Characteristics of breast cancer that can still be cured

Contents:

• Medical Video: Breast Cancer | Staging | Nucleus Health
  
• The development of stage one to advanced breast cancer
  
• Stage zero breast cancer
  
• Stage one breast cancer
  
• Stage two breast cancer
  
• Stage three breast cancer
  
• Stage four breast cancer 
  
• Signs and characteristics of breast cancer
  
• Various causes of breast cancer
  
• 1. Gender
  
• 2. Age
  
• 3. Family medical history
  
• 4. Genetic
  
• 5. Certain ethnicities
  
• 6. Lifestyle factors
  
• Various breast cancer treatment options
  
• 1. Surgery
  
• 2. Radiation therapy
  
• 3. Chemotherapy
  
• 4. Hormone therapy
  
• 5. Target therapy
  
• How do you detect the characteristics of early-stage breast cancer?
  
• 1. Check your breasts yourself
  
• 2. Mammography
  

Medical Video: Breast Cancer | Staging | Nucleus Health

Breast cancer has become one of the main causes of high mortality in women. In 2015 alone, data from the World Health Organization (WHO) showed that there were 507 thousand women who died from breast cancer.It's scary, but it's actually a traitCharacteristics of early-stage breast cancer can be detected, it is not impossible that this disease can be cured. Therefore, it is important for you to know the initial characteristics of breast cancer as early as possible.

See the explanation of the development of breast cancer based on the stage and the signs and characteristics of breast cancer below.

The development of stage one to advanced breast cancer

When viewed from the development of cancer cells, breast cancer can be divided into several stages, namely:

Stage zero breast cancer

When this stage occurs, cancer cells already exist and develop. But its development is still only in the breast canal. Not spread at all.

Stage one breast cancer

Stage one breast cancer still enters early stage breast cancer. The characteristics of breast cancer at this stage are that cancer cells have begun to develop and enlarge in the part of the breast that is the place to grow. However, the cancer cell has not spread and the size is not more than 5 cm.

Stage two breast cancer

At this stage, cancer cells can develop and grow in several ways. In stage IIA breast cancer, uthe size of the cancer mass is less than 2 cm but has spread to the lymph glands in the armpit.

While in stage IIB breast cancer, the cancer mass has more than 5 cm but the cancer cells have not spread to the glands under the armpit.

Stage three breast cancer

If someone has entered this stage, it is certain that the cancer cells are able to spread. Stage IIIA is a condition in which cancer cells have spread to other parts of the body's tissues.

While stage IIIB cancer cell growth has reached the surface of the skin and lymph nodes that are in the breast.

Stage four breast cancer 

The characteristics of stage four breast cancer are its development is faster and increasingly widens to other parts of the organ.

Signs and characteristics of breast cancer

The earlier the signs and characteristics of early stage breast cancer are identified, the easier the cancer cells will be removed from the body. Stage zero cancer cells, usually do not show any signs or characteristics. However, you can already recognize the characteristics of stage one breast cancer.

The most common characteristics of breast cancer are the appearance of a lump in the breast. Unfortunately, not only is cancer the only abnormality in the breast that can be detected by the presence or absence of a lump. This is because a lump in the breast can be triggered by hormonal changes in adolescents to damage to fat tissue. Then, what are the characteristics of breast cancer lumps?

Generally, the characteristics of a breast cancer lump will appear to have a hard texture with unclear borders and an uneven surface. Lumps also continue to stay 8 to 10 days after menstruation. If the lump is close to the nipple, it will be seen that the nipple is pulled in and is rather difficult to move (sticky).

In addition to the appearance of lumps, the signs and characteristics of early-stage breast cancer that you can recognize are:

• Change in size, shape, or appearance of the breast.
• Shape changes in the nipple.
• Pain in the breast that never goes away, even when you have entered the menstrual period the following month. Even so, some women also experience no pain or pain in their breasts.
• The nipples emit clear, brown, or yellow liquid.
• The nipples suddenly turn red and swollen without knowing the cause.
• Swelling around the armpit caused by penlarged lymph nodes in the area.
• Venous veins are seen in the breast, consequently uthe veins in the breast are clearly visible.
• At an advanced stage begins to appear abnormalities in the skin of the breast (such as orange skin or reddish skin), sometimes the skin also becomes stifled like a dimple because it is attracted by a lump.

If you experience or suspect one of the symptoms and characteristics of early stage breast cancer as mentioned above, you should immediately see a doctor.

This is done so that you get the right treatment according to your condition. By being responsive to the characteristics of early-stage breast cancer, your chances of getting better from this disease are getting bigger.

Various causes of breast cancer

Actually, until now researchers have not been able to know exactly what causes breast cancer.

Like other cancers, breast cancer is a condition when certain cells grow abnormally and cannot be controlled. Over time, these cancer cells will attack the closest healthy breast tissue and eventually spread throughout the body.

Furthermore, researchers have succeeded in finding several genes that, if mutated, will potentially affect the development of breast cancer. These mutation genes are cancer 1 gene (BRCA1) and cancer gene 2 (BRCA2).

Both of these genes are found in approximately 10 percent of the population of patients with breast cancer. Even so, even with the presence of mutation genes, experts still cannot determine the causes of additional biochemical interactions needed in the development of breast cancer cells.

In addition to gene mutations, the researchers also agreed that a person's medical history or lifestyle could increase the risk of breast cancer. Some risk factors that may be the cause of breast cancer are:

1. Gender

Women are 100 times more often diagnosed with breast cancer than men. This is because of the influence of female sex hormones, especially estrogen and progestron. In some cases of breast cancer, these two hormones act as triggers for cell growth and division.

