At present, several types of cancers are very dangerous diseases for both men and women. Breast cancer is one of the dangerous diseases especially in women worldwide.
Breast cancer – It is one of the most common cancers especially in women that occurs in the cells of the breast. The breast is the important part of the body that is made up of three parts such as lobules, connecting tissues, and ducts. The lobules are the main part of the breast that produce milk for the baby and ducts are tubes that carry milk to the nipple. In the breast, the connecting tissue is made up of fatty and fibrous tissue which surrounds and holds everything together. Most of the cases of breast cancer start in the lobules or ducts. It can spread outside the breast through lymph and blood vessels. This type of cancer may occur in both men and women but it is most common in women.
In breast cancer, the uncontrolled cancer cells attack other healthy breast tissue that may move to the lymph nodes under the arms. The lymph nodes are an important pathway that helps cancer cells to spread the other parts of the body.
Causes of breast cancer – The breast of a woman contain fat connecting tissue and thousands of lobules that produce milk for a baby. During breast cancer, the cells of the body enhance uncontrollably. The unnecessary growth of cells causes because the tumor uses nutrients and energy that deprives the cells around it. It starts in the internal lining of milk ducts or the lobules that provide milk for cute babies and may spread to other parts of the body. As per scientists, several environmental, hormonal, and lifestyle factors may enhance the possibility of breast cancer. As per doctors, there is around 5 to 10 percent of cases of breast cancer are associated with gene mutations that passed through generations of a family.
Symptoms of breast cancer – There are several symptoms of breast cancer are given below –
- Rashes on or around nipples.
- Peeling or redness skin occurs in the nipple area of the breast.
- Any change in the appearance, shape, or size of a breast.
- There is any dimpling or irritation of the breast skin.
- Severe pain in any area of the breast.
- Any swelling or thickening in any part of the breast.
- Peeling or scaling or flaking of the skin on the nipple or breast
Stages of breast cancer – Breast cancer is divided into several stages that how it can spread in the body. There are some of the stages of breast cancer are discussed below –
- Stage 1 – In this stage, the size of the tumor is around 2 centimeters but it does not affect any lymph nodes due to the small group of cancer cells in the lymph nodes.
- Stage 2 – In this stage, the size of the tumor enhances more than 2 centimeters and starts to spread close nodes or has not spread towards the lymph nodes.
- Stage 3 – In this stage, the size of the tumor enhances more than 5 cm and spreads to several lymph nodes.
- Stage 4 – In this stage, breast cancer has spread to other several organs such as bones, liver lungs, and brain.
Risk factors – Several risk factors that may increase the risk of breast cancer are discussed below –
- Genes – If any women have inherited changes in BRCA1 and BRCA2 then it may enhance the risk of getting breast cancer as compared with those women who do not have these gene mutations.
- Being female – Large number of women are suffered from breast cancer as compared with men.
- Age – An increase in the age of any individual enhances the risk of getting breast cancer. The majority of the cases of this type of cancer are found in those women whose age is more than 55 years.
- Family history – If your mother or sister are suffered from breast cancer especially at a young age, then you are at the risk of getting breast cancer.
- Earlier breast cancer – If any individual had previous breast cancer in one breast, then it may increase the possibility of developing cancer in another breast.
- Take alcohol – If any individual takes a large amount of alcohol, then it may increase the risk of getting breast cancer.
Treatment – The main purpose of the treatment is to prevent the growth of cancerous cells in the body. During treatment, firstly, the doctor determines the stage and the side of the tumor in the breast cancer. In this type of cancer, surgery is the main treatment to prevent the growth of cancerous cells in the human body. There are some other treatments of breast cancer such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy, hormone therapy, and targeted therapy.