Breast Cancer refers to malignant tumors which can threaten life by spreading outside the breast unlike benign tumors remaining inside the breast as a mass(palpable mass) consisting of cancer cells occurred in the breast and generally it occurs in the epithelial cells of both milk duct and mammary glands.
Cause and provoking factors of Breast Cancer
Past history and family history of breast cancer, in case that menarche starts quickly or menopause is late, the age and reproductive factors, breast-feeding factors, female hormones, obesity, radiation study and etc. It occurs in woman without these risk factors among 70-80% of women.
Diagnosis of Breast Cancer
1) Self-Diagnosis at Home
- Step-1: Observe by naked eye looking in the mirror naked eye (Normally, comparison of changes in breast shape or contour)
- Step-2: Palpating by standing up or sitting down (Examination gently using soap and lotion gently)
- Step-3: Palpating by lying
* You should see carefully the following symptoms;
- Pain
- Changes in size and shape of nipple, ucler or discharge
- Retraction of the nipple
- Crease of the breast
- Nipple eczema
- Changes in breast skin
- Breast size and symmetry
2) Mammography
3) Breast Ultrasound
4) Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
5) Computed tomography (CT)
6) Positron emission tomography (PET)
7) Biopsy
- Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology
- Gun biopsy
- Mammotome biopsy
- Surgical biopsy
8) Genetic testing BRCA1, BRCA2
9) Bone scan
Treatment of Breast Cancer
1) Radiation Therapy
It is the treatment destructing cancer cells and inhibiting the growth of these cells by using high-energy radiation.
2) Chemotherapy
It refers to treatment used anti-cancer medicine which destruct cancer cells by stopping growth or proliferation affecting cell growth in cycles to treat cancer cells.
3) Antiestrogen Therapy
Breast is the one among different organs that the female hormone estrogen secreted from the ovarian is affecting mainly. The trial of preventing the progression of breast cancer by blocking the influence that this estrogen gives on breast cancer, is the antiestrogen therapy
4) Surgical Methods
- ① Partial resection of the breast: Resection of the only part of breat tissue including normal tissues surrounding cancer if the cancer is confined to part of breat as a breast conserving surgery.
- ② Mastectomy: Resection en bloc axillary lymph nodes and the whole of breast tissue including nipple and the skin.
- ③ Axillary lymph node dissection: Surgery removing all axillary lymph nodes in case that there is the metastaseis in axillary lymph node or cancer size is large.
- ④ Sentinel lymph node biopsy: Sentinel lymph node biopsy in order to identify the possibilities of metastasis of breast cancer as a lymph nodes that lymphatic fluid firstly reaches from the breast.If no cancer in the sentinel lymph node, surgery will be completed with about 2-5 sentienl lymph node biopsy.
- ⑤ Reconstruction after mastectomy: Reconstruction of breast and cosmetic surgery is possible at the same time with in situ breast cancer or part due to breast cancer except progressive breast cancer. Method of breast reconstruction is largely divided into 2 methods, one is autologous tissue use method and other is prosthesis use method.
KMH recommended Tips
- Breast cancer treatment is to eat a balanced diet and adequate rest.
- Kwok-fitting clothes is not good.
- Dental care during chemotherapy cannot receive so that you have to receive the dental examination before treatment in advance.
- Consult sufficiently with medical staff in order to understand coping skills about chemotherapy and postoperative complications.
- If the patient caught a cold during the treatment, immune function is low so that there are risk developing as a serious infection like pneumonia. Therefore, influenza vaccination is recommended even if the period of treatment and the period will be consulted with medical staff.
- There might be having a variety of ups and downs in emotion of cancer patients ranging from the stage of cancer diagnosis. You have to know related information in order to get professional help. as needed for the management of emotional change and mental stress.
- Examination of body state all the time by visiting hospital regularly and being fully aware note related to treatment in addition to this.
