Treatment Options For Breast Cancer

Risk Factors and Symptoms of Breast Cancer

2012-03-31T14:44:00.000+03:00

As we mentioned before breast cancer occurs when abnormal calls grows out of control in one or both breasts, Usually, cancer cells spread to the lymph nodes and to other parts of the body. Doctors don’t know exactly what causes breast cancer but there are two factors: factors that can and can’t be change (being in control).

Risk factors that you can’t change are:

Being a woman
Getting older: the chances of breast cancer increases as you get older
Gene change
Family History: Risk factor of breast cancer is higher among women who have relatives with the same disease. Having a mother, daughter or sister doubles the risk of getting breast cancer.
Race and Ethnicity: White women have a slightly higher risk for getting breast cancer than African American women. Asian, Hispanic and Native American women have even less risk.
History of radiation treatment in the chest; exposure to previous chest radiation or the use of diethylstilbestrol.

Risk Factors that you can change (being in control):

Non breast – feeding : breast feeding for one and half to two years lower the chance of getting breast cancer.
Not having children- not having children until Age 30
Drinking alcohol beverages
Being overweight (obese)
Lack of physical therapy : exercise lowers the risk of having breast cancer
Using hormonal therapy after menopause.

Breast cancer symptoms can cause the following:

A change in the nipple that includes: the nipple may tumor in or the skin around it may look scaly.
Fluid that comes out of the nipple or may rook red.
A change in the way the breast looks: change in size and shape of the breast, the skin on the breast may also look dimple or look like an orange peel.
A change in the way the breast feels. This is the most common symptom is a painless lump or thickening in the breast or underarm.

3 Steps to Save Your Life!

2012-01-08T11:51:00.001+02:00

Three easy steps to begin with, to save your live!!!!Self examine yourself every once in a while to see if you have breast cancer, it only takes a couple of minutes:

1. First stand up straight in front of a mirror while hands are on the side and examine each breast and compare them to each other.

Look at the shape and size also look for any swellings, dimpling of the skin, changes in the nipple and contour of each breast. Raise your hands high enough for them to go over your head and also examine the breasts.

2. Lift your right hand and use your left hand to examine your right breast: Fingers flat the first three fingers and move them to every part of the breast in circular motion. Try to feel your breast and notice and cyclists or lumps that might appear. Use three different types of pressure: light, medium and firm. Examine the area under the armpits to the lower bra line, across to breast bone, and back to the armpit. The more you examine yourself the more you’ll become professional on how our breast looks and feels.

3. Switch sides and redo the same thing. If anything feels awkward I suggest that you would see a doctor IMMEDIATLEY!!

As soon as you see a doctor they will do a clinical breast examination. It’s similar to the examination that you did at home but it’s with a nurse or doctor that feels your breast. Then the second step is dong a mammogram. Mammograms are the best available method to detect cancer at a very early stage. It’s an X- ray of the breast; the breast is placed between two smooth plastic plates to flatten your breast tissue. The whole procedure takes about 20 minutes or less.

Male Breast Cancer

2011-10-24T18:51:00.003+02:00

Some people might think what is breast cancer in men? Or how is it diagnosed? Reading this article will help give you all the information you need. Breast cancer is a malignant tumor, group of cells that grow into surrounding tissues or spread to other parts of the body, which starts cells of the breast. Women usually get breast cancer but men also have breast tissue that are nonfunctional (doesn't produce milk) so they might as well get it.

Male breast cancer is rare and it get be linked to environmental and genetic factors, some of the risk factors that have been discovered for developing breast cancer are Radiation exposure, Hyperestrogenism, Klinefelter’s syndrome and Cirrhosis of the liver. Radiation exposure is a great risk factor for men to get breast cancer. If men have undergone radiation therapy to treat malignancies in the chest area have a great risk to get breast cancer. Also, exposure to ionizing radiation has been associated risk factor, Ionizing radiation can cause changes in chemical balance of cells, and then result in cancer.

