October: Breast cancer Awareness

 

In the UK, breast cancer is the most prominent cancer. Although younger women can develop breast cancer, those over 50 are more likely to be diagnosed.

A lifetime diagnosis of breast cancer occurs in about 1 in 8 women. If it is discovered at an early stage, there is a good chance of recovery.

Because of this, it's crucial for women to periodically check their breasts for any changes and to always have any alterations evaluated by a GP.

Men can occasionally receive a breast cancer diagnosis as well.

breast cancer symptoms

Breast cancer can present with a variety of symptoms, but the first one that stands out is typically a lump or an area of thickened breast tissue.

Even though the majority of breast lumps are not malignant, it is always preferable to have them examined by a specialist.

If you have any of the following symptoms, you should also consult a doctor:

•A change in the size or shape of one or both breasts. •Discharge from either nappy, which may be bloody stained, a lump or swelling in each armpit dimples on the breast skin.

•A rash near or on your nipple.

•A change in the way your nipple looks, such as when it sinks into your breast.

Breast pain does not frequently indicate breast cancer.

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WARNING SIGNS

HOw to take breast cancer self examination:

 Causes:

Because the causes of breast cancer are not completely known, it is difficult to predict why one woman will have breast cancer while another won't.

However, there are recognized risk factors that can influence your chance of getting breast cancer. While some of them are beyond your control, others are things you can influence.

Age

Age raises the likelihood of getting breast cancer. Women over 50 who have gone through the menopause are especially susceptible to the illness. Women over 50 account for about 8 out of 10 breast cancer cases.

As part of the NHS Breast Screening Program, every three years all women between the ages of 50 and 70 should be checked for breast cancer.

Women over the age of 70 can schedule a screening through their general practitioner or neighborhood screening unit and are still eligible for it.

family history

You may be more likely to get breast cancer if you have close relatives who have battled breast or ovarian cancer.

However, since breast cancer affects more women than any other type of cancer, it's likely that through chance, more than one member of the family will have the disease.

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Although the majority of breast cancer cases do not run in families, the BRCA1 and BRCA2  genes can raise your risk of acquiring both breast and ovarian cancer. These genes may be inherited by a kid from one or both parents.

Additionally linked to this condition are the genes TP53 and CHEK2.

Additionally linked to an increased risk of breast cancer are the genes TP53 and CHEK2.

If ovarian or breast cancer runs in your family and you are concerned that it will affect you as well, go to a doctor. They might suggest that you do a genetic test offered by the NHS to find out if you inherited any cancer-risk genes.

Existing breast cancer or a lump

If you've ever had breast cancer or early non-invasive cancer cell alterations in your breast ducts, your risk of getting it again is higher, whether it's in the same breast or your other breast.

Although having a benign breast lump does not necessarily indicate that you have breast cancer, some benign breast lumps may slightly raise your risk of getting cancer.

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Breast cancer risk may increase if you have certain benign breast tissue alterations, such as atypical ductal hyperplasia or lobular carcinoma in situ, which are abnormalities in your breast tissue that cause aberrant cell growth in ducts or lobes.

Robust breast tissue

Numerous little glands (lobules) that generate milk make up your breasts. This glandular tissue is denser than other breast tissue because of the increased number of breast cells it contains.

Due to the increased number of malignant cells in dense breast tissue, women may be at an increased risk of breast cancer.

A breast scan (mammogram) may be challenging to interpret if the breast tissue is dense because it makes lumps and other abnormal tissue more difficult to spot.

Breast density is generally higher in younger women. Your breasts become less thick as you age because less glandular tissue and more fat are replaced there.

Medicine involving hormones

Estrogen exposure

Sometimes, the female hormone estrogen will encourage the growth of breast cancer cells.

When you start puberty, the ovaries, which are the storage organs for your eggs, start producing estrogen, which controls your menstrual cycle.

Depending on how much estrogen your body is exposed to, your risk of developing breast cancer may somewhat increase.

For instance, if you began having periods at a young age and went through the menopause later than typical, you will have had more time to be exposed to estrogen overall.

