What is Breast Cancer? The Most Detailed Information You Need to Know

Anyone who has a pair of breasts can get breast cancer. While breast cancer is a lot more common in women, it is possible for men to get it too.

Because both men and women have breast tissue where cancer cells can develop, both sexes are at risk.

What is Breast Cancer?

When breast cells start growing out of control, breast cancer starts. When you feel a lump on your breast or if a tumor has been discovered through an x-ray, it is possible that this can be breast cancer.

However, not all lumps on the breast are indications of cancer. A series of tests need to be done as soon as you find a lump so that cancer can be confirmed or refuted. There are plenty of non-cancerous breast tumors and it would be great to know that most breast lumps discovered end up not being malignant.

It is still important to get checked by a doctor as these non-malignant or benign lumps on the breast, while not life-threatening for now, can be an indication of a woman’s increased breast cancer risk.

It can start from various parts of the breast, the most common one being the ducts that carry milk, which are called ductal cancers. Lobular cancers, which start from in the lobules or the glands that produce breast milk, are also quite common. There are other less common breast cancer types aside from these two.

Genetic factors

The risk of breast cancer among women can increase to double for those who have a mother, sister or daughter who has been diagnosed with breast cancer. However, only the risk is increased because less than 15% of women who were already diagnosed with breast cancer have a family member who also has or had breast cancer. Inherited mutations are less common compared to genetic mutations as there are 85% of breast cancers in women who are diagnosed do not have history of breast cancer in their families.

The Risk Factors: Causes of Breast Cancer That You Must Know About

Just like most other cancers, early detection of breast cancer means better chances of a successful treatment. Knowing how do you get breast cancer is just as important as being aware of its signs and symptoms. Truth be told, anybody is at risk of breast cancer; not only women, but also men.

Despite numerous claims that there are ways to prevent cancer, in reality, there really isn’t. Even if you live such a healthy and active lifestyle, you can still be at risk. But if you know about the risk factors and the possible causes of breast cancer, these may encourage you to always be in check. You have to do self-examinations more often and must consider visiting a health professional more regularly to get screening tests.

Common Risk Factors of Breast Cancer

When you’re at risk of breast cancer, there are things you have control over and there are factors you simply can’t change.

According to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc., there are genetic factors you simply don’t have control over and environmental factors that may be associated with breast cancer, which you can change.

However, the same source also discussed what scientists know when it comes to breast cancer. Cancer starts and grows when damage is found on a cell’s DNA. But why or how the damage happened remains unanswered. Possible reasons could include genetic or environmental factors, possibly even a combination of both. Sadly, most cancer patients and their doctors never really know what could have caused their cancer.

Statistics

For instance, when it comes to gender, women are at risk of breast cancer 100 times more than men. Age can also be a factor as invasive cancer is diagnosed in women over 55 years two out of three times. Furthermore, race can also be a factor as Caucasian women are found to have been diagnosed with breast cancer more often than women of another race.

Genetic factors and family history is a huge factor as well. It is said that if a first-degree relative has been diagnosed with either breast or ovarian cancer, one has a higher risk. If the relative was diagnosed before he or she was 50 years old, the risk also increases. Of course, personal health history is a major factor too. Especially if you have a history of breast cancer on one breast, it is possible for you to have cancer on the other breast. If abnormal breast cells including ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS), and atypical hyperplasia were detected previously, your risk increases as well.

Other common risk factors include the following:

1. Reproductive and Menstrual History – It is said that those who had menstruation at an earlier time, before 12 years old, and those who stopped menstruating late, after 55 years old, never had a child or had the first one at an older age, can also increase the risk of breast cancer.
2. Some Genome Changes – BRCA1 and BRCA2 and other mutations in certain genes, which can be determined through genetic tests, increase the risk of breast cancer. These are the genes that can be passed on to children.
3. Dense Breast Tissue – Dense breast tissue, which can be detected during a mammogram, can also increase breast cancer risk as the lumps will be more difficult to detect.

While 60 to 70% of those with breast cancer found that they have no connection to any of the factors listed above, there are still up to 40% of cancer patients and survivors who had these known risk factors.

