Breast Cancer Archives

Important Breast Cancer Terms You Need to be Familiar With

It is a little difficult to flow or understand health personnel’s when they begin to reel out their terms or jargons when it come to breast cancer related issues. This write-up is intended to water down all the related terms associated with breast cancer; Happy reading:

• Adenocarcinoma: Malignant tumor originating in glandular (Relating to or affecting or functioning as a gland) epithelium (Membranous tissue covering internal organs and other internal surfaces of the body). This is a type of cancer that starts in glandular tissue (tissue that makes and secretes a substance).

• Carcinoma: Any malignant tumor derived from epithelial tissue; one of the four major types of cancer. This term is employed to identify a cancer that begins in the lining layer of organs such as the breast. At least 80% of all cancers are carcinomas, and almost all breast cancers are carcinomas.

• Invasive (infiltrating) carcinoma: An invasive carcinoma is a state of cancerous attack or invasion that has already penetrated deep and beyond the layer of cells where it started from.

• Carcinoma in situ: A cluster of malignant cells that has not yet invaded the deeper epithelial tissue or spread to other parts of the body.

• Sarcoma: A usually malignant tumor arising from connective tissue (bone or muscle etc.); one of the four major types of cancer. They start from connective tissues such as muscle tissue, fat tissue or blood vessels.

• Adjuvant therapy: Treatment used in addition to the main treatment. The term usually refers to hormone therapy, chemotherapy, or radiation therapy added after surgery to increase the chances of curing the disease or keeping it in check.

• Antibody: Any of a large variety of proteins normally present in the body or produced in response to an antigen which it neutralizes, thus producing an immune response.

• Antigen: Any substance (as a toxin or enzyme) that stimulates an immune response in the body (especially the production of antibodies)

• Blood Brain Barrier: A mechanism that creates a barrier between brain tissues and circulating blood; serves to protect the central nervous system. “the brain was protected from the large molecules of the virus by the blood-brain barrier”

• Cell: the basic structural and functional unit of all organisms. The basic unit of which all living things are made. The processes that control formation of new cells and death of old cells are disrupted in cancer.

• Chemotherapy: Systemic treatment with drugs to destroy cancer cells. It is often administered intravenously and can be given as single therapy or in combination with multiple drugs at once. Chemotherapy can be administered concurrently or sequentially with other treatments and in addition to surgery or radiation to treat cancer when it has spread, when it has come back (recurred), or when there is a strong chance that it could recur.

• Inflammatory Breast Cancer: A type of invasive breast cancer with spread to lymphatic vessels in the skin covering the breast. The skin of the affected breast is red, feels warm, and may thicken to the consistency of an orange peel. About 1-6 percent of all breast cancer is inflammatory breast cancer.

• Intravenous: Within or by means of a vein. A method of supplying fluids or medications using a needle inserted in a vein.

• Metastasis: The spreading of a disease to another part of the body; also known as advanced cancer. A jargon or term describing stages of cancer in which the disease has spread from the primary site to other parts of the body.

• Neoadjuvant therapy: Systemic therapy, such as chemotherapy or hormone therapy, given before surgery. This can shrink some breast cancers, so that surgical removal can be accomplished with a less extensive operation than would otherwise be needed.

• Oncologist: A specialist in oncology, A doctor with special training in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

• Radiation therapy: (medicine) the treatment of disease (especially cancer) by exposure to a radioactive substance.

• Tumor: An abnormal new mass of tissue that serves no purpose.

• Volumetric Analysis: A quantitative calculation of the space taken up by the metastatic lesion used to compare over time and assess growth or shrinkage.

About the Author:In other to ensure that breast cancer is arrested at a very early stage is the focus of BREAST CANCER REMEDIES Find out more at http://breastcanceremedies.blogspot.com
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A New Test to Reduce the Recurrence of Breast Cancer

A new test has been developed in order to examine the major areas of the sentinel lymph node. Sentinel lymph node is the first place where there breast cancer mostly spread. Through this test the risk of multiple surgeries that one has to undergo once the cancer has spread can be reduced. The sentinel node is responsible for filtering lymphatic fluid from the breast and is located in the armpit.

This new test is being examined at the MCG (Medical College of Georgia) to scan nearly half of the tissues in the sentinel lymph node. The samples taken through this test amounts to more than 10 times the amount of tissues examined in conventional biopsies today. As this new test uses molecular tools to examine the tissues therefore it is more accurate and decreases the chances of false predictions.

The stage of the cancer, whether it has metastasized or not can be confirmed through the excessive amounts of the proteins mamoglobin and cytokeratin 19.

