What is Breast Cancer?
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Breast Cancer is one of the most common cancers in the United States
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About 1 in 8 U.S. women will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime.
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A lump on the breast that is painless, hard, and has uneven borders or edges is more than likely to be a symptom of breast cancer
Contact our office today if you believe you may be at risk and/or are experiencing some of the following symptoms. Our team of doctors will determine the course of treatment that is best suited for you.
Breast Cancer is a type of cancer that originates from the breasts. It occurs in both women and men, although more frequent in women.
What are the Symptoms of Breast Cancer?
Because breast cancer symptoms vary from person to person, the best thing to do is to familiarize with your breasts so you know how your “normal” feels and looks. If you notice any changes, consult your doctor immediately. Initially, breast cancer may not give you any symptoms or a lump may be too small for you to feel or to cause any noticeable change.
Many breast cancers are found by mammograms before any symptoms appear.
According to the American Cancer Society breast cancer symptoms might include:
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Lump on your breast: A lump that is painless, hard, and has uneven borders or edges is more likely to be cancer.
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Enlarged lymph nodes in the armpit
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Lump in the underarm area
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Changes in breast size, shape, skin texture or color
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Dimpling or puckering
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Nipple pain, changes or discharge other than breast milk
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Redness, scaliness, or thickening of the nipple or breast skin
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Nipple pulling to one side or a change in direction
These symptoms do not always mean you have breast cancer. However, it is important to discuss any symptoms with your doctor, since they may also signal other health problems such as an infection or a cyst. Please contact your oncologist to identify and possibly undergo any necessary tests that can be used to find out if you have breast cancer.
What are the Causes and Risk Factors for Breast Cancer?
Breast cancer can begin in different parts of the breast. A breast is made up of three main parts: lobules, ducts, and connective tissue. Most breast cancers begin in the ducts, the tubes that carry milk, or lobules, the glands that produce milk.
Doctors estimate that about 5 to 10 percent of breast cancers are linked to gene mutations passed through generations of a family.
As of today, numerous risk factors have been identified. But these risk factors are neither necessary nor sufficient to cause cancer by itself.
Non-modifiable Risk Factors
- Gender women are more likely and susceptible to have breast cancer
- Age: The risk increases with age and most cases are diagnosed after age 50
- Inherited genetic mutations: Gene mutations cause about 10% of breast cancers and can be inherited from the mother or father.
- Dense breasts will increase the likelihood of breast cancer.
- Early menstrual periods before the age of age 12 and late menopause after the age of 55 raise the risk of breast cancer due to the elongated exposure to hormones.
- History of breast cancer: A personal history of being diagnosed with breast cancer increases the risk of being diagnosed again in a different part of the breasts.
Modifiable Risk Factors
- Physical Activity: Women who lack regular physical exercise are at increased risk.
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- Body Weight: Women who are overweight after menopause have a higher risk of breast cancer
- Reproductive history. Having the first pregnancy after the age of 30 and not breastfeeding, or never having a full-term pregnancy can raise breast cancer risk
- Exposure to estrogens and progesterone: The use of medication containing estrogens and progesterone-like oral contraceptive pills (birth control) increases the risk of breast cancer.
- Smoking and alcohol consumption: Multiple studies have confirmed the increased risk of breast cancer with alcohol consumption and smoking.
- Radiotherapy exposure of the breasts: seen in children or adolescents have received radiotherapy treatment for lymphomas.
- Diet high in saturated fat
Q & A
A: Depending on the age and hormone status of the patient it may be benign or malignant. Certain tests have to be done to make sure it is not something serious.
A: It could be infection, inflammation, or malignancy
A: It is typical to see an increase or decrease of size in your breast depending on age/ hormone status.
WHAT ARE THE TREATMENT OPTIONS?
At HEMATOLOGY & ONCOLOGY CARE we customize your breast cancer care so you can receive the most advanced, least invasive treatment with the fewest side effects. Planning of the treatment involves an interdisciplinary team of medical professionals. This usually implies a meeting of different specialists we have at HOC, called a multidisciplinary opinion. In this meeting, the planning of treatment will be discussed based on the relevant information summarized above.
The treatment will usually combine intervention methods that are:
∙Effective on cancer locally, such as surgery or radiotherapy
∙Effective on cancer cells all over the body with systemic therapy such as chemotherapy, hormone therapy and/or HER2-directed therapy.
The extent of the treatment will depend on:
- The characteristics of the tumor cells
- Molecular markets
- Stage of the cancer
- Age of the patient
- Menopausal status of the patient
- Co-morbidity of the patient.
It is recommended to ask an oncologist about the expected benefits and risks of every treatment in order to be informed of the consequences of the treatment. For some treatments, several options are available.
Some of the treatment options include but are not limited to:
Surgery: Where the doctors cut out cancer tissue.
Radiation Therapy: Using high-energy rays (similar to X-rays) to kill the cancer cells.
Chemotherapy: Using special medications that are meant to shrink or kill the cancer cells. These drugs can be oral pills or given to you in I.V. depending on your specialized treatment plan.
Hormone therapy: Prevents the cancer cells from getting the hormones that help them grow.
Targeted Therapy: Targeted therapies for breast cancer are drug treatments that help the body’s immune system fight cancer.
Contact our office today if you believe you may be at risk and/or are experiencing some of the symptoms listed above. Our team of doctors will determine the course of treatment that is best suited for you.