Post by Harley Scarow on Feb 24, 2007 15:08:02 GMT -5
Peter Dang
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Living Environment
Essay
Breast Cancer
Breast cancer is a cancer that forms in the tissue of the breasts, usually the tubes that carry milk to the nipples, or the ducts; glands that make milk, or the lobules. Although most people assume breast cancer only arises in women, it occurs in both males and females. Even though this fact is true, breast cancer taking place in males is much rarer than occurring in a female. The estimated new cases and deaths from breast cancer for the year 2007 both males and females are in the following numbers:
• New cases: 178,480 (female); 2,030 (male)
• Deaths: 40,460 (female); 450 (male)
Breast cancer is the most common type among women in the United States other than skin cancer. Each year, about 1,700 men in this country learn they have breast cancer. Most information in this booklet applies to men with breast cancer. While many males try to hide it as breast cancer among the gender to some individuals may be considered embarrassing, the effects are still as dangerous on men as if it were on a female victim. Currently for a time already, scientists are studying breast cancer to learn more about its causes. They are looking for better ways to prevent, find, and treat it.
SYMPTOMS
Early breast cancer has no symptoms. For the most part, it is not painful. Most breast cancer among victims is discovered long before symptoms are present and arrive on sight. This is done either by finding an abnormality on mammography or feeling a breast lump on the area. A lump in the armpit or above the collarbone that does not go away may be a sign of cancer, as those usually vanish through time passing after the lump appears in the area. Other possible symptoms when they appear are nipple inversion, breast discharge, or changes in the skin overlying the breast. Here are some of the effects on the area for the specific symptoms after they begin to appear on sight:
• Breast discharge is a common problem and is rarely a symptom of cancer. Discharge is most concerning if it is from only 1 breast or if it is bloody. In any case, all breast discharge should be evaluated.
• Changes in the skin of the breast include redness, changes in texture, and puckering. These changes are usually caused by skin diseases but occasionally can be associated with breast cancer.
• Most breast lumps are not cancerous. All breast lumps, however, need to be evaluated by a doctor. This is because since most of the breast lumps in any condition have a similar appearance, a doctor’s evaluation using materials and such is needed to confirm if the area is breast cancer or another disease.
• Nipple inversion is a common variant of normal nipples, but nipple inversion that is a new development can be of concern. It is normal for nipple inversion to appear within humans. However, only on occasions it’s breast cancer.
CAUSES AND RISK FACTORS
There are no exact causes of breast cancer known up to date. Doctors usually have difficulty explaining why one woman develops breast cancer and another does not. The one thing doctors do know about breast cancer is that bruising, bumping, and touching the breast on repeated occasions does not cause breast cancer. Another thing doctors confirm is that breast cancer is not contagious. There is no way you can “catch” it from another person. However, there are risk factors more expected than others to develop breast cancer. Studies have shown the following risk factors for breast cancer:
• Age: The chance of a person getting breast cancer increases as a woman gets older. Most causes of breast cancer so far occur in woman over 60. This disease is not common before menopause, usually occurring mostly after this phase has been finished. Menopause may leave the breast vulnerable to it.
• Personal history of breast cancer: A woman who had breast cancer has an increased risk of getting cancer in her other breast. It is also possible for a woman to have breast cancer on both breasts at the same time when proven.
• Family History: A woman’s risk of breast cancer is higher if her mother, sister, or daughter had breast cancer. The risk is higher if her family member got breast cancer before the age 40. Having other relatives with breast cancer, in either her mother or her father’s family, may also increase a woman’s risk. It is also possible for breast cancer to skip certain members in a family line or generation. For example, a woman with breast cancer might have a mother that does not have breast cancer; but her grandparents had breast cancer.
BREAST CANCER TREATMENT
The mainstay of therapy for breast cancer has been proven to be surgery time and time again. The choice of which type of surgery should be put into action is based on a number of factors, such as the size and location of the tumor, the type of tumor, even the affected person’s overall health and personal wishes. In addition to this, breast-sparing surgery is often possible. The cancer is staged using the information from surgery and other tests taken during the diagnosis. Breast cancer is staged from 0 to IV.
• STAGE 0: A noninvasive breast cancer that is carcinoma in situ with no affected lymph nodes or metastasis in the body. This is the most favorable stage of breast cancer.