Hyperestrogenism is when the male produces high amount of estrogen. Men produces small amounts of estrogen (female hormone), the majority of breast cancers in men are estrogen receptor – positive. There are two conditions in which affect the breast to be enlarged in men: Klinefelter’s syndrome and Cirrhosis of the liver.

Klinefelter’s syndrome is an inherited condition, a normal male have 2 chromosomes, X and Y, where he gets the X from his mother and the Y from his father. Men that are affected with Klinefelter’s syndrome have an extra chromosome from the mother resulting in XXY, patients with this syndrome usually produce high amount of estrogen and develop enlarged breasts, small testes and the inability to produce sperms.

Cirrhosis of the liver can be cause by alcohol abuse, or rare genetic conditions. The liver produces binding proteins that are important that affect the delivery and transportation of both male and female hormone in the bloodstream. Patient’s liver with Cirrhosis is compromised and the levels the men and women’s hormones are altered in the bloodstream. Men with this disease produce large amounts of estrogen.

Treatment by Tamoxifen

2011-10-15T08:41:00.001+02:00

Tamoxifen is a antagonist, a type of receptor ligand or drug that doesn't provoke a response when binding to a receptor, of the estrogen receptor in the breast cancer. The generic name for Tamoxifen is Nolvadex. It helps treat women that are diagnosed with hormone – receptor – positive, early staged breast cancer after surgery.

Its also used as treatment options for women that have high risks of getting cancer, Tamoxifen can do so many things such as; reduce the risk of getting breast cancer, reduce the risk of new cancer developing in the other breast, shrink large breast cancer and slow or stop the growth of cancer in pre – and post - menopausal women. It is also used for other health issues such as lowering cholesterol and stop bone loss after menopause.

Some women stay on Tamoxifen for 5 years while others stay for 2 to 3 years and switch to aromatase inhibitor depending on their situation. Some people wont get the full benefits of Tamoxifen, the body uses an enzyme called CYP2D6 to convert Tamoxifen into its active form. There are two possibilities that would interfere with the bodies ability to stop that: patients would take other medication tat would block the effectiveness of the enzyme or a flaw in the enzyme CYP2D6 Tamoxifen like other medication as side effects, most common side effects are dry skin, nausea, mood swings, depression, headache, hair thinning, constipation and hot flashes.

Aromatase Inhibitor

2011-10-12T22:19:00.000+02:00

Aromatase Inhibitor is usually given to post menopause women who had hormone dependent breast cancer so they need this estrogen but, medical doctors use Aromatase inhibitor to turn off the enzyme Aromatase so it can't turn androgen to estrogen. Aromatase Inhibitor can't stop the ovaries to produce estrogen, so they give it to menopause when there ovaries stop making estrogen and other hormones.
It treats early estrogen – receptor – positive breast cancer, it can be used alone or after Tamoxifen. The use of the Aromatase inhibitor after menopause will most likely reduce the risk of getting back breast cancer. Most doctors recommend after initial treatment (surgery, radiation and chemotherapy) to switch to Aromatase inhibitor after taking Tamoxifen for 5 years of hormonal therapy, take Aromatase inhibitor for 5 years after taking Tamoxifen for 5 years.

There are three kinds of Aromatase inhibitor: Arimedix, Aromasin, and Femara. Each are given as pills once a day. Arimedix, also has a chemical name known as Anastrozole, its used to treat menopause women at early stage after breast cancer surgery to reduce he risk of getting cancer back. Aromasin, has a chemical name Exemestane, it treat menopause women that have been on Tamoxifen for 2 to 3 years to risk the factor of cancer coming back. Femara, its chemical name is Letrozole, treat menopause women who have taken Tamoxifen for 5 years to reduce the risk of getting cancer back. Aromatase Inhibitor has a few side effects such as; muscle or body aches, diarrhea or constipation, weakness and fatigue, a general feeling of illness and/or mild nausea.

