause.

Symptoms of Breast Cancer

Some warning signs of breast cancer are:

  • A lump or pain in the chest.
  • Thickening or swelling of the part of the breast.
  • Irritation or dimpling of the skin of the breast.
  • Flaky skin or red breast.
  • Dipping of the nipple or pain in that area.
  • Liquid nipple in addition to breast milk, especially blood.
  • Any change in the size or shape of the breast.
  • Pain in any part of the breast.

Tests Used to Diagnose and Monitor People with Breast Cancer May Include:

  • Breast MRI to help better identify the lump in the breast or assess for an abnormal change on a mammogram
  • Breast ultrasound to show whether the lump is solid or filled with fluid
  • Breast biopsy: using methods such as needle biopsy, ultrasound – guided, stereotaxic or open
  • CT scan to see if the cancer has spread outside the chest
  • Mammography to detect breast cancer or help identify the lump in the breast
  • Positron emission tomography (PET) to see if the cancer has spread
  • Sentinel lymph node biopsy to see if the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes
  • If your doctor finds out that you have breast cancer , you will have more tests. This is called a test, which checks whether the cancer has spread.

Treatment for breast cancer

Breast cancer treatment is based on many factors, including:

  • the type of cancer
  • The stage of the cancer (staging is a tool your providers use to determine how advanced the cancer is)
  • Whether the cancer is sensitive to certain hormones or not
  • Whether or not the cancer overproduced a protein called HER2/neu

Cancer treatments may include:

  • Terapia hormonal.
  • Chemotherapy, which uses drugs to kill cancer cells.
  • Radiation therapy, which is used to destroy cancerous tissue.
  • Surgery to remove cancerous tissue: A lumpectomy removes the breast tumor. Mastectomy to remove all or part of the breast and any nearby structures.
  • Lymph nodes can also be removed during surgery.
  • Targeted therapy uses medicine to attack gene changes in cancer cells. Hormone therapy is an example of targeted therapy. Blocks certain hormones that stimulate cancer growth.

No Need to Panic if You Need More Testing After a Mammogram: A lot of women are asked to come back for a repeat mammogram or other test. One reason is that many women over 40 have calcium deposits(calcification) in their breasts, which are benign but appear as white patches on a mammogram. Although the radiologist can distinguish between benign and suspicious, they may be helpful to investigate further. They only require suspicious spots for biopsy.

It’s Possible that Estrogen in the Environment Causes Increased Rates of Breast Cancer : There are natural and synthetic chemical compounds, which mimic estrogen in the body or block natural hormones. Found in pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), bisphenol A (BPA), plant products (such as soybeans) and other chemicals. Many of them have been linked to breast cancer in several studies.

Hormone Therapy May Increase Breast Cancer Risk: Interestingly, less use of synthetic hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in postmenopausal women has also decreased breast cancer rates .

There Are Complementary Therapies That Can Help Treat Breast Cancer: Doctors are increasingly willing to use alternative natural treatments in combination with medical procedures (such as surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and hormone therapies). These can include nutrition and exercise, traditional Chinese medicine, homeopathy, meditation, yoga, massage, Feldenkrais, Reiki, qigong, tai chi and support groups. Talking to your healthcare team before using any of these alternative therapies is recommended.

An Easy Way to Reduce Risk is to Maintain High Vitamin D Levels: Women with low Vitamin D levels are at a higher risk of breast cancer . Experts suspect that Vitamin D helps control the normal growth of breast cells and prevents breast cancer cells from growing. So you’ll want your doctor to regularly check your Vitamin D levels and based on the results, recommend a supplement.

Knowing Your Body Will Keep You Healthy: Experts recommend doing self-exams regularly and getting professional clinical exams often. For those women who battled breast cancer , early detection of recurrence nearly doubled their chance of survival.

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