Breast cancer

Diagnosed Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in women not including skin cancer. During 2008, an estimated 182,460 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to occur among women and about 1,990 new cases in men in the US. Breast prosthesis, hats, turbans, wigs, make-up. Breast cancer is the type of cancer most closely linked with women in the public consciousness, but lung cancer has now surpassed it as the leading cause of cancer deaths among women. According to a report published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association, fatalities for females suffering from the disease are up 600 percent since 1930, whereas the number of men who died of lung cancer over the same time period declined.

Complexity of Breast Cancer

Breast cancer may be invasive or noninvasive. Invasive means it has spread to other tissues. Breast cancer can be treated in a variety of settings, and women are encouraged to explore their options, which include accredited breast centers, National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated centers, and clinical trials. The increasing complexity of breast cancer and its treatment calls for a team of specialists, and multidisciplinary planning is key for selecting appropriate treatment for individual women. Breast cancer is about 100 times less common among men than among women and accounts for less than half of 1% of cancer deaths among men. For men, the lifetime risk of getting breast cancer is about 1/10th of 1% (1 in 1,000).

Mammograms

Breasts that have a high proportion of lobular and ductal tissue appear dense on mammograms . Breast cancers nearly always develop in lobular or ductal tissue (not fatty tissue). Breast cancer is one of the most common cancer types among women worldwide.

Statistics say that one in eight women will develop breast cancer during her lifetime. However, this does not take into account risk factors for specific women, nor does it explain that a "lifetime" is 95 years. Statistics show that from 1985 to the present, the number of men diagnosed with prostate cancer has tripled, with an estimated 50.000 expected to die from the disease in 1995.

Symptoms of having the disease include having a lump, change in shape and size of the breast or discharge from the nipple. These symptoms are discovered through a self- exam after which one goes for further tests in a hospital. Symptoms of inflammation are pain, bleeding, warmth and redness in the breast and the skin texture of orange skin.

Cancer Research

Research shows that mammograms can miss up to 20 per cent of breast cancers in women who don't have any symptoms. Mammography reduces a woman's risk of dying from breast cancer by only 16 per cent, according to the Dr Susan Love Research Foundation in the US. Research is still being conducted on this; however, it is looking as if damaged cells, which may later account for breast cancer, are being passed down through family members. Therefore, if someone in your family has been diagnosed with breast cancer, there is a good chance that you may also develop it. Researchers are working to find the best screening test for prostate cancer.