Breast Cancer Prevention Tips

Despite all the 'noise' about breast cancer being one of the worst killers of women in the world today, it is annoying that most women still do not take active steps towards protecting themselves from this dreaded condition. Although, the increasing prevalence of breast cancer and perhaps other cancerous conditions has been linked to environmental factors such as the increasing levels of radiation and chemicals released into the air, water, soil and food that we consume in the civilized world; or to genetic and hereditary factors, the role of other self imposed factors cannot be ignored.

There are a lot of things every woman can do individually or collectively, to prevent breast cancer. Poor lifestyle choices, such as smoking and excessive alcohol consumption, lack of exercise or ingestion or hormone mimicking medications, all play crucial roles in the cause of breast cancer and any attempt at preventing this disease should begin from here.

A simple positive and optimistic attitude has been shown to reduce the risk of cancer. This will sound amazing to many people; however, it will suffice to explain that several medical studies have demonstrated the link between a positive attitude and an improved immune system. Laughter and humor has been shown to enhance the body's immunity and prevents against cancer and other diseases. You must have heard the slogan 'happy people don't fall sick'. Part of maintaining a positive attitude is learning to express your feelings. The mind is free and open and energy flows freely throughout the body when there are no accumulated pains and anxieties weighing you down.
Exercise is another tool that you will find very useful in your fight against breast cancer. Aerobic exercises, at least 3-4 times a week, constant breath work and deep body awareness (as in yoga meditation) are all effective in preventing breast cancer. Exercise has been shown to be very effective in maintaining a healthy body and mind. By exercising regularly, you will do yourself a great favour, because you will not only be preventing breast cancer, you will also be making it easier to maintain a sound mind and healthy body.

Eating healthy food is another great tool in preventing breast cancer. A great deal of cancers are caused by the chemicals and preservatives in the food we eat. Most genetically modified foods (GMO) i.e. food materials that were enhanced in the laboratory, are known to pose serious health dangers to consumers. Also, the hormone mimicking substances in contraceptive pills and other prescription pills could predispose you to cancerous growth. Thus, taking the right supplements could also be an effective tool in the fight against breast cancer.

Besides all these, self examination of the breast regularly is the number one means of detecting any changes in the breast. It is advisable to examine the breast at the same time every month; this will make it easier to spot any changes in the shape, color or texture of the breast. Common signs or changes to look out for are: lumps, thickening or knots anywhere in the breast, unusual swelling or warmth, change in size, color or texture such as reddening or darkening of the breast, itching or scaling especially on the nipple, sudden discharge, rashes, dimpling of the skin or unusual pain. Although, most of these changes might not be a sign of impending breast cancer, however, you never can tell. Forget all what you have heard, it is still possible to prevent breast cancer.

Author - Michael Russell - Your Independent guide to Breast Cancer.

Article Source: ezinearticles.com

Mammography

Mammography is the process of using low-dose X-rays (usually around 0.7 mSv) to examine the human breast. It is used to look for different types of tumors and cysts. Mammography has been proven to reduce mortality from breast cancer. No other imaging technique has been shown to reduce risk, but self-breast examination (SBE) and physician examination are essential parts of regular breast care. In some countries routine (annual to five-yearly) mammography of older women is encouraged as a screening method to diagnose early breast cancer.

Like all x-rays, mammograms use doses of ionizing radiation to create this image. Radiologists then analyze the image for any abnormal growths. Despite continuous improvements and innovations, mammography has garnered a sizable opposition in the medical community because of an error rate that is still high and the amount of harmful radiation used in the procedure. (Gofinan) It is normal to use longer wavelength X-rays (typically Mo-K) than those used for radiography of bones.

Mammography has a false-negative (missed cancer) rate of at least 10 percent. This is partly due to dense tissues obscuring the cancer and the fact that the appearance of cancer on mammograms has a large overlap with the appearance of normal tissues.

At this time, mammography is still the modality of choice for screening for early breast cancer. It is the gold-standard which other imaging tests are compared with. CT has no real role in diagnosing breast cancer at the present. Ultrasound, Ductography, and Magnetic Resonance are adjuncts to mammography. Ultrasound is typically used for further evaluation of masses found on mammography or palpable masses not seen on mammograms. Ductograms are useful for evaluation of bloody nipple dischage when the mammogram is non-diagnostic. MRI can be useful for further evaluation of questionable findings, or sometimes for pre-surgical evaluation to look for additional lesions.

Source - Wikipedia.org

Long-term HRT 'ups cancer risk'

Long-term use of oestrogen-only hormone replacement therapy (HRT) does increase the risk of breast cancer, a major study suggests.

The US study comes just weeks after research appeared to rule out any connection in the short to medium term.
Oestrogen-only HRT is usually reserved for women who have had hysterectomies, as it increases womb cancer risk

The latest study, published in Archives of Internal Medicine, examined data on nearly 29,000 women.

Research has suggested that HRT using a combination of the hormones oestrogen and progestogen may increase the risk of breast cancer.

And some studies have also suggested a similar risk is associated with the oestrogen-only form. However, a study of more than 10,000 women by Stamford University published last month found no evidence of any increased risk in women who used the therapy for up to seven years.

The latest study, by Brigham and Women's Hospital and Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, followed a group of female nurses who took part in a long-term study which began in 1976. Throughout the study period, 934 women developed invasive breast cancers. Of these 226 had never used hormones, and 708 had used oestrogen therapy.

The longer a woman used oestrogen, the higher her risk of breast cancer appeared to be. Those who had been taking oestrogen for fewer than 10 years did not appear to have a higher risk than those who had never taken hormones. But those who had been taking the hormone for more than 20 years had a significantly increased risk.

