BREAST CANCER-Signs, Symptoms & Diagnosis

Breast cancer originates from breast tissues and can happen in both males and females. The most typical kind of breast cancer is ductal carcinoma, which originates in the layering of the milk ducts (the thin tube-like structure that carries milk from the lobules of the breast to the nipple).

Another kind of breast tumor is lobular carcinoma, which originates in the convexity (milk glands) of the breast. Infiltrating breast tumor is a breast tumor that has spread from where it began in the breast ducts or lobules to surrounding normal tissue.

Signs and Symptoms:

The first distinct symptom of a breast tumor is a lump that feels peculiar from the rest of the breast tissues. Most of the cases are discovered when a woman feels a dissimilar piece of mass or a lump either on the breast area or near the armpits. Although the exact causes of breast cancer are unknown medical professionals have identified a lot of risk facets.

The following are the major signs related to breast cancer:

• A lump in the breast or somewhere around the armpit.
• Nipular discharge from any of the breasts, be it yellow, brown, or red, or change in its shape.
• Skin rashes, pain, irritation, redness of the skin, or unrealized swelling of the breast.

There can be almost no manifestation of breast tumor which makes pre-diagnosis and screening very important.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF BREAST CANCER:

Based on their nature, breast cancer can be broadly categorized into two types:

1. IN SITU i.e., NONINVASIVE (can be ductal or lobular) referred to as stage 0.
2. INVASIVE i.e., cancer has spread to other tissues. Categorized as stages 1, 2, 3, or 4.

The other types of breast cancer are as follows:

Mucinous carcinoma: It is originated from mucus-producing cancerous tissues.

Inflammatory breast cancer: This is the type of cancer in which skin rashes occur and a part of the breast swells due to the blockage of vessels by cancerous cells.

Adenoid cystic carcinoma: This type of cancer tends to have both cystic and glandular features.

Triple-negative breast cancers: This noninvasive type of cancer tends to happen when cancerous cells do not have estrogen, progesterone, and HER (2) receptors.

DIAGNOSIS:

Physical appearance tends to appear sometimes or otherwise microscopic analysis or biopsy gives desired report confirming the outcomes. Mammography, ultrasound, MRI scan, and past medical history also help in the diagnosis of the breast tumor.

TREATMENT:

 SURGERY:

Mastectomy– In this, a whole of the breast is removed.

Quadrantectomy– In this quarter the breast is removed.

Lumpectomy- In this small part of the breast is removed.

Radiation: In this process, X-Rays are used to treat cancer directly.

Chemotherapy: This process is basically brought to use for patients of triple-negative breast tumor stage 2-4 and is widely used. It involves administrating anti-cancer drugs into the body.

Hormonal and Targeted Therapy: This type of medication is brought to use when hormones and genes play a role in the growth of cancer cells.

DO MEN SUFFER FROM BREAST CANCER?

It is a myth that men do not suffer from this disease. Statistics and surveys estimated that there will be approximately 400 deaths in men due to chest cancer.

Chest cancer in men is generally detected as a lump in the armpit of the men or a hard lump beneath the nipple

Mortality in men is much higher than in women because of the delay in treatment as it is presumed already that men cannot be diagnosed with breast tumors.