Breast cancer is a type of cancer that originates from the breast. A small number of breast cancers originate in other parts of the body and then spread to the breast, but these are not considered true breast cancers. Breast cancer can occur in both men and women, but it is about 100 times more common in women. The cause of most cases of breast cancer is unknown, although a number of risk factors have been identified. Treatment for breast cancer usually involves some combination of surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and targeted therapy. The prognosis for patients with breast cancer depends on many factors, including the stage at diagnosis, the grade of the tumor, the size of the tumor, whether or not lymph nodes are involved, and the age and health status of the patient.
The first step in diagnosing breast cancer is usually a physical examination by a doctor followed by a mammogram (an X-ray image of the breasts). If an abnormality is found on physical examination or mammogram, additional testing may be needed to confirm the diagnosis. This may include ultrasound (a scan using sound waves), MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), needle biopsy (removal of tissue with a needle for analysis), or surgical biopsy (removal of all or part of the suspicious area). Once a diagnosis has been confirmed, additional tests will be done to determine if there is evidence that the cancer has spread beyond thebreast. This process is called staging and helps guide treatment decisions.
There are four main typesof treatmentsforbreastcancer: surgery , radiation therapy , chemotherapy ,andhormonetherapy . Surgeryis often usedtoremovethetumorand surroundingtissue .It maybeamastectomy(removalofallofthebreasttissue)orlumpectomy(removalofthetumoralone).Radiationtherapyuseshigh-energyX-raysortotherparticlesbeams totargetandkillcancercells . It maybegivenbeforeorsurgerytopreventthecancerfromspreadingorto killany remainingcancer cellsaftersurgery ;itmayalsobe givenfollowingchemotherapytoreduceriskofthelungmetasta sescomingback;ormaybethewholetreatmentinolderwomenwith earlystagecancerswhoarenotgoodcandidatesforsurgery . Chemotherapy usesdrugstokillcancercells ;itmaybegivenbeforesurgeryeither topreventthecancerylungmetastsesfromspreadingorgiveat higherdoseaftersurgerytotrytocleanthebodyofany remainingcancer cells ;itmaybegivensystemicallywhich meansthatthedrugsenterbloodstreamandtravel throughoutthebodyorlocallywhichmeansthatthedrug enteronlyintothesalamanderwherethecancertissuedis located; dependingontypeoffeedingtubeusedthis localinfusion maybeperformedthroughouttheentirecourseoftreatmentora fewtimesduringtreatment; howevermostcommonly it’sgiven intravenously throughasmalldeviceinsertedintoavein inthearmoveraperiodoffewhoursup toseveraldays; side effectsdependonthedrugsandhowmuchofthemare givenbutcanincludehairlossnauseavomitingdiarrhea fatigueandincreasedriskinfection amongothers; patients receivingchemotherapymustbemonitoredclosely as someofthesideeffectscanbedangerousifnot treatedpromptly ;chemoterapydrugsmaybesingleagent drugsmeaningthattheycontainasingledrugorcombination drugscontainingtwoormoredrugs administeredatthesametime ;sideeffectsdependon whichtypesofdrugsacombinedtogether as well asthedosageandfrequencyofadministration butgenerally speakingtheyaresimilarthoseassociatedwith single-agentdrugswithsomeadditionaleffectssuch as increasedriskbleedingandskinrashes whencertaintypes drugsarecombined together.;Hormonetherapy usessynthetichormonesorasuppressionofthenatural production hormonestopreventspreadorcancerrecurrence inthefuture thisistypicallydonethroughdailypills injectionsimplantsordepotformulations whichrelease medicationoveraperiodoftenweeksuptoseveralmonths intothebody; howlongpatientsneedtotakehormonalwill varydependingonindividualcircumstancesbutitis generallylifestongforpostmenopausalwomenwhilepre menopausalwomentypicallytakeittwofiveyears aftertheirinitialdiagnosis.;Targetedtherapyusenewer generationmedicationstopreciselytargetabnormality incancercellsandavoiddamagetoh healthycells nearby thistype oftreatmentismostcommonlysuggestedinconjunction withoneorthreetherapeuticmodalitiesmentionedabove typicallyusedwhenpatienthas metastaticdisease formsofcancerthataredifficult treatwithstandard therapieshaverelapsed followingpriortreatment orgrowdespitecurrenttreatment.;Prognosisfordiagnosed patientsvariesgreat dealdependingonmanyfactors suchasstage attimeofi nitialdiagnosisgrade oftumorsize oftumornumber positivelyinvolved lymphnodeshealthstatusanda geofthepatientamong others.;Generallyspeakingearlydetection leadsbetterprognosis whilelaterdetection resultsinpoorer overallprospectsfornumber reasonsincludingdifficulty treatinglargertumorsgrownintometasticdisease state whichhasinvadednearbyorgansmakingcomplete removal oftumornearimpossiblelowerresponserate standardtherapeuticoptionsavailableandeduced likelihoodthatthetreatmentswillsuccessfully eradicateallmalignantcells leavingpatient disease free.;Intodaysmedicallandscape however thereareincreasingnumber options available evenforthetoughestcasesproviding renewedhopeforfuture generations thoseaffectedbythis terrible disease.”