Breast Cancer

BREAST CANCER: What you need to know.

If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with breast cancer, it’s important to understand some basics: What is breast cancer and how does it happen?

You can learn about how breast cancer develops, how many people get breast cancer, and what factors can increase risk for getting breast cancer. You also can learn more about signs and symptoms to watch for and how to manage any fears you may have about breast cancer.

The term “breast cancer” refers to a malignant tumor that has developed from cells in the breast. Usually breast cancer either begins in the cells of the lobules, which are the milk-producing glands, or the ducts, the passages that drain milk from the lobules to the nipple. Less commonly, breast cancer can begin in the stromal tissues, which include the fatty and fibrous connective tissues of the breast. Over time, cancer cells can invade nearby healthy breast tissue and make their way into the underarm lymph nodes, small organs that filter out foreign substances in the body. If cancer cells get into the lymph nodes, they then have a pathway into other parts of the body. The breast cancer’s stage refers to how far the cancer cells have spread beyond the original tumor.

Breast cancer always happen as a result of genetic abnormality (a “mistake” in the genetic material). However, only 5-10% of cancers are due to an abnormality inherited from your mother or father. Instead, 85-90% of breast cancers are due to genetic abnormalities that happen as a result of the aging process and the “wear and tear” of life in general.

IS THERE BREAST CANCER IN NIGERIA?

Yes! You may have heard that breast cancer is “white people’s” disease or “rich people’s” disease. It is not true. Breast cancer is global burden and it can happen to anybody, black, white, whether rich or poor.

In Nigeria, 72,000 people die of cancer annually. This number is set to increase given that there are 102,000 new cases of cancer every year. The mortality incidence for breast cancer is (51%). It is estimated that thirty(30) Nigerian women die every day from breast cancer.

WHO IS AT RISK OF BREAST CANCER?

Everybody is at risk of breast cancer including men, however, the following increases your risk of breast cancer:

  • Being female
  • Getting older
  • Having an inherited mutation in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 breast cancer genes (speak to your doctor for clarification)
  • Having a breast biopsy showing lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) or hyperplasia
  • A family history of breast, ovarian or prostate cancer
  • Having high breast density on a mammogram
  • Having a personal history of breast or ovarian cancer
  • Never having children
  • Having first child after age 35
  • Currently or recently using menopausal hormones (estrogen or estrogen plus progestin)
  • Being overweight after menopause or gaining weight as an adult
  • Starting menopause after age 55
  • Having your first period before age 12
  • Having more than one drink of alcohol per day
  • Having high bone density
  • Currently or recently using birth control pills
  • Being exposed to large amounts of radiation, such as frequent X-rays in youth

Please note, risk factors do not cause breast, but they increase the chances that breast cancer may develop. Having many risk factors for breast cancer does not mean that you will get breast cancer. It means that your chances of getting the disease are higher than those who have fewer risk factors. Also, many women with breast cancer do not have any known risk factors aside from being female.

There are some risk factors that you can control and others you cannot. Remember; even if you do not have any of these risk factors you can still get breast cancer.

FACTORS TO REDUCE THE RISK OF BREAST CANCER

There are steps every person can take to help the body stay as healthy as possible, such as:

  • Pass on that last call for alcohol (limit alcohol intake)
  • Eating a balanced diet (intake fresh fruits and vegetables)
  • Talk to both sides of your family to learn about your family health history
  • Maintaining a healthy weight
  • Quit smoking
  • Get physical, and do regular exercise
  • Limit menopausal hormone use
  • Get screened: Breast self-exam, Clinical breast exam or mammogram, speak to your doctor
  • Consider breastfeeding instead of formula feeding

While these may have some impact on your risk of getting breast cancer, they cannot eliminate the risk. Developing breast cancer is not your or anyone’s fault. Feeling guilty, or telling yourself that breast cancer happened because of something you or anyone else did, is not productive.

