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The breasts are one of the most essential organs in a woman’s body. One needs to take care of them from the very beginning otherwise the chances of breast cancer – the abnormal growth of cells around the breast lobules or ducts – grows abnormally. These cells can spread to other parts of the body. This happens when the breast cancer cells multiply and become a tumour. The tumour spreads from the breasts to the rest of the part of the body.
According to WHO, globally, while 1 in 12 women are diagnosed with breast cancer denoting it as one of the leading cancers among Indian women.
How Many Kinds of Breast Cancers Are There and What Are They?
The type of breast cancer depends upon which breast cells transform into cancer.
Ductal Carcinoma
An early form of breast cancer, ductal carcinoma, is a condition that impacts the cells of the milk ducts in the breast. They only spread around the breast tissue.
Lobular Carcinoma
An uncommon condition, lobular carcinoma, occur as abnormal cells develop in the milk glands, also known as lobules in the breast. They may not be the general cancer types, but once diagnosed with this condition, an increased risk of breast cancer cannot be denied.
Inflammatory Breast Cancer
A study clearly identifies that inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) represents 1.1% of breast cancer cases at a center in India. The median age of these patients is 45 years, and they experience symptoms for a median duration of 5 months. In this type, the cancerous cells line the breast milk ducts and tend to spread beyond. In this condition, the breasts become red, warm, and swollen.
Paget’s Disease of the Breast
Sir James Paget in 1874 described the Paget’s disease first.In a pivotal 1992 study published in the Indian Journal of Cancer, researchers meticulously examined 43 cases of Paget’s disease of the breast. Paget’s disease is 1% to 4% of all breast cancer cases. It begins on the nipples and goes to the areola (dark circle of skin).
What Are the Reasons For Breast Cancer?
Anyone can be diagnosed with breast cancer. The reasons behind it may not always be clear. However, the following are some of the main reasons for it:
- A woman or man’s age. The chances of breast cancer are higher if he or she is over 50 years old
- With a screening of breasts, it can be found that there is dense breast tissue
- Inherited changes in the genes, for example, BRCA1, BRCA2, and PALB-2 genes
- Menstruation at an early age, or menopause at an older age, or giving birth after 35 years of age
- Not breastfeeding after the delivery of the child or children
- Using contraceptive pills
- Taken hormone replacement therapy earlier
- Lack of physical activity
- Getting exposure to harmful chemicals (in Food, Cosmetics, etc)
- Obesity
What Signs Will Confirm Breast Cancer?
The symptoms of breast cancer depend upon the type of cancer. Many of the breast cancers may develop a lump or may not. Therefore, it’s essential to understand the signs and symptoms of breast cancer. A lump near the armpit, there might be nipple bleeding or discharge, there are chances of redness or swelling, the nipple looks flatter or carved in, an increased size of breasts, changes seen in the nipples, etc.
What Are the Ways to Treat Breast Cancer?
Physical exam (of the lymph nodes), mammogram (low dose X-ray to look for changes in the breasts), ultrasound and biopsy, as well as other scans, ensure to check the symptoms of breast cancer start the treatment. As far as the treatment of breast cancer is concerned, there are stages like:
Staging
Staging is a CT scan, of the chest and liver to see whether the size of the breast cancer has increased or not and has spread to lymph nodes.
Surgery
One of the best surgical options would be to remove either the lymph nodes under the arms or remove the breasts. Radiotherapy is also considered a part of breast removal.
Chemotherapy
With the help of chemotherapy, the cancer starts to shrink before undergoing surgery. Intravenous (injected into your vein) or oral chemotherapy uses anticancer drugs to treat cancer.
Hormone Therapy
Hormonal therapy reduces the hormone levels in women, further reducing the development of hormone receptor cancer cells. Depending on your age, the type of breast cancer, and whether you’ve reached menopause, you may require hormone therapy.
Medicines
In addition to this, visiting the healthcare practitioner for medicines to kill the cancer cells can prevent the spread of the cancer. There are oestrogen blocking medicines.
The above-mentioned treatment options would aim to reduce the spread of cancer and help a woman live longer. Furthermore, by doing a lot of exercise and breastfeeding the baby, one can prevent breast cancer.