One of the most dreaded statements that every woman fears is when the doctor says: “I’m sorry to tell you that you have breast cancer.” Have you just been diagnosed with breast cancer? Maybe you’ve been there, or maybe you’ve been next to a loved one when she got the news, a breast cancer diagnosis is usually full of shock, denial, fear, anger, and even sorrow, but it can also be full of hope. While breast cancer could be devastating, it is not necessarily a death sentence or the end of the world.
Breast cancer can be controlled and is survivable if diagnosed and properly treated in the early stages.

Why it occurs
Breast cancer usually begins either in the cells of the lobules (milk-producing glands), or the ducts (passages that drain milk from the lobules to the nipple). A pathology report will explain whether or not the cancer has spread outside the milk ducts or lobules of the breast where it started.

Common symptoms
Many of the symptoms of breast cancer can also be symptoms of something else. A lump in the breast or armpit; thickening of breast skin or tissue that lasts through your period; a change in the size, shape, or contour of the breast; clear or bloody fluid coming from the nipple and change in how the skin on your breast or nipple looks or feels are relevant. It may look dimpled, puckered, scaly, or inflamed. Other common symptoms include redness of your breast or nipple; an area on your breast that clearly looks different from any other and a hard, marble-like area under the skin, among others. Tests are necessary to confirm. Note that most breast lumps are not cancer, but if your doctor believes it is, it’s best to start treatment right away.

Types of breast cancer
Be aware that no two breast cancers are exactly the same. Your doctor will order a series of tests on the cancer and nearby tissues to create a “profile” of how the breast cancer looks and behaves.

Non-invasive cancers stay within the milk ducts or lobules in the breast. They do not grow into or invade normal tissues within or beyond the breast. Non-invasive cancers are sometimes called carcinoma in situ (“in the same place”) or pre-cancers.

DCIS (Ductal Carcinoma In Situ) is a non-invasive cancer that stays inside the milk duct, while LCIS (Lobular Carcinoma In Situ) is an overgrowth of cells that stay inside the lobule. It is not a true cancer; rather, it is a warning sign of an increased risk for developing an invasive cancer in the future in either breast. The most common type of breast cancer is known as IDC (Invasive Ductal Carcinoma) . It begins in the milk duct but has grown into the surrounding tissue inside the breast.

Invasive cancers do grow into normal, healthy tissues. Most breast cancers are invasive. In some cases, a breast cancer may be both invasive and non-invasive and also may be a “mixed tumour.

Who is at risk?
Many factors that influence breast cancer, but the No.1 risk factor is being a woman. Although men also have breast cancer, it’s far more common in women. Women who have had breast cancer are more likely to get breast cancer a 2nd time.

Heredity (familial history): A woman’s risk for breast cancer is higher if she has a mother, sister, or daughter (1st degree relative) or multiple family members on either her mother’s or father’s side of the family who have had breast cancer. Having a first-degree male relative with breast cancer also raises a woman’s risk. Most inherited cases of breast cancer are associated with two abnormal genes – BRCA1 (BReast CAncer gene 1 ) or
BRCA2 ( BReast CAncer gene 2 ).

Women who inherit a mutation, or abnormal change, in either of these genes — from their mothers or their fathers — have a much higher-than-average lifetime risk (above 60 per cent) of developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer. However, only 5 to 10 per cent of breast cancers are thought to be hereditary, the other 90 per cent are largely due lifestyle and environmental factors.

You could develop breast cancer even without a family history of the disease, but if you do have a family history of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, or both, heredity could have played a role in the cancer’s development.

Age & lifestyle: Most breast cancers are found in women 50 years old or older. Older women who are overweight or obese and women with dense breasts are also more likely to get breast cancer. Women who are not physically active and women that drink a lot of alcohol also have a higher risk of getting breast cancer. There is no real difference in risk between women who wear a bra and women who don’t wear a bra.

Some women will get breast cancer even without any other known risk factors that they know of. Also, having a risk factor does not mean you will get the disease, and not all risk factors have the same effect. Most women have some risk factors, but most women do not get breast cancer.

Puberty & menopause: Women who start their periods early (before age 12) and women who start menopause late (after age 55) are exposed to the female hormones longer, and so are at the risk for breast cancer. Having the first pregnancy after age 30 or never having a full-term pregnancy can raise breast cancer risk.

Screening & diagnosis
Breast cancer screening means checking a woman’s breasts for cancer before there are signs or symptoms of the disease. All women need to be informed about the best screening options for them. Although breast cancer screening cannot prevent breast cancer, it can help find breast cancer early, when it is easier to treat.

Mammograms
At this time, the best way to find breast cancer early is with a mammogram, which is an X-ray of the breast. Having regular mammograms can lower the risk of dying from breast cancer.

Breast Self Examination (BSE)
Being familiar with how your breasts look and feel can help you notice symptoms such as lumps, pain, or changes in size that may be of concern. These could include changes found during a breast self-exam (BSE). Report any changes that you notice to your doctor or health care provider.

Staging
Cancer stage is based on four characteristics: size, whether it is invasive or non-invasive, whether it is in the lymph nodes and whether the cancer has spread to other parts of the body beyond the breast. There are 5 stages from Stage 0 to Stage IV. The stage of the breast cancer can help you understand your prognosis (the most likely outcome of the disease) and make decisions about treatment, along with all of the other results in your pathology report.

Treatment & prevention
In recent years, there’s been an explosion of life-saving treatment advances against breast cancer, bringing new hope and excitement. The decisions – surgery, then perhaps radiation, hormonal (anti-estrogen) therapy, and/or chemotherapy – can feel overwhelming.

Diet is thought to be partly responsible for about 30-40 per cent of all cancers. No food or diet can prevent you from getting breast cancer. But some foods can make your body the healthiest it can be and help keep your risk for breast cancer as low as possible. A variety of foods, especially fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains, can make you feel your best and give your body the energy it needs.

Women 50 years are at average risk for breast cancer and should get a mammogram every two years. Women who are below 50 years old should talk to their doctor or other health care professional about when to start and how often to get a mammogram.

Survival rates
Survival depends on many factors. The average 5-year survival rate for people with breast cancer is better today than ever before, especially if the cancer is located only in the breast. If the cancer has spread to a distant part of the body, the 5-year survival rate remains low. Even if the cancer is found at a more advanced stage, new treatments help many people with breast cancer maintain a good quality of life, at least for time.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/11/breast-cancer-deadline-lifeline/

God protect our mothers, girls, ladies, wives and friends from this disease, Amen.

no nipple sucking anymore