Similarly, as pregnancy does not interrupt estrogen exposure, delaying having children or having children later in life may slightly raise your chance of developing breast cancer.

Replacement of hormones (HRT)

A higher risk of getting breast cancer is linked to hormone replacement treatment (HRT).

With the exception of vaginal estrogen, all forms of HRT can raise the risk of breast cancer.

If you use HRT for a shorter period of time than a year, there is no increased risk of breast cancer.

However, compared to women who never use HRT, if you take HRT for more than a year, your risk of breast cancer is increased.

After stopping HRT, the higher risk of breast cancer decreases, although part of the elevated risk relative to women who have never taken HRT persists for more than 10 years.

pill for birth control

According to research, women who use the pill as a form of birth control face a marginally higher risk of breast cancer.

However, after you stop using the pill, the risk starts to go down, and ten years after stopping, your chance of breast cancer returns to normal.

lifestyle variables

•Having a weight problem

•Being overweight or obese after going through the menopause may increase your risk of breast cancer.

•Being overweight or obese after the menopause causes your body to create more estrogen, which is thought to be related to the amount of estrogen in your body.

•Alcohol

Breast cancer risk rises with alcohol consumption.

A person's risk of developing breast cancer is higher than it is for someone who never drinks any alcohol, even in modest amounts. Your risk of developing breast cancer rises as you consume more alcohol.

•Radiation 

Some medical procedures that include radiation, such X-rays and CT scans, may marginally raise your risk of developing breast cancer.

You ought to have already gotten a letter from the Department of Health and Social Care inviting you to see a doctor to talk about your elevated risk of breast cancer if you underwent radiotherapy to your chest area for Hodgkin lymphoma.

If you didn't get a call or didn't show up for a consultation, see your doctor. Most of the time, you have the right to an MRI scan to inspect your breasts.

Your doctor should talk to you about the risk of breast cancer before you start treatment if you are currently receiving radiotherapy for Hodgkin lymphoma.

 Diagnosis

You can experience symptoms and visit your doctor about them, or you might get a diagnosis of breast cancer following a regular breast exam.

GP consultation

If you have any breast cancer symptoms, such as an unusual lump in your breast or any changes in the way your breasts feel, look, or are shaped, you should consult a doctor as soon as possible.

Your GP will examine you. Your symptoms will be referred to a specialized breast cancer clinic if they believe they require further evaluation.

•Breast cancer clinic examinations

•You will be referred to a specialised breast cancer clinic for more testing if you have breast cancer suspicion, whether it be due to your symptoms or a mammography that revealed an abnormality.

 •Ultrasound breast imaging and mammography

•An X-ray of your breasts will be taken during a mammography if you have symptoms and have been referred to a specialist breast unit by a general practitioner. An ultrasound examination may also be required.

You could need a second mammography or ultrasound scan if cancer was found during the NHS Breast Screening Program.

If you're under the age of 35, your doctor could advise against having a breast ultrasound scan. This is because mammograms are less successful at detecting cancer in younger women's breasts because they are thicker, whereas ultrasonography is more effective at doing so.

To create an image of the interior of your breasts and reveal any tumors or abnormalities, ultrasound uses high-frequency sound waves.

Additionally, your breast health expert

 Biopsy

In a biopsy, a sample of your breast tissue is removed and examined to determine whether it has any malignant cells.

A scan and a needle test on the lymph nodes in your armpit (axilla) may also be necessary to determine whether they are also impacted.

The type of biopsy you receive will depend on your illness and what your doctor already knows about it.

•Syringe aspiration

Using a needle aspiration, a small fluid-filled lump can be drained or a sample of your breast cells can be examined for signs of cancer (benign cyst).

Your doctor will take a sample of cells using a tiny needle without taking any tissue.

•A needle biopsy

The most prevalent type of biopsy is a needle biopsy. Using a big needle, a tissue sample is removed from a lump in your breast.

You might receive a local anesthetic, in which case you'll be awake throughout the surgery but your breast won't feel anything.