While the genetic factors mentioned above cannot really be prevented, you have Control Over the following:

1. Frequent alcohol consumption
2. Radiation therapy on the chest done before you were 30 years old
3. A sedentary lifestyle with lack of physical activity
4. Obesity or being overweight especially if you are already past your menopause period
5. Poor diet that’s high in saturated fat
6. Combined Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT)

Early Detection, Better Chances: Signs and Symptoms of Breast Cancer

When breast cells grow at a rapid pace and out of control, breast cancer may already be starting. It can be felt or seen, but the best and only way to know for sure if you have it, other than by knowing the signs and symptoms of breast cancer, is by visiting a health professional and go through screening tests.

There are several screening tests in order for one to diagnose breast cancer. There are mammograms, breast ultrasound, breast MRI scans and other experimental tests that come out sometimes.

Of course, self-examination is very important too. Knowing how your breasts normally look like, and doing a self-check for lumps and abnormal masses every so will often help you detect breast cancer at an early stage. Just like most cancers, if breast cancer is detected early, there are better chances of surviving through successful treatments.

The Most Common Signs and Symptoms of Breast Cancer

Especially if you have a family history of breast cancer, going through regular screening tests or mammograms as frequent as once every year is ideal. However, if you opt to do self-examination, you must know about signs and symptoms that may indicate the possibility of breast cancer. Even if you find one of these signs on your breast, visit a doctor right away.

A lump or mass that you may see or feel on your breast, which be painful or painless, can be an indication of breast cancer. The American Cancer Society says: that if it’s a painless and hard mass with irregular edges, it is highly possible that it is cancer. However, there are also breast cancers that can be painful, rounded, tender, or soft. Because it’s hard to say whether a lump or mass is actually cancer just by one look, it is highly recommended to have a health professional check on it right away.

There are also symptoms of breast cancer that don’t involve any distinct lumps or masses. Other possible signs could be swelling of a breast, a part of it or all of it. In some cases, you will see skin irritation or dimpling, which may also look like an orange peel at times. Don’t take breast or nipple pain for granted too, as this can also be an indication of cancer.

If you see any discharge from your nipples, aside from breast milk, this can be a symptom as well. When a nipple turns inward, otherwise known as nipple retraction, it may also be a sign of breast cancer. Thickening, redness, and scaliness of the breast skin or nipple may also be an indication too.

There are cases when these signs or symptoms don’t show, and the breast cancer would spread to lymph nodes around the collarbone or under the arm. You may feel a lump or some swelling there too. While these symptoms, as well as everything else that has been mentioned above, don’t always indicate breast cancer 100% of the time, it is very important to be extra cautious. Taking time to visit a doctor when you see at least one of these signs is surely worth it.

Early Treatment and Prevention of Breast Cancer

Unfortunately, there is still no cure for breast cancer or most other cancers even today. While breast cancer rates continue to decrease every year and there are plenty of breast cancer survivors all around the world, this disease must still be taken very seriously.

According to the U.S. Breast Cancer Statistics by BreastCancer.org, there’s 1 out of every 8 women in the United States who will develop invasive breast cancer. In 2018 alone, an estimated 266,120 new cases are expected to be diagnosed in women, not including over 60,000 more non-invasive cases. Men, on the other hand, have a lifetime risk of 1 in 1,000.

Of course, it is always best to detect breast cancer at an early stage so it may be treated right away. There are better chances to survive it if the cancer hasn’t spread to other parts of the body yet. This is why women should learn how to do self-examinations regularly.

After diagnostics: treatment options

Once you have been diagnosed of breast cancer, treatment goals include getting rid of the cancer from your body as much as possible and stop it from coming back. The treatment will of course be recommended by your doctor based on the breast cancer type, the size of the tumor, how much the cancer has spread, and other important factors like your current health condition and personal preferences.

Some known breast cancer treatments include surgery or mastectomy, which may involve removing the whole breast. It is called a lumpectomy when only the tumor and tissues that surround it are removed. Radiation therapy may also be done to kill cancer cells through high-energy waves.

Other treatments include chemotherapy, hormone therapy and target therapy.

When diagnosed with breast cancer, it is best to talk to your doctor about the options you have. Each treatment has benefits and risks so you must be aware of what to expect. You may also try joining support groups not only for the emotional support you can get from other members, but also so you may learn from what they know and have experienced first-hand.