Breast cancer is a disease that specifically affects women, but it may also affect men, albeit in a much smaller percentage, as doctors have recently made great achievements in the fields of early detection and treatment of breast cancer to reduce the number of deaths from the disease.
Previously, detection of breast cancer meant removal of the entire breast. Today, these operations are performed only in rare cases, as there is a wide range of treatments available.
Tumor grading
Cancerous tumors are classified on a scale of 0-4IV (four), as follows
Grade 0
Also called non-invasive or local breast cancer, although these tumors do not have the ability to invade healthy tissue in the breast or spread to other organs in the body, it is important to eradicate and remove them Because they may turn into invasive tumors in the future.
Grades 1 - 4
They are invasive tumors that have the ability to invade healthy tissues in the breast and then spread to other organs in the body. Cancerous tumors in the first degree are small and local, and the chances of complete recovery from it are very large, but the higher the degree, the less chances of recovery.
Class 4
It is a cancerous tumor that has spread outside the breast tissue and spread to other parts of the body, such as: the lungs, bones, and liver, and although the cancer cannot be cured at this stage, there is a possibility that it will respond well to a variety of treatments that will cause shrinkage and diminishment. The tumor is kept under control for a long period of time.
Breast cancer symptoms
Being aware of the early signs and symptoms of breast cancer can save your life. When the disease is detected in its early stages, the range of treatments available is wider and more diverse, and the chances of a full recovery are very high.
Most lumps found in the breast are not malignant, however, the most common early sign of breast cancer in both men and women is a lump or thickening of breast tissue. This lump is often painless.
Breast cancer symptoms include
Discharge of a clear or blood-like substance from the nipple, sometimes with the appearance of a tumor in the breast.
Retraction or indentation of the nipple.
Change in the size or features of the breast.
Flattening or indentation of the skin covering the breast.
Redness or wrinkled skin on the surface of the breast, like an orange peel.
Breast cancer causes and risk factors
Breast cancer means that a number of breast cells have begun to multiply abnormally. These cells are dividing more rapidly than healthy cells and can begin to spread throughout the breast tissue, into the lymph nodes and even other organs in the body.
The most common type of breast cancer begins in the milk-producing glands, but it can also start in a sub-lobe or other breast tissue. In most cases, it''s not clear why healthy cells in breast tissue turn cancerous.
1. Causes of breast cancer
Doctors know the causes of the disease as follows
genetics
Only 5-10% of breast cancer cases are due to genetic causes. There are families who have a defect in one or two genes, such as breast cancer gene No. 1 (BRCA 1) or breast cancer gene No. 2 (BRCA 2), and this is the probability of their children being exposed And her daughters, the risk of breast cancer or ovarian cancer is very high.
Other genetic defects
The ataxia-telangiectasia mutation gene and the tumor suppressor gene P53 all increase the risk of breast cancer. If one of these genetic defects runs in your family, there is a 50% chance that the defect will be present. You have it too.
Most of the genetic defects associated with breast cancer are not inherited.
These acquired defects may be due to radiation exposure. Women who have been treated with radiation to the chest area for fibroids in childhood or adolescence, or during breast growth and development, are more likely to develop breast cancer than women who have not been exposed to such radiation.
Genetic changes may also occur as a result of exposure to carcinogenic substances, such as: some hydrocarbons found in tobacco and charred red meat.
Today, researchers are trying to find out if there is any relationship between the genetic makeup of a particular person and environmental factors that may increase the risk of developing breast cancer, and may prove that several factors may cause the emergence of breast cancer.
2. Breast cancer risk factors
A risk factor is anything that increases the odds of developing a particular disease. Some risk factors, such as age, gender and family history, cannot be changed while others, such as smoking or poor diet, can be controlled by humans.
However, even if you have one or more risk factors, it does not necessarily mean that you will get breast cancer, as the majority of women who have breast cancer get it just because they are women and they do not have any other additional risk factors.
As being a woman is the most important risk factor for breast cancer, although men are also at risk of developing breast cancer, it is much more common among women.
Other major risk factors that can increase the risk of breast cancer include
Age.
A personal history of breast cancer.
family history
genetic tendency.
exposure to radiation.
Overweight.
Menstruation at a relatively early age.
Reaching menopause at a relatively late age.
Hormone therapy.
Take birth control pills.
smoking.
Precancerous changes in breast tissue.
High density of breast tissue on mammography.
Age and the exact period of menopause may affect breast tissue density, as the density of breast tissue in young women is usually higher than in older women.
Hormones also have an effect on this. The higher the hormone levels, the higher the density of the breast tissue. However, the risk of breast cancer due to the higher density of breast tissue increases by only a small percentage.