External Radiation Therapy

2011-10-05T22:51:00.001+02:00

External Radiation Therapy, also known as external beam therapy, carries high beam of radiation by x- rays and sends them directly to breast cancer cells. The high beam is send by a large machine called a linear accelerator and targeted at the tumor site, this treatment option for breast cancer is delivered in two treatment fields: one starts in the middle of the chest and faces the side, while the other starts from the side breast and faces the middle of the chest, where the breastbone is located.

Usually the treatment is given twice a day for approximately 2 to 9 weeks depending on the patient and their progress. The treatment last for about one hour each day and mostly during that hour it’s positioning and imaging the patient. The treatment itself last for several minutes. During the procedure no pain is felt but you might hear clicking or buzzing. Sometimes patients smell an odd scent because the ozone produced by the linear accelerator. After you finish your treatment doctors might give you follows up exams. Post-treatment are very important because they can tell you if you are stable and or as changed, They might ask for a couple of blood test and images just to make sure everything is fine.

Internal Radiation Therapy

2011-10-05T22:43:00.001+02:00

Radiation Therapy is also known as partial - breast therapy or brachy therapy because it usually therapy after lumpectomy surgery and/or regular treatment. It uses radioactive substance that is closed by wires or needles and are placed near the breast cancer cell (for first time treatment) or therapy were the cancer was (for therapy after lumpectomy) There are two different methods of giving Internal Radiation: Multi-Catheter and Balloon-Catheter Internal Radiation.

In Multi-Catheter Internal Radiation x- rays or other tests are taken to determine exactly where the radiation will be given. A member from the radiation team will place small tubes known as catheter that are placed under the skin were the breast cancer was and sew the tubes in their place. Small stitches hold the catheter and the end of the tube comes out from small holes in the skin. That treatment option for breast cancer can be given to you in high or low dose of radiation.

In high dose radiation treatment small pieces of radioactive material are placed in the catheter by a machine or a person. The radioactive seeds will slowly spread the radiation to the tissues around the catheter. Usually each treatment will last about hour and you can leave the therapy center and go home. You will get treated twice for about five days. After the treatment is finished the catheters are removed from your body.

In low dose radiation the treatment stays for over many hours and you need to stay in the hospital and nothing is removed, after the treatment is done the radioactive seeds and catheters are removed.

The second method in internal therapy is Balloon – Catheter. In this therapy a catheter, special tube, with a balloon attached at the end of the catheter, filled with liquid so it can stay in place, and placed where the lumpectomy surgery was done. A machine places the radioactive seeds into the balloon for about 10 minutes ten they are removed. Usually treatment is given twice a day for approximately 5 – days then you can go home.

Mastectomy Surgery

2011-10-05T07:46:00.000+02:00

Mastectomy is another major surgery done for women with breast cancer. It removes partially, completely, one or both breast, including the nipple. There are five different types of mastectomy: Simple Mastectomy, Modified Radical Mastectomy, Subcutaneous Mastectomy, Skin-sparing Mastectomy and Radical Mastectomy.

Mastectomy is used to treat women with: two or more areas of cancer that are in the same breast but far from each other, women with a tumor larger than 5 centimeter and as not shrunk by using chemotherapy, women with a cancer bigger than her breast, women that have been treated with radiation therapy and hasn't removed all cancerous cells and pregnant women.

The procedure for a Mastectomy surgery usually involves a surgeon that will separate the breast tissue from the above skin and from the chest muscle from underneath. All of the breast tissue is removed including everything that lies between the ribs and collarbone and from the side of the body to the breastbone. Then the surgeon will insert drains and closes the wound by using stitches.

Mastectomy usually takes approximately 2 hours in the operation room and an average stay in the hospital to recover is about 2 to 3 days unless you are having breast reconstruction surgery it will take longer, about 3 to 4 weeks.

Breast Cancer Surgery

2011-09-29T07:45:00.000+03:00

The first treatment option for breast cancer in the line that medical doctors refer to first is surgery. After viewing your characteristics such as: size, stage, biological characteristics and your personal profile medical doctors would recommend surgery as step one.