In order to make a more accurate and certain diagnosis of cancer, your doctor might advise that you undergo a guided needle biopsy. This procedure is typically guided by ultrasound, X-ray, or occasionally MRI.

It can also be distinguished from any non-invasive change by having this, especially ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS).

•Biopsy with vacuum support

A different kind of biopsy is vacuum-assisted biopsy, also called mammotome biopsy.

A needle is connected to a soft suction tube during the operation, which aids in obtaining the sample and

 further breast cancer examinations

More tests will be required if a breast cancer diagnosis is confirmed in order to establish the cancer's stage and grade as well as the most effective course of therapy.

•A scan with an X-ray

Checking for cancer spread may include a CT scan, chest X-ray, and liver ultrasound study.

Clarifying the findings or determining the severity of the problem within the breast may need an MRI scan of the breast.

A bone scan may be necessary if your doctor suspects that the cancer has spread to your bones.

A radioactive material called an isotope will be put into a vein in your arm before you have a bone scan.

In this case,

 Tests to identify the most appropriate treatments.

You'll also require testing to see how the cancer will react to various forms of treatment.

These test results can help your doctors understand your cancer better and determine the best course of treatment for you.

Natural bodily hormones like estrogen and progesterone, which occur in small amounts, have been known to accelerate the growth of breast cancer cells in some situations.

Tests to identify the most appropriate treatments

You'll also require testing to see how the cancer will react to various forms of treatment.

These test results can help your doctors understand your cancer better and determine the best course of treatment for you.

Natural bodily hormones like estrogen and progesterone, which occur in small amounts, have been known to accelerate the growth of breast cancer cells in some situations.

In this scenario, halting the hormones' effects or reducing their levels in your body may be used to treat the cancer. Hormone therapy is what this is.

A sample of cancer cells from your breast will be removed for a hormone receptor test, which will check for

 the breast cancer's stage and grade

level of breast cancer

Your doctors will stage your breast cancer if it has been identified. The stage, which describes the size of the malignancy and the extent of its dissemination and is used to gauge the prognosis,

Stage 0 is sometimes used to refer to ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). Invasive breast cancer is classified into additional stages, which include:

Stage 1: lymph nodes under the armpit are unaffected and the tumor is less than 2 cm in size. There are no indications the cancer has spread to other parts of the body.

Stage 2: the tumor measures 2 to 5 cm, the armpit lymph nodes are impacted, or both. There are no indicators that the cancer has spread to other parts of

 Stage 3 - the lymph nodes in the armpit are affected, and the tumor measures 2 to 5 cm. It may also be attached to breast structures, such as the skin or surrounding tissues. There are no indications the cancer has spread to other parts of the body.

Stage 4 refers to a tumor of any size and the spread of the disease to additional body parts (metastasis)

This is a streamlined manual. Each step is further broken down into the categories A, B, and C. Consult your doctor if you're uncertain of your current stage.

TNM staging method

As it can offer precise information regarding the diagnosis, the TNM staging method may also be used to describe breast cancer:

•T - the tumor's size.

No matter

•N - whether the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes T - the size of the tumor

•M - Whether the cancer has spread to other body parts.

Breast cancer severity levels

The grade gives a description of how the cancer cells appear.

•low grade (G1) - the aberrant cells seem to be growing slowly.

•Medium grade (G2) - When compared to low-grade cells, middle grade (G2) cells appear more aberrant.

•high grade (G3) - the cells appear significantly more aberrant and are more prone to develop rapidly.

Treatment

The optimum therapy and care for breast cancer patients should be provided by a multidisciplinary team (MDT), which is a team of professionals.

Breast cancer's primary treatments include:

•surgery

•radiotherapy

•chemotherapy

•targeted treatment with hormones

One of these therapies might be used on you, or a combination of them. Depending on how the cancer was discovered and what stage it is in, you may receive one sort of treatment or a mix of them.

When breast cancer is found at a routine checkup, it may be in an early stage; however, when breast cancer is found after you start to experience symptoms, it may be in a later stage and need a different type of therapy.

Which therapies are most appropriate should be discussed with you by your MTD.

