What is breast cancer?
Sometimes breast cells become abnormal. These abnormal cells grow, divide, and create new cells that the body does not need and that do not function normally. The extra cells form a mass called a tumor. Some tumors are "benign" or not cancer. These tumors usually stay in one spot in the breast and do not cause big health problems. Other tumors are "malignant" and are cancer. Breast cancer often starts out too small to be felt. As it grows, it can spread throughout the breast or to other parts of the body. This causes serious health problems and can cause death.
What are the symptoms of breast cancer?
Different people have different warning signs for breast cancer. Some people do not have any signs or symptoms at all. A person may find out they have breast cancer after a routine mammogram.
Some warning signs of breast cancer are—
Keep in mind that some of these warning signs can happen with other conditions that are not cancer.
What are the risk factors for developing breast cancer?
However, most breast cancer cases occur in women without any risk factors, so everyone should be checked regularly.
What is a woman’s risk of getting breast cancer?
Excluding skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in American women and the second major cause of death after lung cancer. One out of eight women will develop breast cancer over the course of a lifetime.
What does it mean to have a genetic predisposition to breast cancer?
Genes that contain the hereditary information passed down from parent to child serve as the blueprint for many human features and characteristics. The most common cause of hereditary breast cancer is an inherited mutation in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. In normal cells, these genes help prevent cancer by making proteins that help keep the cells from growing abnormally. If you have inherited a mutated copy of either gene from a parent, you have a high risk of developing breast cancer during your lifetime.
These cancers tend to occur in younger women and are more often bilateral (in both breasts) than cancers in women who are not born with one of these gene mutations. Women with these inherited mutations also have an increased risk for developing other cancers, particularly ovarian cancer.
(See BRCA1 and BRCA2 fact sheet for more information).
Can breast cancer be prevented?
There is no sure way to prevent breast cancer, but there are things all women can do that might reduce their risk and help increase the odds that if cancer does occur, it is found at an early, more treatable stage. You can lower your risk of breast cancer by changing those risk factors that are under your control. If you limit alcohol use, exercise regularly, and stay at a healthy weight, you are decreasing your risk of getting breast cancer. Women who choose to breastfeed for at least several months also may reduce their breast cancer risk. Not using post-menopausal hormone therapy (PHT) also can help you avoid raising your risk.
How can breast cancer be found early?
Early detection can help save lives. Mammography remains the most effective means available to detect cancer in its earliest stages. (See Facts About Breast Cancer, Breast Exams and Mammograms for more information.)
Where can I find financial help to get a mammogram?
Partial or total costs of mammograms are covered by Medicare, Medicaid and most private health plans. To find out what the law requires insurance carriers to provide, go to the Illinois Department of Insurance’s website: http://www.insurance.illinois.gov/HealthInsurance/Women.asp
The Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program provides free mammograms and Pap tests for women who qualify - women age 35 to 64 and are uninsured. Younger women may qualify if they have symptoms. To find a site near you that provides this free service, call the Women’s Health-Line at 888-522-1282 (TTY 800-547-0466).
How is breast cancer diagnosed?
Doctors often use additional tests to find or diagnose breast cancer.
What is staging?
If breast cancer is diagnosed, tests are done to find out if cancer cells have spread within the breast or to other parts of the body. This process is called staging. Whether the cancer is only in the breast, is found in lymph nodes under your arm, or has spread outside the breast determines your stage of breast cancer. The type and stage of breast cancer tells doctors what kind of treatment will be needed.
How is breast cancer treated?
Breast cancer is treated in several ways. It depends on the kind of breast cancer and how far it has spread. Treatments include surgery, chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, biologic therapy, and radiation. People with breast cancer often get more than one kind of treatment.
It is common for doctors from different specialties to work together in treating breast cancer. Surgeons are doctors that perform operations. Medical oncologists are doctors that treat cancers with medicines. Radiation oncologists are doctors that treat cancers with radiation.
More information about breast cancer can be obtained by contacting:
Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program, Illinois Department of Public Health
American Cancer Society
National Cancer Institute
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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