Breast Cancer : Cancer And Cancer

There are no symptoms at the early stages of breast cancer which makes early detection even more difficult. When tumors become large there is an obvious breast mass which is mostly not painful. Symptoms of breast cancer include breast thickening, skin irritation, tenderness, swelling, breast scales, distortion, redness tenderness, nipple retraction and ulceration, There may also be abnormal discharge.

In women, cancer can also develop in the glands that produce milk” (see Appendix A). Most breast cancer is unnoticeable in the early stages because it does not cause the person pain. “As the cancer progresses, signs and symptoms can include a lump or thickening in or near the breast; a change in the size or shape of the breast; nipple discharge, tenderness, or retraction (turning inward); and skin irritation or dimpling” (the U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2015). “Sometimes breast cancer can spread to lymph nodes under the arm or around the collar bone, even before the original tumor in the breast tissue is large enough to be felt ” (American Cancer Society, 2015). If the cancer is untreated it often spreads to other areas of the body and becomes more aggressive.

One of the most common ones is a lump in the breast. A lump would indicate a cluster of cells in the tissue. Many women that catch breast cancer before it gets serious find a lump in their breast during a self examination. Another symptom is an unexplained change in size in the breast(s), whether an increase in size or decrease in size. An explained reason for breast change in size would be a pregnant/breastfeeding mother (size would increase) or a surgical size change. Also, if the skin of the breast gets red and swollen or appears to resemble the skin of an orange. Another common symptom of breast cancer is if the nipples of the breast become tender or inverted. Finally, if asymmetry in the breast occurs it could be a symptom of breast cancer. Although many women have one breast larger than the other, a new occurrence of asymmetry should be examined by a physician. These symptoms are just a few common ones, there are more than are less

Breast cancer (BRCA) is associated with the highest mortality rate of any type of cancer besides that of the lung (American Cancer Society, 2013). BRCA occurs most commonly in women over the age of 40, with an estimated global incidence of 1.6 million cases in 2010. An estimated 39,000 women died from BRCA alone in 2013 (American Cancer Society, 2013). BRCA is responsible for the largest portion of spending on cancer-related care in the United States; an estimated $16.5 billion of cancer-related spending went towards BRCA in 2010 (Mariotto, Robin Yabroff, Shao, Feuer, & Brown, 2011). Although the prevalence, mortality, and costs associated with BRCA are quite high, recent advances in screening and treatment have increased long term

Breast cancer is a very common disease in women. Simply stated, cancer that forms in the breast cells is breast cancer. Breast cancer appears when the breast cells start growing and dividing too fast. The cells begin dividing faster then the normal cells and a lump or mass is formed (Breast Cancer). Some of these tumors, though, are benign; these tumors are not cancerous and do not spread throughout the body. Other tumors are malignant; they are cancerous and able to spread throughout the body (Braddock 3-4).

When cancer begins to spread it becomes very difficult to treat it. Breast cancer has about 8 stages. The early stage or stage 0 is when this disease has been found but has not yet invaded or infected the surrounding breast tissue. Stage 1 , the disease has broke free, started to invade the healthy tissue. In Stage 2A the cancer has spread ,tumor is created and is small. Stage 2B is when the process begins to grow, the tumor grows more. Stage 3 is when the cancer has been caught by doctors before it has metastasize to other organs. At stage 4, breast cancer has been found away from the breast or lymph

Invasive Ductal Carcinoma, sometimes known as Infiltrating Ductal Carcinoma is a type of breast cancer. I picked this cancer because my aunt was diagnosed with it a couple years back. Any type of breast cancer normally starts in the inner lining of the milk ducts or the lobules that supply them with milk. A breast cancer that started off in the lobules is known as Lobular Carcinoma. Whereas, breast cancer that starts off in the ducts are known as Ductal Carcinoma.

Invasive ductal carcinoma accounts for up to 70 percent or more of invasive breast cancer.

Carcinoma is a cancer that develops from the epithelial cells, which begins in the tissue that lines the outer and inner surface of the body. Breast cancer is a growth of mutated cells that forms in the lobules, the ducts, and also the stromal tissue of the breast. Stromal tissue is the fatty fibrous tissue that holds and supports the breast. The cause of these mutated cells is the change in the genes that is responsible of healthy cell growth. These genes can be inherited from family genetics or the most common way which is the aging process. With this process the healthy cells replace themselves with new ones and the old cells die out, but with family genetics and age these cells no longer die out

In the United States, breast cancer is the second most common cancer in women. Although it can occur in both men and women, it is very rare in men. An individual’s breast has many components. It contains glands, ducts and breast tissue that contains fat, connective tissue, lymph nodes and blood vessels. The most common type of breast cancer in the U.S. is ducts carcinoma. This type of cancer begins within the cells of the ducts, but it can also begin in the cells of the lobules and other tissues of the breast.

