BREAST CANCER

Breast Cancer

Breast Cancer

Introduction

Breast Cancer is an abnormal growth of cells which starts in the tissues of breast. Usually it occurs in the inner layers of the ducts or lobules which supply milk. Apart from humans, breast cancer is also common in other mammals. The breast cancer can be invasive (spreading to other tissues within the breast) and non-invasive (not invading other tissues of the breast). The non-invasive breast cancer is also known as “in-situ.”

A number of breast cancers are also affected by the hormone estrogen, because it causes the tumor to spread. Such cancers are believed to have receptor cells on their surface known as ER-positive cancer.

Types of breast Cancers

Breast Cancers are of two types:

Ductal Carcinoma: the most common type of breast cancer, originating from the ducts which provide milk to the nipple.

Lobular Carcinoma: Originating from the lobules of breast.

Some women have a type of cancer known as HER2-positive, where HER-2 refers to a gene which helps the cells in growing, dividing and repairing. When this gene facilitates cancer cell in the same functions, cancer cells increase in number; thus, leading to HER2-posiive breast cancer (U.S national Library of Medicine).

Discussion

Every one woman out of 8 is believed to be diagnosed with breast cancer once in her lifetime. Doctors, up till now are unable to find any confirmed causes of breast cancer; however, a number of studies have identified certain factors which increases the risk of breast cancer.

Risk Factors

The risk factors of which cannot be changed ever include:

Age and gender: Women who have crossed the age of 50 are at greater risks of developing breast cancer, as most advanced cases of the diseases are found women belonging to the age group of 50+. Moreover, the risk of breast cancer is 100 times higher in ...