Etiology, prevention, and genetic factors in breast cancer

Breast Cancer

ETIOLOGY AND PREVENTION OF BREAST CANCER

Breast cancer is the type of cancer that has been chosen for the assignment. Breast cancer is a cancer type that attacks the tissues in the breast of women. This cancer characterized by the presence of a lump inside the breast tissues, notable changes in the shape of the breast, the formation of dimples in the skin surrounding the breast, among others. The breast is made up of some tissues called lobules. These tissues play a significant role in milk production together with other tubes called ducts carrying milk from the lobules to the nipples. The common type of cancer that attacks the tissues is ductal cancer. Ductal cancer attacks the cells of the ducts and spreads throughout the other parts of the breast (Winchester, 2006).

Available Preventive Services

Breast cancer can be prevented through some weights. These factors include maintenance of the body weight, not using alcohol of using very limited amounts, physical activity, breastfeeding the children, among others. These modifications have the capacity to reduce breast occurrence by up to 38% in the United States of America alone. Regular exercises reduce the chances of attracting obesity, which perpetuates cancer occurrence. The other common preventive measure involves the removal of both of the breasts before the diagnosis of any cancer among people with BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations since they are susceptible to breast cancer. Medication has been another option for preventing cancer, although it has been disputed as increasing the occurrence of other side effects that are dangerous to the body. For instance, the use of the selective estrogen receptor modulators is known to be one of the preventive measures for preventing the occurrence of breast cancer. Nonetheless, the use of these drugs makes the body susceptible to the risks of thromboembolism together with endometrial cancer in the victim (Winchester, 2006).

Drug Treatment Options for Breast Cancer

The common treatment measures for breast cancer are chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Some of the other treatment measures include surgery and use of drugs. The short-term implications of these measures are that they have the capacity to prevent the spread of cancer for some short moment. They are painful processes but do not yield permanent treatment except for surgery in some cases. On the long-term implications, chemotherapy and radiotherapy have side effects like causing further cancer development (Grobstein, 2005).