Picking the best course of treatment for you

Your doctors will examine the following factors when determining the best course of treatment for you:

•how advanced and how severe the cancer is (how big it is and how far it has spread)

•your general well-being

•if you have ever gone through the menopause

You should always be able to talk about your care and ask questions with your care team.

Summary of the treatment

Typically, the primary course of treatment for breast cancer is surgery. Your type of breast cancer will determine the sort of surgery you need.

Following surgery, patients typically get chemotherapy, radiation, or, in rare instances, hormone or targeted therapies.

Again, the type of breast cancer you have will determine your treatment.

The best course of therapy will be discussed with you by your doctor. Sometimes, the first course of treatment will involve either hormone therapy or chemotherapy.

Breast cancer that is secondary

The majority of breast cancer cases are found early on. But only a small percentage of women are diagnosed with breast cancer before it has spread to other bodily areas (metastasis).

If so, the type of treatment you receive could be.

Surgery

Breast cancer surgery falls into two categories:

The malignant mass (tumour) is removed during breast-conserving surgery.

During a mastectomy, the entire breast is removed

Reconstructive surgery to try to restore a breast is frequently performed after a mastectomy.

According to studies, complete mastectomy is not as effective at treating early-stage breast cancer as breast-conserving surgery combined with radiotherapy.

Breast-preserving procedures

Breast-conserving procedures range from a lumpectomy, also known as a wide local excision, in which the tumour and some nearby breast tissue are removed, to a partial mastectomy, also known as a quadrantectomy, in which up to 25% of the breast is removed.

The quantity of breast tissue that is removed if you have breast-conserving surgery depends on:

Your specific type of cancer

how big the tumour is, where it is in your breast, how much of the surrounding tissue needs to be removed, and how big your breasts are

To check for signs of malignancy, your surgeon will always take a portion of healthy breast tissue from the area surrounding the tumour.

The likelihood that the cancer will recur is decreased if it is absent from the healthy tissue.

You might need to have more tissue removed from your breast if cancerous cells are discovered in the tissue around them.

Typically, radiotherapy is recommended after breast-conserving surgery to eradicate any cancer cells that may still exist.

 Radiotherapy

To eliminate cancer cells, radiotherapy administers precise quantities of radiation. To eradicate any leftover cancer cells, it is typically administered following surgery and chemotherapy.

To give your body time to heal from surgery or chemotherapy, radiation will start around a month after you have those treatments.

For 3 to 5 weeks, you'll likely get radiotherapy three to five times per week. There will be many minutes in each session.

•Radiotherapy techniques

The type of breast cancer you have and the sort of surgery you undergo will determine the type of radiotherapy you receive. Radiotherapy might not even be necessary for certain women.

There are several different kinds of radiation.

Breast radiotherapy involves applying radiation to the entire remaining breast following breast-conserving surgery.

 Breast boost: Some women may be offered a boost of high-dose radiation in the area where the cancer was removed; however, this may affect your breast's appearance, especially if you have large breasts, and can occasionally have other side effects, such as hives. Breast radiotherapy: After breast-conserving surgery, radiation is applied to the entirety of the remaining breast tissue. Chest-wall radiotherapy: After a mastectomy, radiotherapy is applied to the chest wall.

Radiotherapy's adverse consequences

Following are some radiation side effects:

Irritation and darkening of your breast's skin, which could result in uncomfortable, red, or erupting skin

extreme exhaustion (fatigue)

blocked lymph nodes behind your arm causing an increase in fluid in your arm (lymphoedema)

 Chemotherapy

Cancer cells are killed during chemotherapy by utilising anti-cancer (cytotoxic) drugs.

To eliminate any cancer cells that the surgeon did not manage to eradicate, it is typically utilised following the operation. Adjuvant chemotherapy is what it's known as.

Chemotherapy, which is frequently used to shrink a large tumour, may occasionally be given to you before surgery. Neo-adjuvant chemotherapy is what it is called.

Chemotherapy makes use of a number of different medications, typically 2 or 3 at once.

Depending on the type of breast cancer you have and how far it has gone, you will need to choose the right medication and medication combination.