WHAT CAUSES HIGHER MORTALITY IN NIGERIA?

  • Late diagnosis: Screening not widely available, even where available there is lack of awareness, even where people are aware, there’s still low utilisation of screening services;
  • Seeking traditional medication when women develop symptoms.
  • Lack of knowledge of suggestive symptoms.
  • Inability to afford treatment.

SYMPTOMS: HOW DOES ONE KNOW IF THEY HAVE BREAST CANCER?

Breast cancer symptoms vary widely — from lumps to swelling to skin changes — and many breast cancers have no obvious symptoms at all. Symptoms that are similar to those of breast cancer may be the result of non-cancerous conditions like infection or a cyst.

Below are some symptoms of breast cancer:

  • -Change in size or shape
  • -A nipple turned inward into the breast (discharge, retraction, deviation)
  • -A lump or thickening in or near the breast or in the under arm
  • -Skin may be scaly, red or swollen
  • -It may have ridges, and appears as the skin of orange
  • -Abnormal Mammogram
  • -Breast pain

HOW IS BREAST CANCER DIAGNOSED?

If you find any symptoms mentioned above, please contact your doctor or a specialist immediately. Your doctor will ask you about your family and personal medical history. The doctor will do a clinical breast exam and recommend one or more of the following tests:

  • -Mammogram
  • -Ultrasound
  • -MRI Breast
  • -FNAC

Breast self-exam should be part of your monthly health care routine, and you should visit your doctor if you experience breast changes. If you’re over 40 or at a high risk for the disease, you should also have an annual mammogram and physical exam by a doctor. The earlier breast cancer is found and diagnosed, the better your chances of beating it.

Just as no two people are exactly alike, no two breast cancers are exactly the same, either. Your doctor will order a series of tests on the cancer and nearby tissues to create a “profile” of how the breast cancer looks and behaves. Some of these tests are done after the initial biopsy (removal of tissue sample for testing), others in the days and weeks after lumpectomy or mastectomy.

IS THERE ANY TREATMENT FOR BREAST CANCER?

Yes! Breast cancer is treatable if found early. There are two main types of breast cancer treatment: local and systemic.

Local Treatments are used to remove cancer from a limited (local) area such as the breast, chest wall and lymph nodes in the underarm to make sure it does not come back in that area. The following are Local Treatments:

  • Surgery: these could be lumpectomy (conserving the breast by removing the cancerous lump/tumor) and Mastectomy (the surgical removal of the entire breast).

B.) Radiation therapy: the use of high-energy X-rays to destroy any cancer cells that may remain in the breast after surgery. This reduces the chance of recurrence.

Systemic Treatment: the goal of systemic treatment is to kill any cancer cells that may have spread from the breast to any other parts of the body. It includes treatments such as chemotherapy, hormone therapy and targeted therapy.

  1. Chemotherapy refers to anti-cancer drugs that are given to treat cancer. These drugs are used to kill or slow the growth of cancer cells that may be anywhere in the body. They are given to lower the risk of the cancer spreading in the future. It may be given before or after surgery.
  2. Hormone Therapy uses drugs to slow or stop the growth of hormone receptor-positive tumors by preventing the cancer cells from getting the hormones they need to grow.
  3. Targeted Therapy targets the inner workings of cancer cells. Targeted therapies go straight to the genes and proteins in cancer cells to stop their growth or spread. When certain cancer cells are blocked or stop working, the cancer cells cannot grow. As a result, cancer cells are affected by the treatment more than healthy cells.

Being diagnosed of BREAST CANCER is not a death sentence. At Project PINK BLUE, we are here to support you through your journey with cancer.

Call us: 08000CANCER.

References

American Cancer Society (2013) Breast Cancer. Atlanta: American Cancer Society.

BreastCancer.Org  (2017). Your Breast Cancer Diagnosis. Source: http://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/diagnosis Access: February 10, 2017 at 9:08 AM