Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is the condition where abnormal cells grow in the breast, resulting in a tumour. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women but it can affect men too, but not many. The exact cause of breast cancer is unknown but factors that are thought to contribute include: Breast implants (as the implants can bring changes into the breast tissue), hormone treatments and birth control pills have been associated with it, if someone has been having radiation for another cancer treatment, this could also induce it, women who are obese or overweight have a higher chance of developing it, dense breast tissue (more likely to develop if the breast tissue is higher density), it is a cancer that can run in the family amongst the women and if you have already suffered with breast cancer or suffer with breast lumps.

SYMPTOMS OF BREAST CANCER

The most common symptom is a lump in your breast or more than one lump. This is the most common symptom that will make women go to the doctor. Other symptoms include, a change in the size of the breast or shape change, pain around the nipple or discharge from the nipple, peeling or flaking skin on the breast, a pain in your armpits or breast that is always there as well as redness on the skin of the breast

Treatments

Surgery

It’s common to have surgery to remove the breast cancer and one of the most successful treatments.

Breast-conserving surgery — this removes the cancer and a part of the normal tissue around it but not the actual breast itself.
Total mastectomy — this removes the whole breast that has cancer along with some of the lymph nodes under the arms to check for cancer.
Modified radical mastectomy — this removes the whole breast that has cancer, more lymph nodes under the arm, lining of the chest muscles, and maybe a part of the chest wall muscles.

Radiation Therapy

This treatment uses high-energy x-rays and other types of radiation to keep cancer cells from growing and killing them. External radiation uses a machine to direct radiation towards the cancer whereas internal radiation is placed directly near the cancer in the form of needles, seeds, wires or catheters. This therapy can depend on the type and stage of cancer. External radiation is used to treat breast cancer whereas internal radiation relieves bone pain caused by the breast cancer.

Chemotherapy

This treatment uses drugs in order to stop the growth of cancer cells and stops them from dividing and kills them. The drug enters the blood stream either by taking the drug orally or by injection into the muscle or a vein and then reaches the cancer cells. Chemotherapy can also be placed directly into the cerebrospinal fluid, organ, or abdomen and affects the cancer in those regions.

Hormone Therapy

This treatment blocks or removes hormones and stops cancer cells from growing. Drugs, surgery, or radiation therapy reduces the making of hormones and blocks them from working. Estrogen is a common hormone produced by the ovaries and can cause breast cancer. An ovarian ablation stops the ovaries from making estrogen. Other hormone therapies can include megestrol acetate or anti-estrogen therapy.

Targeted Therapy

This type of therapy identifies and attacks cancer cells without hurting other cells. Targeted therapies used in breast cancer treatment include:

Monoclonal antibodies
Tyrosine kinase inhibitors
Cyclin-dependant kinase inhibitors
Mammalian target of rapamycin inhibitors
PARP inhibitors

Monoclonal antibodies are made from immune system cells and can differentiate between cancerous substances or normal substances on cells and kill the cancerous cells, stopping them from growing and stopping them from spreading. They are given by infusion and can be used to give cancer cells other drugs, toxins or radioactive material.

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