A Glimpse Into The Shadowy World Of Breast Cancer
Breast cancer is the commonest form of cancer that occurs in women and, following lung cancer, it is the second major cause of cancer death among females. In 2004 some 186,772 new breast cancer cases were reported according to the American Cancer Society and this figure would seem to be going up on a yearly basis.
It is also worthy of note that breast cancer is not confined only to women and that 1,815 men contracted the disease in 2004 and that 362 men died of breast cancer that year.
The breasts in women are complicated pieces of machinery comprising glands, fat and connective fibrous tissue. Each breast has numerous lobes which are divided into lobules and end in the milk glands and there are also a large number of tiny ducts from the milk glands that join together and end in the nipple.
Eighty percent of breast cancer cases occur in these ducts and this condition is known as infiltrating ductal cancer. It is also fairly common for breast cancer to originate in the lobules where it is called lobular cancer. Other types of cancer are merely called inflammatory breast cancer.
Changes such as pre-cancerous changes (known as ‘in situ’) are also commonly seen in women and are changes which have not yet spread from the place in the breast where they were originally spotted. If these changes occur within the ducts then the condition is called ductal carcinoma in situ or DCIS and if they occur in the lobules they are known as lobular carcinomas in situ or LCIS.
The most serious type of breast cancer is known as metastatic cancer which involves the spread of cancer from the place where it began. Breast cancer most commonly metastasizes into the lymph nodes above the collarbone or under the arms on the same side as the cancer which produces pain and swelling to the affected area as the lymphatic drainage system is compromised. Other common sites of breast cancer metastasis are the brain, liver and the bones.
Besides the clear factor of gender, age is a very important factor when looking at the risk of contracting breast cancer. Although breast cancer can and does arise at just about any age the risk of getting it increases as you get older. A healthy woman aged 30 will usually have a 1 in 280 chance of getting breast cancer by the time she reaches 40 years of age. However, this risk then increases to a probable 1 in 70 chance of developing breast cancer when that same women reaches her forties.
Family history is also an important risk factor for breast cancer with the risk being at its highest when you have a close relative (like an aunt or mother) who has had breast cancer at a young age.