What is Cancer – The Blog about Cancer

I received an email yesterday, requesting me to write about what is breast cancer. To start to explain exactly what is breast cancer I need to give you an overall info about this type of cancer.

Malignant tumors are those that penetrate healthy body tissues. Malignant tumors, on the other hand, are dangerous and capable of growing rapidly and invading other tissues beyond their site of origin. Theoretically, any of the types of tissue in the breast can form a cancer, but usually it begins in the ducts or the glands.

Cells normally grow and divide only when they are needed to keep our bodies functioning properly. But sometimes, the mechanisms that regulate cell growth stop working and cells divide out of control to form tumors. Cells in malignant tumors can penetrate and destroy healthy body tissues. Cancer cells can also break away from tumors and travel, or metastasize , to other parts of the body through the bloodstream or lymph system .

Women with a family history of breast cancer are encouraged to speak to a genetics counselor to determine the pros and cons of genetic testing. Women over 70 are encouraged to make their own appointment. Women who have an altered gene related to breast cancer and who have had breast cancer in one breast have an increased risk of developing breast cancer in the other breast. These women also have an increased risk of developing ovarian cancer, and may have an increased risk of developing other cancers.

Treatment including indications for lumpectomy and mastectomy and different types of reconstruction are outlined and clinical examples of these are given. The sentinel node biopsy is explained step by step. Treatment and prognosis of Paget’s disease depend on the size of the tumor, and whether it has penetrated surrounding tissues (invasive) or spread to the lymph nodes (metastasized). A small, noninvasive tumor may require only removal of the lump plus a surrounding area of normal tissue (lumpectomy). Treatment for male breast cancer is usually a mastectomy , which is surgery to remove the breast. Other treatments include radiation, chemotherapy and/or hormone therapy. I hope this give you a better understanding about what is breast cancer .