Signs and Symptoms of Breast Cancer

By Erlinda Carla B. De Guzman-Mangila

It is very important for each and every one of us to know the signs and symptoms of breast cancer for us to be able to know what will be possible and most effective way to overcome such. Well, the first particular sign and symptom of this kind of disease is a lump that is different from the surrounding tissues around the breast. It is said that if a woman felt a lump in her breast, then it is a cancer, more than 80% of breast cancer cases are discovered in this manner, this is based on the Merck Manual. And the first objective indications or medical signs of breast cancer is discovered by a mammogram or is detected by a doctor. The lymph nodes located at the armpit are where the lumps are found and or the collarbone can also be a sign of breast cancer.

Signs and symptoms of breast cancer other than a lump may also include changes that may in the breast's size and breast's shape; also, dimples appear in the skin, inversion of nipples, or a single-nipple discharge that is spontaneous. Pain is not a reliable tool to determine the presence or the absence of a breast cancer, but it can also be a sign of other breast-related health problems like the mastodynia.

If a breast cancer cells enter the dermal lymphatic by force, the small lymph vessels in breast's skin, the inflammatory breast cancer is the inflammation that resembles on the skin presentation. The signs and symptoms of the inflammatory breast cancer comprise pain, swelling of the breast, over all warmth and redness of the breast and also the texture of the skin that looks like an orange peel and is called or referred to as "peau d'orange"

Another complex symptom that is reported on this kind of disease is the Paget's disease of the breast. And this disorder is known as the eczamatoid, in this manner, the skin changes in color, it will be red and the nipple skin will have a mild flaking texture. As the Paget's disease of the breast moved forward, the signs may consist of itchiness and the increase of the sensitivity of the skin, burning and it will be painful too. Discharge from the nipple may also occur. Actually almost half of the women who are diagnosed with Paget's are also suffering from lump in the breast.

The cancer that is spread further than the original organ is a metastatic disease. The metastatic breast cancer can cause signs and symptoms depending on the metastasis location. Metastasis's common location may be found in the bone, in the liver, in the lungs and in the brain. The weight loss that is unexplainable can be sometimes the indication of a disease, the signs can also be determined as fevers and chills. Also, a bone and joint pains can be a sign sometimes, as well as the jaundice or a neurological signs. But these signs are not that specific, because it can also be a sign and symptom of any other illnesses.

Always remember that most signs and symptoms of breast disorder is not really the best representation. The mastitis and fibro adenoma of the breast are the benign breast diseases and are more common causes and signs of breast disorder. And both patient and the doctor must take seriously the new development of signs and symptoms that may occur, because there may be instances that breast diseases may occur at an early age too.

Source : Ezinearticles

Women, beware lump in your breast

THE women need to be aware if you find a lump in the breast. Therefore, the lump could be one of the symptoms of breast cancer. To determine whether the lump is malignant or not, then the patient should immediately consult with mammography.

"Public awareness of the importance of early detection of breast cancer should be improved through counseling. Breast cancer is curable if detected early through clinical examination and mammography.

Breast cancer is a malignancy originating from the glands, lymph channels and supporting breast tissue. In recent years, the age groups of young people with more, even under the age of 30 years. This triggered a pattern of unhealthy living such as smoking and penchant for fast food consumption.

There are several symptoms of this disease could be identified that the emergence of a lump in the breast and a big change and shape the breast. Other symptoms are, came out abnormal fluid from the nipples, the fluid may be pus, blood, fluid or dilute out the mother's milk are not pregnant or nursing. In addition, the skin, the nipple and areola into a curved or creased.

Higher stadium, then the size of the lump is greater. If a new form of lump and has not spread to other organs, the treatment of lump simply by lifting it as soon as possible before getting bigger, Sutjipto said. If you've entered the fourth stage, the lump or a malignant tumor that will spread to other organs.

"The earlier stadiumnya, chances for recovery or life expectancy is also increasing. In the early stages, breast cancer does not cause any symptoms, but along with the development of disease
symptoms that will cause changes in the breast. For that we need a good regular checks with breast self-examination, examination by medical workers and a mammogram.

Breast Cancer Stages

Breast cancer is divided into five stages. Stages 0-2 are considered "early", stage 3 considered "advanced", and stage 4 "late". Staging categories are important for predicting future prognosis, and determine optimal treatment recommendations.

Stage 0 is DCIS, or ductal carcinoma in situ. Breast cancer arises from the cells that line the milk ducts. When the cancerous cells are still contained inside the duct, it is diagnosed as DCIS. This can only be determined by a pathologist doctor looking at the tissue under a microscope. In general, when the DCIS lesion is small, there is no need to suspect cancer spread outside the breast.

Stage 1 is invasive or infiltrating cancer. Here, the cancer cells have broken through the duct wall and are found outside the ducts as well. In this case, doctors need to determine whether the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes. Stage 1 breast cancer must be equal or smaller than 2 cm in its invasive component, AND have no spread to lymph nodes. Often, the tissue removed at surgery contain DCIS in addition to the invasive cancer. However, only the dimensions of the invasive cancer count. If the patient needs to have multiple surgeries and the invasive cancer is found at more than one operation, usually the dimensions are added together to arrive at the final size.

Stage 2 has two subcategories. In stage 2A, the invasive cancer can be 2 cm or less and has spread to axillary (armpit) lymph node(s), i.e. positive node(s). Also, the invasive cancer can be as large as 5 cm, but has not spread to lymph nodes, i.e. negative nodes. In stage 2B, the invasive cancer is between 2cm and up to 5 cm and has spread to nodes. Here, cancer may measure even larger than 5 cm if it has not spread to nodes.

