Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world. There are over 55,000 new cases each year in the UK and the disease claims the lives of 11,500 women in her. In the United States, 266,000 people are infected and 40,000 die each year. But what causes it and how can it be treated?
What is breast cancer?
Breast cancer arises from cancer cells that form in the lining of one of the ducts or lobules of the breast.
When breast cancer has spread into surrounding breast tissue, it is called an “invasive” breast cancer. Some people are diagnosed with “carcinoma in situ,” in which cancer cells have not grown beyond the ducts or lobules.
Most cases occur in women over the age of 50, but younger women can be affected. Although this is rare, breast cancer can also occur in men.
Staging refers to the size of the cancer and whether it has spread. Stage 1 is the earliest stage, stage 4 means the cancer has spread to other parts of the body.
Cancer cells are graded from low levels, which means they grow slowly, to high levels, which grow rapidly. High-grade cancers are more likely to come back after initial treatment.
What Causes Breast Cancer?
A cancerous tumor begins with a single abnormal cell. The exact reason why cells become cancerous is unknown. Something is thought to damage or change certain genes in the cell. This causes the cells to become abnormal and grow “out of control”.
Breast cancer can develop for no apparent reason, but there are some risk factors, such as genetics, that increase your chances of developing breast cancer.
What are the symptoms of breast cancer?
The usual first symptom is a painless lump in the breast, but most breast lumps are benign fluid-filled cysts rather than cancer.
Breast cancer usually spreads first to the lymph nodes under the arm. When this happens, you will have swelling and lumps under your armpits.
How is Breast Cancer Diagnosed?
- Initial evaluation: Your doctor will examine your breasts and armpits. They may do tests such as a mammogram, which is a special x-ray of breast tissue that can show a possible tumor.
- Biopsy: A biopsy is when a small sample of tissue is removed from a part of the body. The sample is then examined under a microscope to look for abnormal cells. A sample can confirm or rule out cancer.
If breast cancer is confirmed, more tests may be needed to assess whether the cancer has spread. Examples include blood tests, liver ultrasound scans, and chest x-rays.
How is breast cancer treated?
Treatment options that may be considered include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and hormone therapy. Two or more of these treatments are often used in combination.
- Surgery: Breast-conserving surgery or removal of the affected breast, depending on the size of the tumor.
- Radiation therapy: Treatment that uses high-energy beams of radiation that are focused on cancer tissue. It kills cancer cells or stops cancer cells from growing. It is mainly used outside of surgery.
- Chemotherapy: Treating cancer with anticancer drugs that kill cancer cells or stop cancer cells from growing.
- Hormone therapy: Some types of breast cancer are affected by estrogen, a “female” hormone that stimulates cancer cell division and growth. Treatments that lower the levels of these hormones or block their action are commonly used in breast cancer patients.
How successful are the treatments?
The outlook is best if the cancer is diagnosed when it is still small and has not spread. Surgical resection of tumors in early stages may give a better chance of cure.
Routine mammograms offered to women ages 50 to 70 mean more breast cancers are diagnosed and treated earlier.
For more information visit beastcancercare.org.uk, beastcancernow.org or www.cancerhelp.org.uk.
