Breast Cancer
Breast Cancer is the leading cause of death for women 35 to 54 years of age. One woman in 25 dies of breast cancer in North America and Western Europe.
causes:
The conspicuously lower death rate for breast cancer in Asia and Latin America appears to be partially accounted for by early childbearing in these parts of the world. It is known that the risk of developing cancer is very low for women who have their first child before they are 20. The risk increase significantly among those who have their first child after 30. Figures of breast cancer incidence are also lower among women who nurse their own babies.
Recent studies indicate a relationship between the use of estrogen-either as ingredient of contraceptive pills-and the likelihood of breast cancer, especially where there is a family history of the disease. Ongoing research has also established some connection between high-fat diets and the development of various cancers, including those in the breast.
symptoms:
- painless lumps
- areas of tissue that feel sore when pressed
- tenderness of the nipples
- discolorations and texture changes of the skin
- persistent pain under the armpit
treatment:
Breast cancer is treated primarily by surgery. A biopsy of a tissue sample is essential for a diagnosis of malignancy, since approximately 75 percent of women whose tissue is biopsied are found to have benign growths rather than cancerous ones.
Surgical procedures differs depending on the stage reached by the cancer. Removal may be set by simple or radical mastectomy. The lymph glands into which the breast drains are removed in a radical mastectomy as protection against the possibility of metastasis of the cancerous cells to other parts of the body.
Recent postoperative treatment with a three-drug combination has dramatically reduced the recurrence of cancer has invaded the lymph nodes. The potency of the drug combination is based on its ability to detect and destroy hidden and that have spread from the original breast cancer. The chemotherapy. called CMF (cyclophosphamide, methotrexate and 5-fluorouacil), is sometimes combined with postoperative radiation therapy. Ongoing efforts are being made to reduce negative side effects.
