Breast Cancer

							Cancer occurs when cells
in a part of the body begin
 to grow uncontrollably.
 Normal cells divide and
  and grow in an orderly
 fashion, but cancer cells
 do not. They continue to
   grow and crowd out
       normal cells.
Different kinds of cancers
      can behave very
differently. They grow at
    different rates and
   respond to different
        treatments.
 Sometimes cancer cells
break away from a tumor
and spread to other parts
 of the body through the
blood and lymph system.
 They can settle in new
  places and form new
         tumors.
 When this happens, it is
called metastasis. Cancer
  that had spread in this
  way is called metastatic
cancer. As cancer spreads
to other parts of the body,
 it is still named after the
     body part of origin.
    Breast cancer is a
  malignant tumor that
  starts from cells of the
breast. It is found mostly
 in woman, but men can
get breast cancer as well.
A woman’s breast is made
 up of glands that make
 breast milk, ducts, fatty
  and connective tissue,
blood vessels, and lymph
   vessels. Most breast
cancers begin in the cells
   that line the ducts.
BREAST CANCER AWARENESS
   The lymph system is
  important because it is
 one of the ways in which
    breast cancers can
spread. Lymph nodes are
    small, bean-shaped
 collections of immunes
   system cells that are
 connected by lymphatic
          vessels.
Lymphatic vessels are like
 smalls veins, except they
 carry a clear fluid called
   lymph away from the
  breast. Breast cancer
cells can enter lymphatic
vessels and begin to grow
     in lymph nodes.
 Most lymph vessels of the
   breast lead to lymph
   nodes under the arm.
 Theses are called axillary
  nodes. If breast cancer
 cells reach the underarm
lymph nodes and continue
  to grow, they cause the
       nodes to swell.
  It is important to know
whether cancer cells have
  spread to lymph nodes
because if they have, there
  is a higher chance that
 the cells have also gotten
into the bloodstream and
 spread to other places in
          the body.
 Most lumps are benign.
 This means they are not
cancerous. Benign breast
  tumors are abnormal
 growths, but they do not
   spread outside of the
  breast and are not life
       threatening.
   Some benign breast
  lumps can increase a
 woman’s rick of getting
      breast cancer.
Most lumps are caused by
   fibrocystic changes.
   Carcinoma: Used to
 describe a cancer that
begins in the lining later
  of organs such as the
breast. Nearly all cancers
are known as carcinoma.
Adenocarcinoma: Type of
   cancer that starts in
  glandular tissue. The
 ducts and lobules of the
   breast are glandular
   tissue, so the cancer
starting in these areas are
     sometimes called
    adenocarcinomas.
 Carcinoma in situ: Early
stage in cancer, when it is
  still only in the layer of
cancer where it began. In
   breast cancer, in situ
  means that the cancer
cells are only in the ducts
 or lobules. They have not
spread into deeper tissues
        in the breast.
Invasive carcinoma: Has
already grown beyond the
  layer of cells where it
         started.
 Sarcoma: Cancers that
   start from connective
  tissues such as muscle
tissue, fat tissue, or blood
 vessels. Sarcomas of the
    breast are very rare.
There are many types of
breast, though some of
 them are uncommon.
Ductal carcinoma in situ:
  Most common types of
    noninvasive breast
cancer. DCIS means that
 the cancer is only in the
 ducts. It has not spread
 through the walls of the
ducts into the tissue of the
 breast. At this stage, the
   cancer can be cured.
   Lobular carcinoma in
  situ: Begins in the milk-
  making glands but does
not go through the wall of
the lobules. Having LCIS
 increases a woman’s rick
 of getting cancer later. It
 is important that women
        have regular
       mammograms.
      Invasive ductal
carcinoma: Most common
breast cancer. It starts in
  a milk passage or duct,
breaks through the wall of
 the duct, and invades the
tissue of the breast. From
   there it may be able to
  spread to other parts of
          the body.
    Invasive lobular
carcinoma: Starts in the
milk glands or lobules. It
can spread to other parts
       of the body.
    Inflammatory breast
 cancer: This uncommon
   type of invasive breast
cancer accounts for about
   1% to 3% of all breast
 cancers. There is usually
 no single lump or tumor.
  It makes the skin of the
  breast look red and feel
            warm.
  It also gives the skin a
 thick, pitted appearance
  that looks a lot like an
orange peel. The affected
breast may become larger
or firmer, tender or itchy.
    In its early stages,
   inflammatory breast
cancer is mistaken for an
         infection.