The risk of this cancer will generally increase due to breast cells that are often exposed to exposure to these two hormones during the menstrual cycle. In addition, women who experience early menstruation (before 12 years), menopause after 55 years, and having large breasts are also at high risk for breast cancer.

2. Age

According to the American Cancer Society study, more than two-thirds of breast cancer cases are found in women aged 55 years and over. Only one-eighth of the female population was found to have breast cancer at less than 45 years of age.

3. Family medical history

Another risk factor that has the potential to cause breast cancer is a family medical history. Women are at higher risk of developing breast cancer if they have a direct blood relationship with someone who is diagnosed with breast cancer, such as a mother, sister, or child.

4. Genetic

According to the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, the genetic mutations of BRCA1 and BRCA, so far are the most common causes of hereditary breast cancer.

BRCA1 mutations generally only affect the risk of breast cancer in women, but BRCA2 mutations contribute to risk factors for breast cancer in both women and men. Other genes that have roles in hereditary breast cancer are ATM, p53, CHEK2, PTEN, and CDH1.

5. Certain ethnicities

One of the other causes of breast cancer is ethnicity. European women are considered more vulnerable to breast cancer. Even so, African-American women have a very small chance of survival to survive this disease. Breast cancer is also the leading cause of death in Hispanic women.

In Indonesia, breast cancer ranks first in the cause of death in women, beating a number of other types of cancer. The death rate from breast cancer in women reached 21.4 percent based on the Cancer Mortality Profile data released by WHO in 2014.

6. Lifestyle factors

Apart from the various causes of breast cancer mentioned above, some lifestyle habits also indirectly contribute to breast cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, lifestyles that can increase the risk of breast cancer include:

• Obesity or being overweight
• Excessive alcohol consumption
• Do not have children
• Having the first child after 35 years old
• Take birth control pills
• Use hormone replacement therapy

Various breast cancer treatment options

The following are several breast cancer treatment options including:

1. Surgery

• Conservative surgery, which is to remove cancer cells and the lymph nodes involved.
• Total mastectomy, which is to remove all breast affected by cancer.
• Modified radical mastectomy (modified radical mastectomy), which removes all the affected breast, lymph nodes under the armpit, along the muscles in the chest, and sometimes part of the chest wall muscles.

2. Radiation therapy

Radiation therapy using high-powered X-rays targeted to kill cancer cells can reduce the risk of recurrence. Radiation is generally used to destroy cells that pass surgery. This therapy is given regularly for women who are at high risk after undergoing a mastectomy.

3. Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is cancer therapy using drugs to inhibit cancer cell growth. This therapy can be done before surgery to shrink the tumor before it is removed. In addition, this therapy can also be done after surgery to prevent tumor growth again.

4. Hormone therapy

Hormone therapy is a type of cancer therapy by inhibiting hormone action and preventing the development of cancer cells. This therapy is effective only in cancers that are sensitive to hormones. Your doctor will do an examination to determine the type of cancer in your breast.

5. Target therapy

Target therapy is therapy that uses drugs or other chemicals to specifically identify and attack cancer cells without killing normal cells. This therapy includes:

• Monoclonal antibodies
• Tyrosine kinase inhibitors
• Cyclin-dependentkinase inhibitors (cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors)

The earlier the stage of your breast cancer, the higher the success rate of treatment. Even according to data from National Cancer, someone who has stage one breast cancer has the opportunity to survive the next 5 years reaching 100 percent.

How do you detect the characteristics of early-stage breast cancer?

To find out the initial characteristics of breast cancer, there are a number of things you can do, such as:

1. Check your breasts yourself

The easiest step to find out the initial characteristics of breast cancer, you can do BSE, or breast self-examination. Self breast examination is a checking technique for women that can be done at home to check for lumps in the breast.

Regular BSE examination will help to recognize the texture of normal breast tissue, so that if you later feel something unusual about the breast, you can realize it and can immediately see a doctor. Try to get used to it examine your breasts every month. In this way, you will be able to easily detect the characteristics of breast cancer lumps.

The best time to check your breasts is a few days after the menstrual cycle is complete. Because hormonal changes can affect your shape and feelings for the breast, the best examination is when your breasts are in a normal state.

For women who have not experienced the menstrual cycle again, they should choose the same day to do the test, for example the first day of each month. It is highly recommended to write a journal or note about how your breasts form at each check, to find out if there is a change.

2. Mammography

In addition to doing BSE, you can do a routine mammography examination also important to know the initial characteristics of breast cancer. Mammography is an image scanning technique using low-dose x-ray to detect and diagnose breast cancer. General mammograms are performed in conjunction with routine clinical examinations and monthly independent breast examinations as an important step in early diagnosis of breast cancer.

Women aged 40 years and over are required to undergo a mammogram every one to two times. If you or your family has a history of breast cancer, your doctor may recommend starting a mammogram early, more often, and adding several other alternative scans.

When performing this procedure, your breast will be affixed to the X-ray scanner screen. Then, a compressor will push your breasts down to flatten the tissue. This will show the results of a clearer picture of your breast.

The doctor's attitude will require you to hold your breath every time you take a picture. For those of you who are the first time doing this procedure, you may feel a little pain or discomfort. But don't worry, this pain and discomfort won't last long.

During the procedure, the doctor will check the results of the images displayed on the scanner screen and ask the radiological technician to take some additional pictures if the results that already appear are less clear or need further examination. Don't panic, this is common practice.