Breast cancer has become one of the most prevalent cancer in the world with almost 7.8 million globally diagnosed patients in 2021. Cancer occurs in both men and women; however, its occurrence is more common in women. The disturbing fact is that with the rising cases in the past few years, the age group scale has moved higher towards women in the age group of 35-45 years.
Breast cancer is caused due to uncontrolled growth of cells in the mammary glands. It arises in the epithelium of the ducts or lobules in the glandular tissue of the breast. In stage one, if the cancerous growth is confined to the duct or lobes, there is a minimal chance that it will spread through the surrounding tissue. Although, in further stages of cancer, it starts invading the lymph nodes under the arm or inside the breast. It can also spread to other parts of the body like lungs, liver, bones or sometimes the brain.
Factors That Increase the Risk of Breast Cancer
Certain factors can escalate the development of breast cancer in women are increasing age, harmful use of alcohol or drugs, obesity, family history of breast cancer, radiation exposure, excess use of tobacco and hormone therapy.
Early Detection and Treatment Is Important
The best way to prevent this from becoming deadly is its early detection and the best breast cancer hospital in India for treatment. For early detection, an individual should look out for these symptoms and signs:
- A lump on the breast
- Alteration in size, shape or appearance of a breast
- Any type of changes like dimpling or redness on the skin
- Breast or nipple pain
- Nipple retraction
- Changes in the skin surrounding the nipple (areola)
- Abnormal nipple discharge
Although you can reduce the risk of getting cancer by making some behavioural and lifestyle changes, this probability is stretched to a maximum of 30%.
Preventive Measures
In the context of making some changes by taking various steps in that path, an individual should follow these tips religiously:
- Control body weight by regular physical activity and a healthy diet
- Avoid excess alcohol and tobacco
- Avoid prolonged use of hormone supplements
- Avoid excessive radiation exposure
Breast Cancer Diagnosis
Here is how breast cancer is diagnosed:
- Regular Screening and Mammogram: Regular check-ups and mammograms after an individual has turned 40 can be the best way to prevent your body from getting in control of this deadly disease. A low-dose X-ray of the breast is useful in evaluating palpable as well as non-palpable masses.
- Self-Examination: Self-examination is the easiest way to check up on your breast health. Checking for any changes in your breast or nipple area just after the last date of periods or one particular day every month is a favourable solution.
- Clinical Breast Examination: Schedule an annual consultation with an oncologist for a thorough examination after 40 years.
- Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology (FNAC): A fine needle is inserted into the lump to aspirate a few cells and spread on a glass slide and studied on the microscope to arrive at a diagnosis.
Breast ultrasound, pathological assessment and trucut biopsy are also used to diagnose breast cancer.
Best Treatments Options for Breast Cancer
If you have been diagnosed with this type of cancer, the best breast cancer treatment options are discussed below.
- Hormone Therapy– This therapy is used in patients whose tumour is related to hormones like estrogen and progesterone. This treatment is done before or after surgery. It is given in the form of a tablet to reduce the spread of cancer cells.
- Chemotherapy– This procedure involves hybrid drug treatment and the therapy is planned according to the individual case. It is administered in three ways: Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy (before surgery), Adjuvant Chemotherapy (post-surgery) and Palliative Chemotherapy (in a metastatic setting).
- Targeted Drug Therapy– In breast cancer, the Her-2-neu oncoprotein is overexpressed on the cancer cells. So, in this therapy, drugs are used to specifically target cancer cells and prevent them from multiplying.
- Radiation Therapy– In radiation therapy, the oncologist defines and identifies the target glands (breast/chest wall or lymph glands) where the cancer is volumised. The medical team does the markings so that the important organs like the heart and lungs get affected during the treatment. For this detailed report, the chest/breast area is marked with markers before the CT scan. The scan is then transferred to dedicated computers for creating and optimising the radiotherapy plan.
- IMRT (Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy)- This method is generally a modification of radiation therapy but with fewer complications. In this treatment, a relatively higher dose of radiation is used on the organ, which in turn increases the chances of faster cure.
- IGRT (Image Guided Radiation Therapy)– This therapy is used only in few conditions like when cancer is not confined to only one part of the body, the size of the breast is smaller than the lump, which can cause severe deformity or personal preference. The high dose of radiation concentrated on the tumour can help detect the change in position by a CT image.
- Breast Surgery– This further involves four types of surgeries:
- Breast-conserving surgery (also called lumpectomy), partial mastectomy or segmental mastectomy)
- Mastectomy / Prophylactic Double Mastectomy
- Sentinel lymph node biopsy
- Modified Radical Mastectomy with reconstruction
Cancer has been one of the most dreaded diseases in the world. It drains an individual not only economically but also mentally. Going through various phases of therapy is not an easy task. Get yourself regularly screened and take all measures to prevent this deadly disease.
