Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death after lung cancer in women. Although breast cancer can affect men too, this article in majority focuses on breast cancer in women. Breast cancer is a disease that occurs in the breast when the cells in the breast tissue change or mutate and keep on reproducing. A positive news is that the death rate due to breast cancer has declined in the recent years, perhaps due to the awareness amongst women about the disease, screenings and better treatments for this type of cancer.
Symptoms
Stages of Breast Cancer There are different stages of breast cancer ranging from stage 0 to stage 4.
Stage 0: The cells are restricted within a duct and do not spread in the surrounding tissues.
Stage 1: In the initial phase of this stage, the tumor is up-to 2cm wide and it has not yet affected the lymph nodes.
Stage 2: Now the tumor being 2cm wide has started spreading to the nearby nodes.
Stage 3: A tumor becomes 5cm wide and may have spread to some of the lymph nodes.
Stage 4: A tumor now gets transformed into cancer and spreads across the distant organs, especially the liver, lungs, brain, or bones.
Risk Factors
Diagnosis When suffering from breast cancer, getting it detected early is the key. The earlier the disease gets diagnosed, the better is the outcome of the treatment. Once the disease is diagnosed, it can be treated by:
Surgery: If surgery is required, the diagnosis and treatment will depend on the type of disease, it may be:
Other treatments include chemotherapy, radiation therapy, biological treatment, hormone-blocking therapy. Hormone treatment can affect women's fertility in future. Preventive measures There is no sure way to prevent breast cancer, but certainly, there are some lifestyle changes that can be made to reduce the risk of breast and other types of cancer. The measures are:
If you notice any of such symptoms, visit a doctor today.