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Breast Cancer

The exact causes of breast cancer at still unknown, although there are some factors that are known to increase the risk of breast cancer. They are

• For women who had no children or have children after age 30 and women who have never breastfed.
  
• An early beginning of menstruation and late menopause
  
• A family history of breast cancer in a mother or sister
  
• Regular smokers, and long-term birth control consumption (combined with smoking)
  

Breast cancer first appears in the milk-producing glands of the breast tissue. These are groups of glands in normal breast tissue called lobules. The components from the glands will secret into a system of ducts leading to the nipples. Where the cancer begins in the areas of ducts of glands will determine the type of breast cancer. For example, ductal carcinoma begins in the ducts, while lobular carcinoma has a pattern involving the lobules or glands. Tests can determine the cancer's ability to invade other parts of the breast, or other areas. This is the determining factor for a true cancer. However, there is a stage before invasive cancer begins, and it is called 'in situ'. This is an early malignancy is not yet capable of invasion.

There are cases of both breast cancers with and without physical symptoms. Some of the classic symptoms are a lump in the breast; a thickening, swelling, or dimpling; skin irritation; pain; or a discharge or tenderness of the nipple. In cases of no symptoms, a mammography often shows the appearance of an early stage of breast cancer.

Left untreated, or when treatment comes late in the breast cancer's development, the cancer can (and does) become invasive, moving to the regional lymph nodes or travel (metastasize) to other organ systems in the body and become systemic in nature. It may also work its way into blood vessels, and thus spread throughout the body. As other organs become invaded with the cancer, they become compromised, and death is often the result in such cases.

There are now some well established treatments, once the cancer has been diagnosed. Regular mammography and limiting of the risk factors can avoid a cancer being detected in an advanced stage. If detected early, there is a very high survival rate (80% are cured by current treatments). Even in stage 2 breast cancer, the survival rate is 70%.

While there is no specific cure, beyond the normal treatment, there are some new drugs and procedures that can help high risk women avoid the cancers in the first place. The convention cure involves possible surgery, radio and radium therapy, chemotherapy, and new classes of drugs for all stages of treatment, even in some cases, given to women without breast cancer, but at high risk.

As to prevention of breast cancer there are some basic strategies to follow. If you are at high risk (the highest risk is a family history of breast cancer) you must go through screenings of tests at regular intervals. You should not smoke. If you plan to have children, have them early, in your 20s. In fact, while most breast cancer can't be prevented, it can be diagnosed from a mammogram at an early stage when it is most treatable. Therefore, once discovered, there is a better prognosis and much better chance for survival and cure.