Diagnosis and Treatment of Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is characterized by the growth of malignant tumors in the glandular tissue of the breast. Today, more women are surviving breast cancer than ever. More than two million women are breast cancer survivors. With early detection and prompt and appropriate treatment, the outlook for women with breast cancer can be positive.

No one knows why some women develop breast cancer and others do not. Although the disease can affect younger women, 75% of all breast cancers occur in women 50 years or more. Some of the risk factors listed or genetic family figure estrogen exposure, demographic factors (age, race, ethnicity and socioeconomic status), nutrition and lifestyle and smoking.

Breast cancer symptoms are barely noticeable when it first develops, but as the cancer grows, it can cause changes that women should watch for. Other symptoms include unexplained breast pain, abnormal discharge from the nipple, breast changes in texture, or changes in the skin or around the chest.

Breast Cancer Screening

To screen or not to screen - that is the dilemma. Cancer diagnosis, initial or recurrent, is the longest period of acute stress for a cancer patient. The purpose of screening women breast cancer is to detect cancer in its earliest stage when surgery and medical treatment can be more effective in reducing mortality. Screening is only beneficial when a diagnosis of previous results in a reduction in mortality and morbidity and the risk when the test are low. There are three methods of breast cancer screening that are currently practiced: mammography, clinical breast examination and breast self-examination.

MRI is more accurate to detect cancer in women who carry the genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 cancer. A doctor can perform a fine needle aspiration, a needle biopsy or core, or surgical biopsy.

Mammography

A mammogram is a special x-ray of the breast that can often detect cancers that are too small for a woman or her doctor to feel. The aim of screening for detecting breast cancer at a very early stage, when the healing is more likely. The amount of radiation required to produce a clear mammogram (image) varies with the size and breast density. Results of several studies have demonstrated convincingly that mammography screening reduces mortality by 30% of breast cancer in women aged 50 years. The American Cancer Society says women 40-49 years should receive a mammogram every one to two years. Annual screening mammography is recommended for women 50 years and older.

The risks associated with breast cancer screening mammography include the radiation exposure, false positives and overdiagnosis. The risk of breast cancer induced by radiation screening mammography is estimated at a minimum. The excess risk of breast cancer caused by radiation is increased with the age of a younger woman to exposure and increasing cumulative radiation dose. However, the benefits outweigh mammography still significantly the risk of breast cancer induced by radiation.

Clinical breast examination (CBE)

During a clinical breast exam, the doctor checks your breasts and armpits for lumps or other changes that could be a sign of breast cancer. The EPC involves inspection and palpation of the breast and axillary and supraclavicular regions bilaterally. The effectiveness of CBE alone to screen for breast cancer is uncertain. Results of several studies have convincingly demonstrated the effectiveness of the EPC, when combined with the breast cancer screening mammography in women aged over 50 years. The American Cancer Society recommends that women should have CBE every three years from the age of 20-39 years. Annual EPC should be performed in women 40 and older.

Self-examination (BSE)

A systematic review for a woman in which she uses her fingers to feel changes in their form of breast and nipple discharge fluid to detect any abnormalities. Intuitively, it is concluded that breast self-examination regularly as a complementary screening modality perhaps with mammography can help find some cancers at an early stage, when the prognosis is more favorable.

About four out of five breast lumps turn out to be detected as a cyst or other benign (not cancerous). There are now several epidemiological studies indicate that survival is higher among women who do breast self-examination and that cancers detected by breast self-examination tend to be smaller.

Treatment

After breast cancer has been found, it is staged. Knowing the stage of the disease helps doctors plan treatment.

The choice of breast cancer treatment depends on the age and general health of the woman and the type, stage and location of tumors and cancer remains in the breast or has spread to other parts of the body. Standard cancer treatments are generally designed to surgically remove the cancer; stop cancer cells acquire the hormones they need to survive and grow through hormone therapy; use high energy beams to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors by means of radiation and the use of anti-cancer drugs to kill cancer cells by chemotherapy.

However, the current view is that the cancer is a systemic disease involving a complex spectrum of the host-tumor relationship with the cancer cells spread by the blood and, therefore, changes in the local or regional therapy are unlikely to affect the survival of a patient. In contrast, the cancer must be attacked systemically by the use of radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormonal therapy and immunotherapy.

For women with early-stage breast cancer, available treatment is common surgery combined with radiotherapy. Mastectomy is a surgery that preserves the breast of a woman. The survival rate for a woman who has this therapy more radiation is similar to a woman who chooses a radical mastectomy, which is the complete removal of a breast.

If breast cancer has spread locally - as for other parts of the breast - treatment may involve a combination of surgery and chemotherapy. Doctors first to shrink the tumor with chemotherapy and then remove it through surgery. The reduction of the tumor before surgery may allow a woman to avoid a mastectomy and keep your chest.

If the cancer has spread to other parts of the body such as the lung or bone, chemotherapy and / or hormonal therapy can be used to destroy cancer cells and control the disease. Radiation therapy may also be useful for the control of tumors in other body parts.

Because 30% of breast cancer recurrence, the National Cancer Institute urges all women with breast cancer have chemotherapy or hormone therapy after surgery, although there is no evidence that the cancer spread.
 
Breast Cancer Prevention

Breast cancer can not be completely avoided, but the risk of developing advanced disease can be greatly reduced by early detection.

Several drugs are available to treat or prevent breast cancer. Chemopreventive agents such as tamoxifen and raloxifene Act to prevent breast cancer development through the interruption of the process of initiation and promotion of cancer tumors. Chemoprevention is the most promising intervention for primary prevention this time.

Tamoxifen

Tamoxifen is a nonsteroidal antiestrogen with a partial agonistic effect. Administered orally, I can increase the endometrial cancer risk stage and may also aggravate vaginal dryness and hot flushes. Tamoxifen may be less effective as a preventive agent for women with a strong family of breast cancer.

Raloxifene

Raloxifene hydrochloride is a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) that blocks the action of estrogen in breast and endometrial tissue. The incidence of invasive breast cancer positive for estrogen receptor was reduced by 76% among women treated with raloxifene any dose at 40 months of follow up. The side effects of raloxifene include an increased risk of thromboembolism, but not an increased risk of endometrial cancer.

Moreover, recent studies indicate that the low incidence of breast cancer with multiple environmental factors, especially diet. A food to be commended for cancer prevention is soy (found in foods such as tofu, tempeh, soy milk and vegetarian meat substitutes), but there is no clear evidence of this hypothesis. Eat more fruits and vegetables, eat less red meat (perhaps replacing soy protein) and prevent cholesterol (no olive oil) may also help prevent breast cancer.

The chemical (indole-3-carbinol or I-3-C) found in broccoli, cabbage and other cruciferous vegetables are now available as a dietary supplement can help prevent breast cancer associated with estrogen. The precise mechanism is not known but it is thought that physical activity reduces hormone levels, reduces insulin resistance and reduced weight gain, all the factors in breast cancer.