Breast cancer develops in the breast tissue. It develops primarily in the milk ducts or glands, and can travel to other parts of the body. Even if it has traveled elsewhere, it is still called breast cancer. If it has spread, it will usually be referred to as metastatic or advanced breast cancer (Breast Cancer Health Center, 2014).

Unfortunately, as most of us know cancer is one of the deadliest diseases in our society. Breast Cancer is the second leading cause of death in women in the United States, next to lung cancer and also the most common cancer diagnosed in women. Over one million people are diagnosed with cancer every year in the U.S. alone. As many people are aware of today, due to uncontrolled growth of cells within in the body, cancer is developed through this. During class Dr. Weilert asked us whether we knew anyone that had cancer, suffered with some form of cancer or are now in remission. I was shocked to see that about 80% of the class did know someone. Since there has been an ongoing investigation and ongoing research for the cure of cancer, it is now known that there are over one hundred different types of cancer. In this paper I will discuss; the natural history, pathophysiology, the signs & symptoms, the diagnoses and finally share some statistics surrounding breast cancer within the United States.

Stage 0, carcinoma in situ, has 3 different types of carcinoma in situ. The first type is Ductal carcinoma in situ. In this condition, there are abnormal cells that are lining the duct of the breast, but, has not metastasized to other parts of the body. The second type is Lobular carcinoma in situ. There are abnormal cells found in the lobules of the breast in this condition. Cancer.gov says that having LCIS in one breast increases the risk of having breast cancer in one or both breasts. The last type is Paget disease, where abnormal cells are only found in the nipple. Next, is stage 1. In stage one we find that the person, has developed cancer. The stage is split into states IA and IB. In stage IA, the cancer cell is 2 centimeters or smaller, while in stage IB there are chunks of cancer cells smaller than 2 millimeters. In stage IA the cancer hasn’t spread but in stage IB it’s found in the lymph nodes. Stage 2 also is split into two parts, IIA and IIB. In IIA the tumor has either not been found in the breast, but 1 to 3 axillary lymph nodes or in the lymph nodes near the breastbone (Cancer.gov). Or, the tumor is no bigger than 5 centimeters and has not advanced to the lymph nodes. In stage IIB there are cancer cells in the lymph nodes, they haven’t spread to the lymph nodes, or they have spread to 1 to 3 axillary lymph nodes or in the lymph nodes near the breastbone (Cancer.gov).

Usually breast cancer starts off in the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply them with milk. Common symptoms of breast cancer include a lump in the breast, bloody discharge from the nipple, and changes in the shape or texture of the nipple or breast. Survival rates from breast cancer have increased from early detection, new treatment , and a better understanding of the disease.

Some of these include: Ductal Carcinoma in Situ, Invasive Ductal Carcinoma, Inflammatory Breast Cancer, and Metastatic Breast Cancer. Ductal Carcinoma in Situ (DCIS) is “a non-invasive cancer where abnormal cells have been found in the lining of the breast milk duct” [4] (National Breast Cancer Foundation). This form of cancer is non-invasive. DCIS is cancer found in the milk ducts but it has not spread out into the surrounding fatty and connective tissue in the breasts. The next type of cancer, Invasive Ductal Carcinoma (IDC), is cancer that started out like DCIS but has spread further than the ducts. In IDC, the spreading cancer affects the surrounding tissue and sometimes other parts of the body. IDC is the most common type of breast cancer (70-80% of all breast cancer diagnoses) [4] (National Breast Cancer Foundation). It is also important to know that IDC is the type of breast cancer that most commonly affects males. Although it is rare (about 1 in 1,000) [4] for men to be diagnosed with breast cancer, it is still possible. Thinking that men are not susceptible to breast cancer is a common misperception among our wide population. Inflammatory Breast Cancer is rarely noticed because it does not develop and visible tumors. This type of breast cancer is aggressive and fast growing. The cancer cells invade the surrounding lymph vessels and skin of the breast. Metastatic Breast Cancer is usually seen as the most severe since it has spread to other major parts of the body such as the lungs, liver, bones, and brain. The many ways in which the cancer can spread include “cancer cells invading nearby healthy cells, penetrating into circulatory or lymph system, migrating through circulation, lodging into capillaries, and growing new small tumors” [4] (National Breast Cancer