 Certain changes in DNA
 can cause normal breast
  cancer cells to become
     cancerous. Some
 inherited DNA changes
 can increase the risk for
developing cancer and are
    responsible for the
cancers that run in some
         families.
Most breast cancer DNA
changes happen in single
  breast cells during a
woman’s life rather than
 having being inherited.
These are called acquired
        changes.
 A risk factor is anything
  that affects a person’s
    chance of getting a
 disease such as cancer.
 Different cancers have
  different risk factors.
Some risk factors, such as
 smoking, drinking, and
diet are linked to things a
       person does.
 Risk factors don’t tell us
 everything. Having a risk
   factor, or even several,
doesn’t mean that a person
 will get the disease. Some
  women who have one or
more risk factors never get
  breast cancer, and most
   women who get breast
cancer don’t have any risk
           factors.
  Gender: Being a
 woman is the main
    risk for breast
cancer. Men can also
get the disease, but it
 is about 100 times
  more common in
  women then men.
 Age: The chance of
getting breast cancer
 goes up as a woman
  gets older. About 2
 out of 3 women are
age 55 or older when
 the cancer is found.
 Genetic Risk Factors:
About 5-10% of breast
cancers are thought to
 be linked to inherited
 mutations in certain
  genes. Women with
   these gene changes
have up to 80% chance
of getting breast cancer
    in their lifetimes.
   Family History:
Breast cancer risk is
 higher among those
  whose close blood
  relatives have this
 disease; they can be
from the mother’s or
   the father’s side.
 Personal History of
   Breast Cancer: A
 woman with cancer
  in one breast has a
   greater chance of
 getting a new cancer
in the other breast or
in another part of the
     same breast.
 Race: White women
are slightly more likely
than African-American
 women, but African-
 American women are
more likely to die of this
  cancer. Part of the
  reason seems to be
   because they have
faster growing tumors.
   Dense Breast Tissue:
This means there is more
 glandular tissue and less
 fatty tissue. Women with
 denser breast tissue have
  a higher risk of breast
cancer. It can also make it
harder for doctors to spot
         problems on
       mammograms.
 Menstrual Periods:
 Women who began
having periods early,
before age 12, or who
     went through
menopause after the
   age of 55 have a
  slightly increased
         risk.
    Earlier Breast
 Radiation: Women
     who have had
 radiation treatment
   to the chest area
 earlier in life have a
greatly increased risk
   of breast cancer.
DES Exposure: DES
is a drug once used to
   lower the risk of
miscarriage. It is now
  known to increase
   the risk of breast
     cancer for the
mother and the child
      in the womb.
 Not having children or
  having them later in
 life: Having a slightly
 higher risk for breast
  cancer, women who
have no had children or
  had a child after age
  30. Being pregnant
more than once at early
age reduces the number
         some.
  Recent use of birth
 control pills: Women
  who are using birth
control have a greater
 risk of breast cancer
than women who have
     never used it.
   Therefore, before
taking the pill, talk to
your doctor about the
         risks.
Alcohol: Use of alcohol
 is clearly linked to an
    increased risk of
 getting breast cancer.
Having one drink a day
decreases the risk only
a small amount. Having
 2-5 drinks a day have
   1½ times the risk of
  women who drink no
         alcohol.
  Being overweight or
obese: This is linked to
 a higher risk of breast
cancer, especially if the
 weight gain took place
during adulthood. Also,
  the risk seems to be
 higher if the fat exists
    in the waist area.
   Lack of exercise:
    Reduces breast
cancer risk. The only
question is how much
exercise is needed. As
little as 1 hour and 15
  minutes to 2 hours
per week reduces the
      risk by 18%.
  Lowering your risk:
The only way to lower
you risk is by changing
 those factors that can
be changed. Limit use
  of alcohol, exercise
 regularly, and keep a
healthy weight, you are
 decreasing your risk.
    Other than skin
cancer, breast cancer
 is the most common
cancer among women
in the United States.
 After lung cancer, it
is the second leading
    cause of death.
 In the past few years,
182,460 women in the
  United States have
    been found with
invasive breast cancer.
About 40,480 women
 die from the disease a
  year, and about 2 ½
million are survivors of
       the disease.
  What Cancer Cannot Do
    Cancer is so limited...
       It cannot cripple love,
      It cannot shatter hope,
      It cannot corrode faith,
 It cannot eat away at peace,
It cannot destroy confidence,
     It cannot kill friendship,
It cannot shut out memories,
   It cannot invade the soul,
 It cannot reduce eternal life,
  It cannot quench the spirit,
  It cannot lessen the power
         of the resurrection.
           Anonymous