If you are in one of the high-risk groups for breast cancer and your breast tissue density is high, it may be difficult to analyze the mammogram, and then your doctor may recommend other screening tests.
Causes of non-malignant tumors in the breast
There are medical conditions other than breast cancer that can lead to a change in the size or texture of the breast. Breast tissue changes naturally during pregnancy and during menstruation.
Other possible causes of non-cancerous tumors in the breast include the following
Fibrocystic changes.
polycystic
A fibroadenoma.
Inflammation or injury.
Breast cancer complications
Complications include the following
Anatomical changes of the breast.
Chronic pain.
phantom breast pain
and axillary web syndrome.
Lymphedema.
Fatigue and cognitive impairment.
Breast Cancer Diagnosis
If you notice a lump or any change in your breast even if the result of the last mammogram was normal, you should contact your doctor for an evaluation.
If you have not passed after menopause, it may be better to wait for one menstrual cycle before seeing a doctor, but if the changes in the breast do not disappear after a month, it is necessary to go to the doctor to assess the situation, and the most prominent diagnostic methods include the following:
1. Photography
Looking for evidence of breast cancer before the first symptoms appear is key to early detection of breast cancer while it is still at a stage where it can be treated.
According to information about age and risk groups to which you may belong, mammography, or other examinations are done.
2. Breast self-exam
Breast self-examination is only one possibility and should be done on a regular basis starting from the age of 20, as your experience of breast self-examination and familiarity with your breast tissue and structure on a regular basis may enable you to detect early signs of breast cancer.
You should learn what your breasts usually look like and be alert for any change in feel or in the breast tissue. If you notice any changes, inform your doctor as soon as possible.
3. Breast examination in clinic
If you have a family member who has had breast cancer, or if you belong to one of the high-risk groups for breast cancer, it is recommended that you have an in-clinic breast exam once every three years until you reach the age of 40, and then once a year thereafter .
During this examination, the doctor checks the breast tissue to look for lumps or other changes in the breast. The doctor can detect lumps or changes that you were unable to notice, and he may also notice an increase in the size of the lymph nodes in the armpit area.
4. Mammography
Mammography, which examines breast tissue by producing X-ray images, is today the most reliable examination for early detection of cancerous lumps in the breast, even before the doctor can feel it by hand touching the breast For this reason, it is recommended that all women over 40 years of age have this examination frequently.
There are two types of mammograms
Scanning mammography.
Diagnostic mammography.
But radiographic examinations are not perfect, as there is a certain percentage of cancerous tumors and sometimes masses that can be felt on self-examination and do not appear on the X-ray image.
This percentage is higher among women who are in their forties This is because women of this age and younger women are more likely to have a higher density of breast tissue, which makes it difficult to distinguish between healthy and abnormal tissue.
5. Other examinations
Other notable examinations include the following
Computer assisted detection.
Digital mammogram.
Magnetic resonance imaging.
6. Diagnostic procedures
Diagnostic procedures help identify and characterize breast tissue abnormalities that are detected by routine examinations, such as finding a lump in the breast by palpation, or by mammography or magnetic resonance imaging.
These tests help your doctor decide if you need a biopsy (a medical procedure in which cells or tissue are taken as a sample for analysis and examination in a laboratory), and they help develop directions for how to perform a biopsy.
7. Ultrasound examination
This test is used to check whether the lumps that have been detected in the breast are solid or not.
8. Biopsy
It is the only test that can confirm the presence of cancerous cells. A biopsy is a test that can give us very vital information about any abnormal or abnormal changes in breast tissue, and help determine whether and what type of surgery is needed.
Types of biopsies that may be performed
Fine needle biopsy.
Coreneedle biopsy
Stereotactic biopsy.
Surgical biopsy.
9. Estrogen and progesterone receptor testing
The presence of hormone receptors can be checked in cancer cells that were removed during a biopsy. If you find estrogen receptors, progesterone receptors, or both, your doctor will advise you to take medications, such as Tamoxifen, which block estrogen from reaching these areas.
10. Staging check
Screening for disease staging, which determines the size and location of the cancerous tumor and whether the tumor has metastasized and spread to other places. The staging also helps in planning treatment measures.
11. Genetic or genetic tests
If you have one or more hereditary cases of breast cancer in your family, blood tests will help detect the faulty gene or defects in other genes that are passed down from one generation to the next in the family.
These tests often have inconclusive results and should only be carried out in special cases and after consultation with a genetic counselor. If you are not in the risk groups for breast cancer or ovarian cancer on a genetic background, genetic diagnostic testing is generally no
