Generalisation of Cancer
Cancer as a generalisation is the disease of cell division. It is the uncontrollable growth of any body cell that affects a person's normal bodily functions. Depending on what type of cancer you have depends on the type and diagnosis of your treatment.
There are about 200 types of cancer, but they can be generalised into five main groups. They are, the carcinomas (which effect the internal and external surfaces), leukaemia (where accumulation of the immature blood cells occur in the blood, instead of the tumour formation), adenoma (effects glandular tissue), sarcoma (that effects your supporting tissue) and lymphoma (that affects your lymphatic system). Cancer can spread via the lymphatic system and the blood system to the rest of the body.
Cancer can be caused due to many reasons, your history, viruses that can cause genetic changes, the everyday environment such as smoking, natural or manmade radiation, your diet and UV rays.
Breast Cancer
Approximately 46,000 people are diagnosed with breast cancer annually, 300 of these being men, and 1 in 9 women will get breast cancer during their lifetime. Breast cancer can be invasive and non invasive. Non-invasive cancer is where the cancer is contained within a certain area, where it originates for example and hasn't spread any further. Invasive cancer is worse than non-invasive; it is the term used to explain that the cancer has spread past the localised area and has reached the rest of the body.
Breast cancer cells can break away from the original tumour lump, move to the surrounding healthy breast and is then carried around the rest of the body. Normally it starts in the milk producing glands in the lobules, and then moves to the surrounding healthy breast tissue, until it reaches the lymph nodes under the arm. This then creates a pathway to the rest of the body. How the lymph node is affected can determine how likely the cancer will reoccur.
The primary breast cancer is always originated in the breast. Secondary breast cancer is where the breast cancer has spread to other parts of the body, the spread is called metastasis. Breast cancer normally spreads to the lungs, bones or liver, it is still breast cancer but it has spread and invaded different parts of the body, becoming established there.
Another type of breast cancer is inflammatory breast cancer, which can have different symptoms. For example, it may be red and inflamed.
The earlier that the cancer is detected the easier it is to treat it, but if the cancer is detected later then the cancer cannot be cured, the only thing that they can do is prolong the person's life.
Symptoms of Breast Cancer
For most women the first symptoms of breast cancer is finding a lump in their breast. However, about 90% of women who find lumps are actually not cancerous, which is called benign. Things such as cysts and fibro-adenomas are often mistaken for a cancerous lump. Some changes that can be seen to indicate breast cancer are the change in shape, size, and thickening, lumping, and swelling of the breast or a rash on the breast. Swelling or lumps under the arm are also indicators of breast cancer.
However, some of these symptoms could just be another medical condition, therefore you need to see your doctor if you are at all worried.
For a full diagnosis to see if you have breast cancer, scans can be taken. For example, a mammogram, which is a breast scan to see if you have breast cancer, the lump will appear clearly on the scan. There is a standard mammogram that isn't as clear as it becomes less clear the denser the breast tissue is. An MBI (molecular breast imaging) is more modern and demonstrates the tumour, if present clearer.
Breast Cancer Genes
The breast cancer genes are BRCA1 and BRCA2. These are an example of genetic predisposition and anyone who has these genes has an increased chance of getting breast cancer. However, many cancer cases are mainly by chance, there is only a 5% chance of someone getting cancer due to faulty genes.
The emotional affects of cancer
Being diagnosed with cancer can cause people to react in different ways. Some people react shocked, uncertain, some depressed and some just relieved, as they know what is wrong with them. But for most people it is one of the most devastating experiences. Some people find comfort in talking to family and friends and others find it more comforting to talk to someone involved in the profession.
Dieting to help avoid Breast Cancer
By changing our diets, we maybe able to prevent 25% of cancer cases. For example, if you reduce your intake of certain foods it may help you to lower your weight, and being overweight has been said to increase the chance of getting cancer. It has been suggested that between 15-35% of cancers can be preventable altogether by change. However, these statistics involve research on our diets, which are hard to study as the substances we need to maintain a balanced diet are all in little amounts in various foods. Therefore, studying what substances increase or decrease our risks is varied. Furthermore, some research has shown that being overweight increases your chance of cancer, especially in post-menopausal women and research has also shown that pre-menstrual women have a decreased chance of getting cancer if over weight.
Further Factors that can affect your chance of breast cancer
- Getting older - always increases your chances of getting ill, and therefore cancer. This is due to having more time for your cells to go 'wrong', to turn into cancerous cells.
- Ethnic Groups - women from South Africa for example who now live in the UK have a decreased chance of getting breast cancer. This could be due to varying lifestyles, such as lower alcohol intake and a higher vegetable based diet.
- Previous breast cancer - people who have previously had breast cancer are likely to have an increased chance of getting it again.
- Family History - if several members of your family have had a particular type of cancer, then it increases your risk of getting that type of cancer.
- Breast cancer genes - linked with your family history. If you have breast cancer in your family, it could be that you have the breast cancer genes, BRCA1 and 2. There is an 85% chance that you could get a fault in one of these genes during your lifetime if any of these genes fault. But only 5 out of 100 cases are due to this, most cancer cases are due to chance.
- Sex hormones - the fact that men have testosterone and females have testosterone and oestrogen also in small amounts in their body. Female levels are highest during the menstrual cycle, and women therefore have about a 2 times increased chance of getting it.
- Immune System - people who have had problems with their immune system such as people who have had drugs to suppress their immune system or someone who has AIDS.