For more click the link below,

Hormone Replacement Therapy & Breast Cancer

Breast Cancer in Men

Breast cancer is a malignant tumor that has developed from cells of the breast. The disease occurs primarily in women but occasionally occurs in men.

Many people do not realize that men have breast tissue and that they can develop breast cancer. Until puberty, young boys and girls have a small amount of breast tissue consisting of a few ducts (tubular passages) located under the nipple and areola (area around the nipple). At puberty, a girl's ovaries produce female hormones, causing breast ducts to grow, lobules (milk glands) to form at the ends of ducts, and the amount of stroma (fatty and connective tissue surrounding ducts and lobules) to increase. On the other hand, male hormones produced by the testicles prevent further growth of breast tissue. Men's breast tissue contains ducts, but only a few if any lobules.

Like all cells of the body, a man's breast duct cells can undergo cancerous changes. Because women have many more breast cells than men do and perhaps because their breast cells are constantly exposed to the growth-promoting effects of female hormones, breast cancer is much more common in women.

Many types of breast disorders can affect both men and women. Most breast disorders are benign (not cancerous). Benign breast tumors do not spread outside of the breast and are not life threatening. Other tumors are malignant (cancerous) and may become life threatening. Benign tumors, such as papillomas and fibroadenomas, are common in women but are extremely rare in men.

Lymphatic vessels are important structures in the breast. They are like veins, except that they carry lymph instead of blood. Lymph is a clear fluid that contains tissue fluid and waste products and immune system cells (cells that are important in fighting infections). Lymph nodes are small bean-shaped collections of immune system cells that are found along lymphatic vessels. Cancer cells can enter lymphatic vessels and spread to lymph nodes.

Most lymphatic vessels in the breast connect to lymph nodes under the arm (axillary lymph nodes). Some lymphatic vessels connect to lymph nodes inside the chest (internal mammary nodes) and either above or below the collarbone (supra- or infraclavicular nodes).

When breast cancer cells reach the axillary (underarm) lymph nodes, they may continue to grow, often causing the lymph nodes in that area to swell. If breast cancer cells have spread to the underarm lymph nodes, they are more likely to have spread to other organs of the body as well. This is why it is important to find out if breast cancer has spread to your axillary lymph nodes when you are choosing a treatment.

Benign Breast Conditions

Gynecomastia is the most common male breast disorder. It is not a tumor but rather an increase in the amount of a man's breast tissue. Usually, men have too little breast tissue to be felt or noticed. A man with gynecomastia has a button-like or disk-like growth under his nipple and areola, which can be felt and sometimes seen. Gynecomastia, common among teenage boys, is due to changes in hormone balance during adolescence. The same condition is also common in older men and is also due to changes in their hormone balance.

Rarely, gynecomastia occurs because tumors or diseases of certain endocrine (hormone-producing) glands cause a man's body to produce more estrogen (the main female hormone). Although men's glands normally produce some estrogen, it is not enough to cause breast growth. Diseases of the liver, which is an important organ in male and female hormone metabolism, can change a man's hormone balance and lead to gynecomastia. Obesity may be another cause of elevated estrogens in men.

Many commonly prescribed medicines can sometimes cause gynecomastia, too. These include some drugs used to treat ulcers and heartburn, high blood pressure, and heart failure. Men with gynecomastia should ask their doctors about whether any medicines they are taking might be causing this condition.

Klinefelter syndrome, a rare genetic condition, can lead to gynecomastia and increase a man's risk of developing breast cancer. This condition is discussed further in the section on risk factors for male breast cancer.

Types of Breast Cancer

Adenocarcinoma: Nearly all breast cancers start in the ducts or lobules of the breast. Because this is glandular tissue, they are called adenocarcinomas, a term applied to cancers of glandular tissue anywhere in the body. The 2 main types of breast adenocarcinomas are ductal carcinomas and lobular carcinomas.

Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS): DCIS is an uncommon type of breast adenocarcinoma in men (about 10%). Cancer cells fill the ducts but do not invade through the walls of the ducts into the fatty tissue of the breast or spread outside the breast. It is almost always curable.

In situ is the term used for the early stage of cancer, when it is confined to the immediate area where it began. Specifically in breast cancer, in situ means that the cancer remains confined to ducts (ductal carcinoma in situ) or lobules (lobular carcinoma in situ). It has not invaded surrounding fatty tissues in the breast nor spread to other organs in the body.

Infiltrating (or invasive) ductal carcinoma (IDC): Starting in a duct of the breast, this type of adenocarcinoma breaks through the wall of the duct and invades the fatty tissue of the breast. At this point, it can metastasize (or spread) to other parts of the body. IDC (alone or mixed with other types of invasive or in situ breast cancer) accounts for 80% to 90% of male breast cancers.

Other Breast Cancers

Lobular breast cancers in men are very rare, accounting for only 2% of adenocarcinomas. This is because men do not usually have lobular tissue, the milk-producing glands.

Paget disease of the nipple: This type of breast cancer starts in the breast ducts and spreads to the skin of the nipple. It may also spread to the areola (the dark circle around the nipple). The skin of the nipple usually appears crusted, scaly, and red, with areas of itching, oozing, burning, or bleeding. Using the fingertips, a lump may be detected within the breast. If no lump can be felt, the prognosis (outlook for survival) is generally good. Paget disease may be associated with in situ carcinoma or with infiltrating breast carcinoma. It accounts for about 1% of female breast cancers and a higher percentage of male breast cancers. Because the male breast is much smaller than the female breast, all male breast cancers start relatively close to the nipple, so spread to the nipple is more likely.

Source - cancer.org