You won't need to spend the night in the hospital if you receive chemotherapy as an outpatient treatment.

Normally, the medications are injected directly into a vein by drip.

 In some circumstances, you might be given medicines to take at home. Every 2 to 4 weeks, you can have a chemotherapy treatment followed by a rest. A cycle is the name given to each treatment session. Chemotherapy cycles might last up to eight times.

Chemotherapy has an impact on healthy, normal cells like immune cells, which results in the majority of its negative effects.

Among chemotherapy's side effects are:

infection-related appetite reduction

fatigue, exhaustion, hair loss, and sore mouth

With the help of medications that your doctor may prescribe, many side effects can be avoided or managed.

The production of oestrogen in your body, which is known to promote the growth of some breast cancers, can also be stopped by chemotherapy drugs.

 Your ovaries should begin producing oestrogen again once your chemotherapy treatment is over.

However, it's possible for you to experience an early menopause if this doesn't always occur. Since women over 40 are closer to menopause, this is more likely to occur in them.

The effect that treatment will have on your fertility will be covered in your consultation with your doctor.

Breast cancer chemotherapy for recurrent disease

Chemotherapy may shrink the tumour, ease your symptoms, and lengthen your life if your breast cancer has spread outside of the lymph nodes and breast to other parts of your body. Chemotherapy does not cure cancer, but it may help prolong life.

 Depending on the stage of your breast cancer and the treatment you're taking, it might have a variety of effects on your daily life.

Various forms of assistance are available if you need them, but how each woman deals with her diagnosis and treatment differs from person to person. Though not all of them are effective for everyone, one or more of them ought to be.

You might:

•Talk to your friends and family; they could be a strong source of support.

•converse with others who are experiencing the same thing.

•learn as much as you can about your illness

•Avoid pushing yourself too hard or overworking yourself.

•set aside time to relax.

 •After therapy, your body and breasts

•Adjusting to physical changes

•How you view your body may change if you are given a breast cancer diagnosis. Every woman responds differently to the physical changes brought on by breast cancer treatment.

While some women respond well, others find it more challenging to deal. You should give yourself enough time to adjust to any physical changes.

 The possibility of completely preventing breast cancer is unknown because the causes of the disease are not entirely understood.

Women who are more likely than the general population to develop the illness may benefit from certain therapies to lower their risk.

Lifestyle and diet

It is advised that all women engage in regular exercise and consume a healthy, balanced diet as these actions can help fend off a variety of illnesses, including as heart disease, diabetes, and several types of cancer.

Although there are no conclusive results from studies on the relationship between food and breast cancer, there are advantages for women who:

eat a low-fat, saturated-fat-resistant diet, exercise frequently, and abstain from alcohol to maintain a healthy weight.

To determine your healthy weight, use our body mass index (BMI) calculator.

It's also been said that getting regular exercise can cut your chances of breast cancer by approximately a third.

It's crucial that you aren't overweight or obese if you've recently gone through the menopause. This is because having a larger frame increases your body's production of oestrogen, which may raise your chance of developing some types of breast cancer.

Breastfeeding Research has demonstrated that women who breastfeed have a statistically lower risk of developing breast cancer than those who do not.

The causes are unclear, although it may be because breastfeeding prevents women from ovulating as frequently while oestrogen levels stay consistent.

 Medicine

For women with an elevated risk of breast cancer, the NHS offers three medications:

Tamoxifen is prescribed to women who have gone through menopause or have not.

ladies who have had menopause should take anastrozole.

Women who have had menopause should take raloxifene.

For five years, these medications are typically taken once daily. While you are taking them and possibly for several years after, they can lower your risk of developing breast cancer.

These drugs' side effects include:

warm flushes

Leg cramps, nausea/illness, and sweating

Additionally, there is a slight chance of developing more severe issues including womb cancer, blood clots, or weak bones (osteoporosis).

Taking medication as advised by your physician to lower your breast cancer risk.

Through the month of OCTOBER, on 13 October breast cancer Awarness is given in the whole World.

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