MSG (Medical College of Georgia) is the first college that is offering the test and according to time magazine it is one of the top-10 medical milestones to be achieved in 2007. In a conventional sentinel node biopsy a node is removed which is further cut to the size of the original sample by the pathologist. Once this piece is obtained then it is cut into water-thin layers which are frozen, stained and examined for cancer cells under a microscope. This is a technique known as frozen section performed during the lumpectomy surgery. If the tissue after under going the frozen section is found to be positive for breast cancer then more nodes are removed from the patient’s body but if the samples are negative then no more nodes are required.

Today, there are at least 20% women in the world with negative nodes which are confirmed by the biopsies. This new type of test performs both, the older types of biopsies and the new methods. Therefore, through this test it is expected to detect breast cancer in a patient’s body in its earlier stages and in this way a number of lives could be saved.

About the Author:Amasch McAndrew has been working with various Medical & Health organizations providing them reports on Medicines & Cancer diseases particularly focused on breast cancer. Therefore, he has a great insight over the issues, treatment and cure of Cancer diseases.
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – A New Test to Reduce the Recurrence of Breast Cancer

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Male Breast Cancer

Male breast cancer is rarely found, not even 1% of the total breast cancer cases are of men. Nevertheless, the occurring rate male breast cancer is less compared to women yet the disease have a lot in common for both.

The most occurring breast cancers or the major types of breast cancer are the same for men and women. Nearly 90% of the male breast cancers exist in the ducts or lobes. Out of these 90%, 75% are ductal carcinoma. Ductal carcinoma is the one that develops in the cells lining the milk ducts. Around 30% of the male breast cancers are lobular carcinoma found in both breasts. Lobular carcinoma is cancer that develops in the lobules.

Most of the male breast cancer cases are of IDC (invasive or infiltrating ductal carcinoma). This is a type of cancer that spreads outside of the duct and makes way into the surrounding tissues.

Male breast cancer that has not spread to other areas is called ‘In Situ’. ‘In Situ’ is rarely found in men. The course of In Situ and its treatment is dependant upon the starting spot of the cancer. According to the latest research, doctors recommend that DCIS which is ductal carcinoma in situ should be surgically removed in order to stop it from moving to other areas of the breast.

Male breast cancer usually develops in men over the age of 60. As in women it can occur at a young age too, men are thankfully away from it. However, as it is a known fact that breast cancer in women was not that common some centuries back and as the world modernized the percentage of breast grew rapidly. No such change has been observed in the rise or fall of male breast cancer but nevertheless it can happen therefore it is better to take the necessary precautions.

About the Author:Amasch McAndrew has been working with various Medical & Health organizations providing them reports on Medicines & Cancer diseases particularly focused on breast cancer. Therefore, he has a great insight over the issues, treatment and cure of Cancer diseases.
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Male Breast Cancer

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Higher Incidence of Breast Cancer in City Women

Typically, breast tissue includes the underlying pectoral muscle, blood vessels, fibrous tissue, lymph vessels and nerves. Does the structure of breast tissue have any bearing on a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer? Apparently it does. A recent study has found that the denser a woman’s breast tissue is, the more are the chances of her developing breast cancer.

Women living in urban areas are normally found to have denser breasts, which in turn translates into higher susceptibility to the development of Breast Cancer . Breast tissue which is more glandular shows up as denser than the ones that are fatty on a mammogram. Women with glandular breast tissue are almost 4 times more likely to develop breast cancer than the ones with fatty breast tissue.

To determine the factors that contributed to higher breast density, researchers studied several mammograms from women in rural, suburban and urban areas.

Surprisingly, what emerged from the study was that women who lived in the city had significantly denser breasts that those who lived in the outskirts or rural areas. The 45 to 54 year age group showed increased risk with density variation most prominently.

The study outlines just one of the possible factors that may contribute to higher breast tissue density. Further research is needed to conclusively state that the place of residence contributes to the density of breasts. There are several other factors that also contribute, such as stress, workplace and other lifestyle factors.

Digital mammography may be more appropriate for women with dense breasts. Breast tissue is not just restricted to the chest, but it also extends to under the arms. Screening of breasts for any signs of malignancy through regular mammograms is advised as a preventative measure against breast cancer. The recent study indicates that women living in cities are at higher risk and must have better access to routine screening.

About the Author:Alex White is a free lance writer and a health & fitness expert who has been associated with several health care providers across various specialties. Through his articles, Alex White wishes to inform and educate public about Breast Cancer which will benefit those who are looking for resourceful information regarding health.
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Higher Incidence of Breast Cancer in City Women

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