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According to the majority of available resources breast cancer is defined as “cancer of the breast tissue”. This doesn’t give someone diagnosed with the disease much to go on. But after conducting additional research the answer becomes much more understandable. Cancer is a malignant growth. It is caused by abnormal and completely uncontrollable division of cells. Normal cells begin to be misshapen and start to grow at an extremely fast pace. What occurs is a mass or either a lump that continues to grow and can actually spread all over the body.
Not each breast lump that is found is cancerous. Actually, the majority of lumps are determined to be benign. Once these lumps have reached a certain size they start to level off. They could be soft fluid filled cysts, they could be fibroadenomas that neither spread nor grow, they could also be scar tissue or fat that has become hard.
But a true cancer in breast tissues is malignant and serious. Nearly 90% are a type known as ductal carcinoma (sometimes called DCIS, ductal carcinoma in situ). Somewhat less than 10% of the rest are lobular carcinomas (LCIS). In both cases lumps may appear as a thickening in some part of the breast, or even in the armpit. Lymph nodes are located there and sometimes play a role in the development of the disease.
It is recommended that individuals begin performing self breast exams around age 20, and that individuals get regular mammograms beginning at the age of 40..
An individual should not be alarmed at every single breast change, however a significant alteration in the size or shape of the breast following maturity is one sign to look for. Fluid might also seep from the nipple that does not resemble milk. In the event that it is cancer it will usually be a type of pus, thus indicating an infection.
An individual’s nipple or areola might also alter in shape and size.
Breast cancer develops in stages that mark the disease progression.
Stage 0 is when the condition first occurs, Stage I exists when the tumor is less than 2cm thick and hasn’t spread. By Stage II the tumor is between 2-5cm thick and there may be other areas affected. Once the disease reaches Stage III it has penetrated the chest wall. By that level, treatment becomes very difficult and the survival rate is correspondingly low.
Stage IV cancer is the most serious of all. At this point the individual’s cancer has started to spread, forming tumors in other areas. These tumors are identical to the original cancerous growth. Cancers of this type are typically fatal.
Because of these stages, and the increasing health consequences at each level, seeking diagnosis and treatment early is imperative. A simple lumpectomy may well cure the condition completely. If it progresses to the point that chemotherapy or radiation treatments are called for, the odds of recover are much lower and the cure is often as bad as the disease.
Fortunately, enormous progress has been made over the past 40 years. The latest equipment allows for much better diagnosis. Treatments have evolved to make the cure less painful and more certain.
Cancer at any stage is definitely something to be concerned with, however there is a 95% survival rate for individual’s whose cancer is quickly identified and treated by Stage I. You have a greater chance of survival if you monitor yourself and get treatment quickly.