• STAGE I: This is breast cancer that is less than 2 cm in diameter and has not spread anywhere else other than the breast area. While not as favorable as STAGE 0, it must be treated quickly before it can reach STAGE II.
• STAGE II: This is breast cancer that is fairly small in size but has spread to lymph nodes in the armpit or cancer that is somewhat larger but not spread.
• STAGE III: This is breast cancer of a larger size, greater than 5 cm, with greater lymph-node involvement, or of the inflammatory type. If it manages to spread to STAGE IV, then it becomes even more dangerous than this stage.
• STAGE IV: This is metastatic breast cancer—a tumor of any size or shape that has metastastized to another part of the body. This includes areas other than the usual affected location on or in the body. This is the least favorable stage when compared to the previous one, being at the highest level.
PREVENTION
The most important risk factors to put into account for the development of breast cancer are sex, age, and genetics. Since women can do nothing about these risks, regular screening is recommended towards females to allow early detection and thus prevent death from breast cancer. The recommended amount of times should be once a year, or at least once a decade. Regular screening can include breast self-examination, clinical breast examination, and mammography. Breast self-examination (BSE) is cheap and simple. Routine monthly examinations on one may be helpful in detecting risk factors.
• For females who are menstruating, the best time period for the breast self-examination is immediately after the monthly period. This is to make complete sure of the account.
• For females not menstruating or whose periods are extremely irregular, picking a certain date each month seems to work best for them.
Clinical breast examination: The Unites States’ American Cancer Society recommends a breast examination by a trained health-care provider once every three years starting at the age of 20, then yearly after the age of 40. For those at the age of 40 or above, mammograms are recommended every one or two years. For women at high risk factors for development of breast cancer, mammogram screening should start earlier. Obesity after menopause and excessive alcohol intake may increase the risk of breast cancer slightly. From time to time, a woman at very high risk for development of breast cancer decides to have a preventive or prophylactic mastectomy to avoid developing it.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
SITES:
www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/breast
www.emedicinehealth.com/breast_cancer/
www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/wyntk/breast/
BOOKS:
Review Book: The Living Environment
Regents Review Textbook: Life Science
Kasper: Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 16th ed. (2005)
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Living Environment
Essay
Breast Cancer
Breast cancer is a cancer that forms in the tissue of the breasts, usually the tubes that carry milk to the nipples, or the ducts; glands that make milk, or the lobules. Although most people assume breast cancer only arises in women, it occurs in both males and females. Even though this fact is true, breast cancer taking place in males is much rarer than occurring in a female. The estimated new cases and deaths from breast cancer for the year 2007 both males and females are in the following numbers:
• New cases: 178,480 (female); 2,030 (male)
• Deaths: 40,460 (female); 450 (male)
Breast cancer is the most common type among women in the United States other than skin cancer. Each year, about 1,700 men in this country learn they have breast cancer. Most information in this booklet applies to men with breast cancer. While many males try to hide it as breast cancer among the gender to some individuals may be considered embarrassing, the effects are still as dangerous on men as if it were on a female victim. Currently for a time already, scientists are studying breast cancer to learn more about its causes. They are looking for better ways to prevent, find, and treat it.
SYMPTOMS
Early breast cancer has no symptoms. For the most part, it is not painful. Most breast cancer among victims is discovered long before symptoms are present and arrive on sight. This is done either by finding an abnormality on mammography or feeling a breast lump on the area. A lump in the armpit or above the collarbone that does not go away may be a sign of cancer, as those usually vanish through time passing after the lump appears in the area. Other possible symptoms when they appear are nipple inversion, breast discharge, or changes in the skin overlying the breast. Here are some of the effects on the area for the specific symptoms after they begin to appear on sight:
• Breast discharge is a common problem and is rarely a symptom of cancer. Discharge is most concerning if it is from only 1 breast or if it is bloody. In any case, all breast discharge should be evaluated.
• Changes in the skin of the breast include redness, changes in texture, and puckering. These changes are usually caused by skin diseases but occasionally can be associated with breast cancer.
• Most breast lumps are not cancerous. All breast lumps, however, need to be evaluated by a doctor. This is because since most of the breast lumps in any condition have a similar appearance, a doctor’s evaluation using materials and such is needed to confirm if the area is breast cancer or another disease.
