BREAST CANCER

Breast Cancer Susceptibility Gene One And Two For The Surveillance Of Hereditary Breast Cancer Within Women Employing Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Mammography And Ultrasound

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION1

Improvements In Cancer Care1

CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW3

Diagnosing Breast Cancer3

Types Of Breast Cancer5

Features Of A Breast Cancer That Influence The Choice Of Treatment8

Benign Lesions9

Fibrocystic Changes10

CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY14

Research design14

Research Paradigm14

Quantitative Paradigm15

Reliability and Validity of the Study15

Rationalization for Conducting a Literature Review16

Process of Conducting Literature Review17

Merits of Literature Review19

Demerits of Literature Review19

Data collection procedures20

Data analysis21

Ethical issues21

REFERENCES22

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION

Breast cancer is the most common female cancer in the United States, the second most common cause of cancer death in women (after lung cancer), and the main cause of death in women ages 45 to 55. When found and treated early, breast cancer is often curable.

Improvements In Cancer Care

Increased screening

The death rate from breast cancer has declined about 20 percent over the past decade. This is due in part to increased screening as well as earlier and improved treatment for breast cancer. Screening usually detects the disease at an earlier stage when the chances of successful treatment are higher. Early detection and treatment of breast cancer improve survival because the breast tumor can be removed before it has a chance to spread (metastasize). In addition, other treatments, called adjuvant systemic therapies (described below) can be used to prevent cancer cells that have escaped the breast from growing in other organs. Adjuvant systemic therapy — Systemic (body-wide) anti-cancer treatment that is given before or after surgery is called adjuvant systemic therapy. Adjuvant systemic therapy prevents cancer cells that may have escaped from the breast before detection from growing into metastases, which are usually not curable. Thus, adjuvant systemic therapy also contributes to the decline in mortality due to breast cancer (Carver, 1997, 92).

Three types of anticancer agents are used for breast cancer adjuvant therapy:

Endocrine therapy (Anti-estrogen treatment)

Chemotherapy

Molecularly targeted therapy against a protein (termed HER2)

The goal of adjuvant systemic therapy is to eliminate or prevent the growth of any cancer cells that may have escaped the breast and that might grow in other organs. Areas of breast cancer growth outside the breast are called “metastases.” Axillary lymph nodes are the first and therefore the most common location of metastatic disease. Patients with metastases or cancer cells in other organs such as liver, lung, bone are rarely cured. However, adjuvant systemic therapy may prevent metastases in a large fraction of patients and thus cure many women who would not be cured otherwise. Adjuvant systemic therapy, therefore, has become an important component of breast cancer treatment because it significantly decreases the chance that a cancer will return. This in turn improves the chances of surviving breast cancer (Cohen, 1992, 155).

CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW

Diagnosing Breast Cancer

Abnormal lump

Breast cancer can be discovered when a lump or other change in the breast or armpit is found by a woman herself or by her healthcare provider. In addition to a lump, other abnormal changes may include dimpling of the skin, a change in the size ...