Risk factors and types of breast cancer in women

Breast cancer is a type of cancer that originates from tissues in the breasts commonly from within the inner lining of milk ducts or alternatively lobules which supply milk to the ducts. Breast cancer can occur in both humans and other mammals but .The majority cases in humans occur in women, however breast cancer also occurs in men but in very rare instances. Those few cases of breast cancer in men occur to men in the ages between 60 and 70.from statistics white women are seen to be at a higher risk of the development of malignant breast cancer as compared to Hispanics or Asians. Breast cancer comes second when it comes to cause of deaths due to cancer in women aged between 45-50.there is an increase in the number of women who are diagnosed with cancer each year. If cancer is detected early enough than the chances of survival rate is increased. Annual breast cancer screening and preventive steps at early stages can be of great assistance when it comes to the monitoring of early stages.

Cancer can be broadly categorized into two, invasive and non-invasive. Under these two broad categories there are three different types of breast cancer which are ductal carcinoma in situ which is the most common type of noninvasive and it has not spread and therefore has a high cure rate. The other one is Invasive ductal carcinoma, starts in the breast duct and proceeds to the surrounding tissue. This is the most common breast cancer. The last common type of breast cancer is Invasive lobular carcinoma starts begin in breast glands that produce milk.

Breast cancer risk factors

Though experts do not sure of what certainly causes breast cancer since it is hard to know the exact reason why certain people develop cancer while others do not. Any risk factors that increase an individual's chance of developing breast cancer. These risk factors include age; the chance of one being diagnosed with breast cancer increase over 80% cases of breast cancer occur in women aged over 50 years. Another risk factor is genetics the risk of breast cancer development is greater in women whose relatives have been diagnosed with the disease. If one has a close relative like mother, daughter or sister increases a woman's risk of breast cancer. History of breast cancer is another risk factor as women who have been earlier diagnosed with breast cancer even the non-invasive one has a great chance of developing the disease again as compared to women who do not have a history of this disease. One has a certain type of breast lamps then they have a high chance of developing breast cancer. These can be non-cancerous breast lumps which include ductal hyperplasia; dense breast tissue is another risk factor whereby women who have dense breast tissue are more likely to develop breast cancer. Other risk factors are alcohol consumption, lifestyle, obesity, treatment with radiation therapy and so on (MediLexicon International Ltd., 2012).

Treatment of Breast Cancer

The most effective treatment of breast cancer is through surgery. In most cases, doctors use conservative surgery which then helps to preserve the appearance and the shape of the breast. When breast cancer is detected earlier enough, only the tissue and the lump around it are removed. However for a later stage detection of breast cancer, more tissue is removed and replaced with the muscles to help in rebuilding the breast. The study shows that, the cells within the breast cancer can spread first to the lymph nodes in the armpits; hence it is advisable for the surgeons to cut into it so as to check whether it had started spreading to the other parts. After the surgery, the surgeon should do a short course of radiotherapy depending on how advanced is the disease in the tumor. Most surgeons use herceptin and hormone therapy in a minority of cases to reduce the cancer recurring risks. Conversely, chemotherapy can also be used to stop the growth of the cancer cells that is, by stopping it from replicating and dividing. When the drugs are taken by use of mouth into the veins, the drugs enters into the bloodstream reaching the cancer cells through the body. Chemotherapy can be placed in some places such as into cerebrospinal fluid or body cavity which affects cancer cells in those regions. Administering of chemotherapy depends on the stage of the cancer being treated. Generally, surgery is the best method for the treatment of breast cancer. The choice of whether to carry out surgery or not may be based on other factors such as the size and the location of the tumor, the overall health of the patient and the type of the tumor. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2009).

Conclusion

Breast cancer continues to be an issue that raises a lot of concern in women today. Despite the fact that there are new methods of diagnosing as well as treating breast cancer the number of deaths due to breast cancer are still on the rise. Women still find themselves being at the centre of this battle against breast cancer. Therefore it calls for efforts from all areas to ensure that the war against breast cancer is won.