In this treatment, they remove that specific cancerous tissue out of the body. Breast cancer is originally from breast tissue that usually are located from the inner lining of milk duct or lobules. Usually surgery happens in the beginning stages because doctors can still control it and it still would not have spread throughout the body. known surgeries are: Lumpectomy, Mastectomy and Lymph node removal. In most cases after surgery therapy is taken so that cancer cells wouldn't come back by using drugs.

Radiation Therapy

2011-09-25T17:16:00.000+03:00

Radiation therapy is the best treatment options for breast cancer since it can treat all stages of breast cancer, from stage 0 to stage 3. It can be treated after Lumpectomy or Mastectomy surgeries, it has the ability to destroy and cancerous cells that might be in the breast after the tumor has been removed. Pregnant women should NOT have radiation therapy.

It uses very high energy beam or high energy of radiation, such as X- rays, to kill cancer cells or stop them from dividing after surgery. The high energy beam is invisible to the human eye but it is capable to destroy the DNA in the cell which stops it from dividing. It kills any cells that are in its pathway including normal cells. On the other hand, cancerous cells are affected better since cancer cells are unorganized, its harder for them to repair the damage that is done by radiation meanwhile, healthy cells can retreat themselves and survive the radiation. There are two main types of radiation therapy: External Therapy and Internal Therapy.

Usually, a doctor will recommend radiation therapy after Lumpectomy if the cancer is at early stage, located on one site and/or smaller than 4 centimeters. Also a patient might be a high risk to get cancer back after mastectomy if cancer is 5 centimeters or bigger, cancer has invaded the skin, lymph channel and bloodstream of the breast.

Biological Therapy

2011-09-25T14:03:00.000+03:00

Biological Therapy is known by many terms such as: Immunotherapy, immunologic therapy and bio-therapy. This treatment option uses the bodies immune system or drugs to act on cancerous cells without harming the normal cells of breast. One form of treatment they use are antibodies, which is a type of protein that can attach to other specific proteins called antigens, to attack cancerous cell or stop their activities. Some antibodies that are used in this treatment option for breast cancer are Herceptin and trastuzumab.

Another form of treatment they use in biological therapy are drugs/ medication that are made up of small molecules which then will interrupt the chemical or hormonal pathway of cancer cells; which they need to grow and develop. Most common drugs are: Tykerb, Lapatinib Avastin and Iressa.

Chemotherapy Treatment

2011-09-24T16:29:00.000+03:00

Chemotherapy treatment uses medicine, a combination of one or more kind of medicine, to target all cancer cells in the body and at the original cancer site by going through the bloodstream. Then it weakens them, kills them and most likely prevent them from re-occurrence. There are two main treatment options in chemotherapy: Stem cell and bone narrow, Activant and Navigant.

As we mentioned above, this type of treatment involves the entire body system. It’s usually used in stages two, three and four. Its used in advanced stages of treatment for breast cancer so it can destroy and damage the cancer cell and, its also used in very early invasive breast cancer so it can get rid of any cancer cells after surgery and prevent any chances of re-occurrence.

Hormonal Therapy

2011-09-24T15:52:00.001+03:00

This treatment links hormones and breast cancer. Hormonal therapy can be given before, during or after any treatment options for breast cancer. Its usually used for early stage hormone, receptor, positive breast cancer so it can stop the risk of any cancer that might show up after surgery, for advanced stage breast cancer and for hormone, receptor, positive, who hasn’t yet been diagnosed with breast cancer but are at but are at high risk to get breast cancer.

We all know that estrogen is one of the most important hormone in females but, it’s also the main source of food for breast cancer cells. In this treatment, doctors tend to use Anti-Estrogen to the patient so it can starve the tumor cell resulting in its death. There are a few Therapies to this treatment: chemical ovarian suppression, Aromatase inhibitor, estrogen receptor blocker and Oopherectomy.