• Nipple inversion is a common variant of normal nipples, but nipple inversion that is a new development can be of concern. It is normal for nipple inversion to appear within humans. However, only on occasions it’s breast cancer.
CAUSES AND RISK FACTORS
There are no exact causes of breast cancer known up to date. Doctors usually have difficulty explaining why one woman develops breast cancer and another does not. The one thing doctors do know about breast cancer is that bruising, bumping, and touching the breast on repeated occasions does not cause breast cancer. Another thing doctors confirm is that breast cancer is not contagious. There is no way you can “catch” it from another person. However, there are risk factors more expected than others to develop breast cancer. Studies have shown the following risk factors for breast cancer:
• Age: The chance of a person getting breast cancer increases as a woman gets older. Most causes of breast cancer so far occur in woman over 60. This disease is not common before menopause, usually occurring mostly after this phase has been finished. Menopause may leave the breast vulnerable to it.
• Personal history of breast cancer: A woman who had breast cancer has an increased risk of getting cancer in her other breast. It is also possible for a woman to have breast cancer on both breasts at the same time when proven.
• Family History: A woman’s risk of breast cancer is higher if her mother, sister, or daughter had breast cancer. The risk is higher if her family member got breast cancer before the age 40. Having other relatives with breast cancer, in either her mother or her father’s family, may also increase a woman’s risk. It is also possible for breast cancer to skip certain members in a family line or generation. For example, a woman with breast cancer might have a mother that does not have breast cancer; but her grandparents had breast cancer.
BREAST CANCER TREATMENT
The mainstay of therapy for breast cancer has been proven to be surgery time and time again. The choice of which type of surgery should be put into action is based on a number of factors, such as the size and location of the tumor, the type of tumor, even the affected person’s overall health and personal wishes. In addition to this, breast-sparing surgery is often possible. The cancer is staged using the information from surgery and other tests taken during the diagnosis. Breast cancer is staged from 0 to IV.
• STAGE 0: A noninvasive breast cancer that is carcinoma in situ with no affected lymph nodes or metastasis in the body. This is the most favorable stage of breast cancer.
• STAGE I: This is breast cancer that is less than 2 cm in diameter and has not spread anywhere else other than the breast area. While not as favorable as STAGE 0, it must be treated quickly before it can reach STAGE II.
• STAGE II: This is breast cancer that is fairly small in size but has spread to lymph nodes in the armpit or cancer that is somewhat larger but not spread.
• STAGE III: This is breast cancer of a larger size, greater than 5 cm, with greater lymph-node involvement, or of the inflammatory type. If it manages to spread to STAGE IV, then it becomes even more dangerous than this stage.
• STAGE IV: This is metastatic breast cancer—a tumor of any size or shape that has metastastized to another part of the body. This includes areas other than the usual affected location on or in the body. This is the least favorable stage when compared to the previous one, being at the highest level.
PREVENTION
The most important risk factors to put into account for the development of breast cancer are sex, age, and genetics. Since women can do nothing about these risks, regular screening is recommended towards females to allow early detection and thus prevent death from breast cancer. The recommended amount of times should be once a year, or at least once a decade. Regular screening can include breast self-examination, clinical breast examination, and mammography. Breast self-examination (BSE) is cheap and simple. Routine monthly examinations on one may be helpful in detecting risk factors.
• For females who are menstruating, the best time period for the breast self-examination is immediately after the monthly period. This is to make complete sure of the account.
• For females not menstruating or whose periods are extremely irregular, picking a certain date each month seems to work best for them.
Clinical breast examination: The Unites States’ American Cancer Society recommends a breast examination by a trained health-care provider once every three years starting at the age of 20, then yearly after the age of 40. For those at the age of 40 or above, mammograms are recommended every one or two years. For women at high risk factors for development of breast cancer, mammogram screening should start earlier. Obesity after menopause and excessive alcohol intake may increase the risk of breast cancer slightly. From time to time, a woman at very high risk for development of breast cancer decides to have a preventive or prophylactic mastectomy to avoid developing it.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
SITES:
www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/breast
www.emedicinehealth.com/breast_cancer/
www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/wyntk/breast/
BOOKS:
Review Book: The Living Environment
Regents Review Textbook: Life Science
Kasper: Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 16th ed. (2005)