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The mere words alone strike fear into even the strongest of women. Forearmed with knowledge about what is happening and what will happen, however, could make the journey through this disease a bit less frightening.
Breast cancer is a leading killer among women and early detection of a problem makes a lot of difference in how the cancer is treated and in how effective the treatment will be. Mammography is the early detection method. Although self examination is very important, it should never by
itself take the place of a mammogram.
A periodical physical examination by a health care provider in conjunction with self exam and routine, regular mammograms, can also increase the chances of successfully catching a cancer before it's reached the stage where it has spread to become incurable.
What Causes It:
Our cells generally divide only when they need to in order to make more cells. When cells divide unrestrained, too much tissue is produced, causing a tumor, detected in the form of a lump.
Tumor cells which have lost the ability to control cell division, and have also gained the ability to spread distantly, are considered "malignant" or cancerous. Cancer spread to distant bodily sites, such as the bones, the
lungs, and the liver, is usually what causes death with cancer, including breast cancer.
Risk Factors:
Although there is no known cause for cancers of any kind, there are factors that put certain women at higher risk than others. A few of the high risk factors are: If you are over 45 and have not yet been through menopause is one factor. Another is if your first pregnancy was when you were over the age of 30.
Much more importantly, risk is increased if a close family member had the disease. The younger the relative was when she got breast cancer, the higher the risk.
The risk of breast cancer increases with age. It is uncommon under the age of 40. Women over 50 account for 80 percent of the breast cancer that is diagnosed. The risk, of course, becomes even greater after the age of 60 is reached.
One thing to remember is that none of the increased risk factors actually causes the cancer, they only increase the risk in those women.
This increased risk can also be compensated for by increasing the frequency of screening procedures such as mammograms, or by lowering the age at which screening first begins, such as getting one's first annual mammogram below age 40 instead of the usual age of 40 for most women's first mammogram (40 is the age that the American Cancer Society recommends that most women start getting mammograms.) If you have a first degree relative that had breast cancer, you should talk to your doctor about starting mammograms at an earlier age than most women.
Symptoms:
There are no outward symptoms that breast cancer is present at the onset. Only in a mammogram will it be detected early. In later stages, there will be swelling and a detectable lump. The breast may feel uncomfortable and may have a different appearance than the other.
Other things that you may notice in later stages are a dimpled appearance to the skin or an inverted nipple. Some blood could also be coming from the nipple.
A doctor should always be notified if one experiences blood from the nipple, or any of these other symptoms, such as a lump in the breast (particularly if it is hard, since cysts tend to be present and are softer than tumors), dimpling or inverted nipple when it was previously normal.
In its late stages, there could be problems with lymph nodes that are found under your arm. Your lymph nodes are located, in addition to under your arm, near your collarbone. If there are any lumps you can feel under your arm, or near your collarbone, a doctor should be notified so you can be examined and evaluated.
Once breast cancer is in a late stage, there may also be pain in your back or in bones. Difficulty in breathing may also be a problem in some women due to lung involvement. These symptoms would normally not be present until long after a lump has been found in the breast."
Treatment:
Contrary to what you might have been believing, there are various ways to treat breast cancer, and your doctor should speak with you about some of those ways in determining which method is best for your particular case.
In addition to the more known and understood chemotherapy, another choice of treatment might be radiation therapy. Some women are given hormonal therapies, and in some cases, the best option is surgery. Many times you will be using more than one of these treatments in tandem.
Staging:
Your doctor will want to find out where your cancer is in terms of stages. The lump will be measured, and you will need to have tests to determine whether or not the cancer has spread. Spreading happens when the cancer cells travel to healthy tissue that is nearby. If the cancer
cells separate themselves from the tumor, they can travel via your blood stream and affect other parts of your body.
While staging, your doctor may request a biopsy or another mammogram, or other tests to help determine not only how far your cancer is advanced, but it will also help him or her choose the best treatment.
Usually one of the first decisions you will be faced with after a diagnosis of breast cancer, if the cancer is found early enough that you have the option, is whether to have only the tumor removed from the breast, followed by radiation therapy to that breast to kill any remaining cancer cells in it, or to have a mastectomy in which the entire breast (including any cancer cells remaining after biopsy) is removed. You will be given ample information needed in order to make this first decision, if it is deemed available due to tumor size or location in the breast.
At about the same time period, the lymph nodes in the armpit will need to be checked and sampled in some way too, to see if there is any evidence of the tumor having the ability to spread to distant sites. It is only after lymph node evidence of spread or non-spread is obtained, that a decision will normally be made about which type of "whole body" therapy to deliver, if any, such as anti-estrogen hormone therapy or chemotherapy.
Several specialties of doctors will participate with you and give you recommendations in these important decisions, such as the surgeon, the radiation oncologist, and the medical oncologist. You may also see, to assist you in various ways, psychologist/psychiatrist/social worker to help you with stress-related issues of your diagnosis, physical therapist to help with surgical recovery issues, plastic surgeon if reconstruction is contemplated after mastectomy, nursing care and other counselors to help you cope with your diagnosis.
Yes, It's Cancer... Now What?
As mentioned previously, the words strike fear. Hearing the words is extremely difficult. You will feel depressed, sad, and angry, as will those people close to you. It will appear totally unfair and these are perfectly common emotions. Eventually however, you will be doing yourself a huge favor if you turn the anger into determination to fight the disease.
In fighting it, be sure to follow your doctor's recommendations in treatment. If you feel there should be more options available, do not be afraid to seek another opinion. It is only fair that you should be able to choose the most progressive treatment that is available if that is
your desire.
Remember to consider your doctor a true partner regarding your disease. They are there to help you in making your decisions and offering their recommendations, so be open and frank with them. For instance, if you are taking or plan to take any non-conventional medicine, they should be
supportive about this, but do not hide any medicines you are planning to take or are taking.
Do not be afraid to give your doctor information, do not be afraid to mention something that bothers you in either physical or emotional terms, but also do not be afraid to ask questions of them. Keep a list of questions you may think of, during the day or perhaps as you lie in bed at night, written down so you may ask them when they see you. Do not be afraid to request answers even after your scheduled visits by leaving a telephone message about your question or list of questions, or asking for another visit just to answer your new questions that came up. As with many areas of life, communication with the people who are serving you by providing you medical care, is vital and important.
Another thing you may find helpful is to find a local or online support group. The other members of the group will be women who are going through the same range of emotions that you will be experiencing. This is a good chance to ask others how it was to get a particular treatment you may be getting, and what it felt like from their viewpoint.
Mammography:
The American Cancer Society advises that women age 40 and over should have an annual mammogram.
Contrary to what a woman may have heard, having a mammogram does not cause breast cancer.
In closing, it is important to remember that breasts go through normal changes over a woman's lifetime. There are even breast changes that are present with the menstrual cycle. There are also "lumps" found occasionally that are benign and quite harmless since they are not cancerous.
About 50 percent of women notice things such as lumps, pain, or a nipple discharge that will be disappearing with menopause and are also not a sure sign of cancer. Women aged 35 to 50 often have a problem with cysts, which are sacs filled with fluid. A benign discharge may be experienced in women who are on birth control pills, or certain types of sedatives.
Being aware that these things can happen without cancer as a present factor is not a reason to ignore them nor to avoid seeking the advice of a physician. It is merely meant to say that if a lump or discharge is discovered, a woman should not automatically assume that cancer is present. Only her doctor can provide the answer, however, and it is vital that she seek that possible life-saving guidance.
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