Lymph Nodes

2011-09-23T10:07:00.000+03:00

Lymph nodes are very important in this topic. They are very small, bean shaped organ that spread out through the body. There function is to act like a filter along the lymph liquid channels that collects dead bacteria and tissues and viruses. In this case, lymph fluids leave the breast and into the bloodstreams; if a person has breast cancer the lymph nodes try to catch these cells and trap them before they go into the rest of the body.

In breast cancer they take those lymph nodes that are located under your arms and are examined. A pathology report is then read, it will tell you how many nodes they examined and how many of them are positive (cancerous). For example if 5 lymph nodes are taken and none of them are cancerous then it would read 0/5, if 3 of them are cancerous it would read 3/5 meaning 5 are removed but 3 are positive (cancerous).

Lumpectomy Surgery

2011-09-23T10:04:00.000+03:00

One of the most common types of breast cancer surgery is known as Lumpectomy (type of mastectomy). This is a type of surgery done for breast cancer and removes the tumor/lump and some of the normal cells around it that might be affected by cancer.

Breast tissues are also removed but the amount of breast issues removed vary from person to person. For example: Quadranectomy means that quarter of the breast will be removed. Most people receive approximately 5 to 7 weeks of radiation therapy after surgery to eliminate and cancer cells that might reappear in the breast tissue. When Lumpectomy and radiation therapy take place this is known as breast – conservative therapy, as a treatment option for breast cancer.

Like many other surgeries, lumpectomy carries certain risks. Loss of sensation, is one of the major risks, a person usually feels numbness and loss of sensation after the surgery. This depends on how much of the lymph is removed during the surgery. Another risk, breast usually doesn’t match each other. Because removing breast tissue during surgery can make the affected breast look smaller. But a patient won’t recognize this until after a while because of the swelling that occurs after surgery.

Breast Cancer | Stage Levels

2011-09-23T09:58:00.000+03:00

Breast cancer is staged in four different levels from 0 to 4. Level zero usually is non – invasive and cancer cells are in the same locations that haven’t yet spread. Level one are invasive cancerous cell that are starting to invade other cells around them. Usually they measure up to 2 centimeter and in this level no lymph nodes are involved yet. Level two is divided into two subcategories: level 2A and level 2B.

In level 2A breast cancer are invasive but the tumor is less than 2 centimeter and has reached into the axillary lymph node, no tumor found but the cancerous cells are found in the lymph node under the arms or the tumor measures more than 2 centimeter but less than 5 and has not reached the axillary lymph mode. In level 2B it’s also classified as invasive but the tumor is larger than 2 centimeter but smaller than 5 and has reached the axillary lymph node or the tumor is larger than 5 centimeter but has not spread into the axillary lymph node.

Normal cells vs. cancerous cells

Level three is also divided into three subcategories 3A,3B,3C In LEVEL 3a there is no tumor found but there are cancerous cells in the axillary lymph node and are sticking to other structures, it can also be the cancerous cells are any size that are spread into the axillary lymph node and are sticking to different structures. In level 3B the cancerous cells are spread into the chest wall and/or in the breast skin and the lymph node that are sticking together on different structures. In level 3C the cancerous cells are spread into the lymph node near the breast stone or the axillary lymph node, in level 4 the cancerous cells are more advanced and invasive and are spread throughout the body not only in the breast.

Breast Cancer Brief

2011-09-19T15:02:00.000+03:00

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in women. Generally, cancer is defined as cells in the body that change, grow and/or multiple out of control. Breast cancer is a tumor in the female breast area. There are several types of tumor that can exist in different parts of the breast. After it has been found, diagnosed and staged medical doctors will recommend treatment. They base their treatment on size, type, stage, biological characteristics, grade and general health.

After determining where your breast cancer is staged, what size it is and looking at your biological profile medical doctors tend to give you the best treatment option for your breast cancer you need. There are five different types of treatment options for breast cancer: Surgery, Radiation Therapy, Chemotherapy, Biological Therapy and Hormonal Therapy. Each treatment has different characteristics than the other. I hope reading on each treatment will help your understand better.