Stage 3 includes invasive cancer larger than 5 cm that has spread to lymph nodes. Also, cancer of any size that heavily involves the axillary lymph nodes to the point that these nodes are bulky and stuck together or stuck to other structures in the axilla (armpit) are in this stage. Tumor spread to lymph nodes either above or below the clavicle bone, or to nodes underneath the sternum (breast bone), also falls into this category. Furthermore, if the cancer of any size is attached to the chest wall (pectoralis muscle and/or ribs), it qualifies as stage 3. Inflammatory cancer, where the skin of the breast is red and swollen, is classified in this stage, regardless of size.

Stage 4 is invasive cancer found outside the breast and axillary lymph nodes, or "metastatic" to distant sites. At this stage, it does not matter how large the primary cancer in the breast is. Nor does it matter whether axillary/clavicle/breast bone lymph nodes have cancer or not. The most common sites for metastasis for breast cancer are bone and liver, followed by lungs and brain. Standard testing include bone scan and CT scan of the chest, abdomen and pelvis. More recently, PET scan is often done to look for cancer spread. Sometimes, a brain MRI or CT is also useful.

Source : Ezinearticles, Dr. Mai Brooks

Dr. Mai Brooks is a surgical oncologist/general surgeon, with expertise in early detection and prevention of cancer.

What is Breast Cancer?

Executive Summary By Ryan Lawson

Breast cancer is a disease caused by the formation of cancerous (malignant) cells that can occur within one or more breasts. According to some sources, bladder cancer is believed to be the second most common type of cancer (lung cancer is #1). Amongst women, however, breast cancer far exceeds other forms of cancer, including cervical, as the most common cancer.

Whom is at risk for breast cancer?

Women are approximately 100 times more likely to develop breast cancer than men; women are at higher risk primarily because of growth effects of female hormones such as estrogen. In addition, those age 55 and older are much more likely to develop this cancer than those under 55. Research indicates that about two-thirds of all breast cancers occur in individuals 55 and older.

Signs and Symptoms

The most obvious and common symptom is a lump on the breast that feels different from the surrounding breast tissue. It is believed, according to studies done by Merck, that approximately 80% of all breast cancer cases are discovered as a lump by the individual. However, lumps can also be found not only in the breasts, but in the collar bone as well as the armpit.

Other signs that breast cancer may be developing include: Nipple discharge, changes in the size, shape, or feel of the breast, skin dimpling, inversion of the nipple.

Warning: It is notable, that not all forms of breast cancer can be detectable by a sign or symptom during the initial stages. Periodic mammograms should be undergone by the patient as recommended by a physician.

Diagnosis

To diagnose breast cancer, a physician will need to surgically remove and test a sample of the tissue. This is known, more formally, as a breast biopsy. The most common procedures for conducting a biopsy include: Ductal lavage, fine needle aspiration, core needle biopsy, large core surgical, open surgical incision

Once the tissue has been removed through a biopsy, it will be sent to a lab where it is examined through a microscope by a pathologist to determine if its cancerous. Fortunately, in more than half of all biopsies, the sample tissue is found to be benign (non-cancerous). If the tissue is cancerous, however, the next step that will be performed is to determine which stage the cancer is currently in.

Source : Ezinearticles.

What is Cancer ?

Definition of Cancer
Cancer is a term used for diseases in which abnormal cells divide without control and are able to invade other tissues. Cancer cells can spread to other parts of the body through the blood and lymph systems.

There are more than 100 different types of cancer. Most cancers are named for the organ or type of cell in which they start - for example, cancer that begins in the colon is called colon cancer; cancer that begins in basal cells of the skin is called basal cell carcinoma.

Types of Cancer
Cancer types can be grouped into broader categories. The main categories of cancer include:

• Carcinoma, cancer that begins in the skin or in tissues that line or cover internal organs.
• Sarcoma, cancer that begins in bone, cartilage, fat, muscle, blood vessels, or other connective or supportive tissue.
• Leukemia, cancer that starts in blood-forming tissue such as the bone marrow and causes large numbers of abnormal blood cells to be produced and enter the blood.
• Lymphoma and myeloma, cancers that begin in the cells of the immune system.
• Central nervous system cancers, cancers that begin in the tissues of the brain and spinal cord.
  

Origins of Cancer
To understand cancer, it's helpful to know what happens when normal cells become cancer cells. The body is made up of many types of cells. These cells grow and divide in a controlled way to produce more cells as they are needed to keep the body healthy. When cells become old or damaged, they die and are replaced with new cells.

However, sometimes this orderly process goes wrong. The genetic material (DNA) of a cell can become damaged or changed, producing mutations that affect normal cell growth and division. When this happens, cells do not die when they should and new cells form when the body does not need them. The extra cells may form a mass of tissue called a tumor.

Not all tumors are cancerous; tumors can be benign or malignant.

• Benign tumors aren't cancerous. They can often be removed, and, in most cases, they do not come back. Cells in benign tumors do not spread to other parts of the body.
• Malignant tumors are cancerous. Cells in these tumors can invade nearby tissues and spread to other parts of the body. The spread of cancer from one part of the body to another is called metastasis.
  

Some cancers do not form tumors. For example, leukemia is a cancer of the bone marrow and blood.

Many studies have been done into how a healthy lifestyle and eating habits help lower a person risk of getting a cancer. Quitting smoking, cutting out the alcohol, eating a healthy balanced diet, regular exercise greatly help your chance of not getting cancer.

If you are worried that you may have cancer or perhaps, have a history of cancer in your family, it may benefit you to visit your doctor and get some more information on the matter. Don't leave it too long, the key to beating cancer is to treat it before it spreads too far.

Sources : Ezinearticles, National Cancer Institue