Breast Cancer Information

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the world. It has taken many lives abruptly and has changed the lifestyle of many, yet the battle with Cancer and its many forms remains ongoing.

Breast cancer is the type of Cancer that is most common in women and the second most common worldwide. Women have been found to have one in eight chances of developing Breast Cancer in their life.

Breast Cancer is found frequently in Western countries. Europe and North America holds the biggest numbers of Breast Cancer patients. The people’s lifestyle in those continents is found to be the known trigger of the disease.

Although it rarely happens, Breast Cancer cases in men were documented as well. In fact, it accounts for about 1% of Cancer deaths in men.

The number of afflicted patients at present have ballooned since the 1970s data. This progress was blamed mostly on the modernist lifestyle adapted by the modern people. Then again, the last few years seen those numbers declined. This is due to the continued efforts of the medical world to find relief and remedies that will topple off the disease. Breast Cancer awareness efforts also helped women become more open to undergo mammography, which opened up the pathway towards early detection and treatment. Still, Breast Cancer remains as one of the most feared health condition in the world. It even surpassed heart disease, which is the most common cause of death every where.

Breast Cancer is characterized by lumps or tumors in the breast cells. If these lumps remain undetected, they may spread to other body parts and cause complications. Doctors use a staging system to classify a patient’s level of affliction. Breast Cancer stages are determined according to its severity. Establishing the extent of the disease allowed the doctors to use appropriate treatments with each case.

The common triggers of Breast Cancer are found as hormonal, environmental, genetic or a combination of any. A number of variables have been identified to affect a person’s chance at contracting Breast Cancer. These include age, sex, alcohol intake, eating habits, tobacco use, and exposure to radiation. However, not one of those variables is traced to cause the Cancer in a particular case.

To be safe, experts advice people to take an ounce of prevention each day to reduce the risk for Breast Cancer. Some of the preventive measures you can take include the following: • Proteins found in soybeans and many other plants are useful to protect a person from developing Cancer of the breast. Take lots of similar products to strengthen your armor. • Keeping a constant level of Folic Acid or taking Folate supplements may also counteract the main risk factor of this disease which is alcohol. Based on studies, women who consume high levels of alcohol regularly but have taken Folate supplements are not in an increased risk for Breast Cancer. • Put your exposure to tobacco and similar ingredients in check. Avoiding second hand smoke has more benefits than just keeping yourself safe from Breast Cancer. It can also protect you from other diseases especially those concerning the lungs. • Medical procedures such as Oophorectomy and Mastectomy also decrease a person’s risk to Breast Cancer by over 50%. If you are fit enough to undergo such surgical procedures, you may well do so to resist the possible occurrence of Breast Cancer. • Regulating your estrogen levels through hormonal therapies is also part of the preventive act against Breast Cancer.

Early diagnosis of Breast Cancer is an important factor that will spell all the difference in the effectiveness of any medical treatment to be applied. Breast screening in forms of physical and clinical breast exams, x-ray mammography, and MRI are among the effective processes to trace any unsuspecting cancers.

The public has been informed on how they can perform breast exams every month to ensure that they are keeping track of any lump or mass that is just starting to develop right at the comfort of their own homes. For those who want to be 100% sure, they submit themselves for imaging and other scan tests that will easily detect the occurrence of lumps. If this is found, it is time to make consultations with a qualified health professional regarding the implications. Further examinations will be administered by then. This is to validate whether the mass is cancerous or benign.

X-ray Mammography remains the ultimate choice for both doctors and patients as a mode of breast screening. Aside from delivering instant results, it is also found to be accurate. In fact, the reliability of Mammography has been found to reduce Breast Cancer deaths by over 20%. Although this screening process received criticisms over the years, its accessibility in many countries and its accuracy in spotting cancer cells provide people the reasons to continuously trust in it.

MRI or magnetic resonance imaging is ultra sensitive to trace cancers that may not be visible in mammograms. It presents an alternative to prospective Breast Cancer patients who are under different circumstances including a strong family history of Cancer. The only reason that separates people from choosing to undergo an MRI rather than a Mammography is that it can be very costly both financially and psychologically.

Breast Cancer is classified in stages and is treated accordingly. Many available clinical methods of battling Breast Cancer come into patterns that are employed depending on a patient’s specific condition. Different clinical assessments require different treatment rules. Surgery or removal of the tumor and the whole breast if need be is the first line of treatment. This is empowered by hormonal therapy, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy.

Breast Cancer is more difficult to deal with once it metastasize or spread through other organs. Breast Cancer patients, especially those with latter stage of affliction, often undergo a host of treatments more to ensure that they will not develop a second Cancer. Doctors are also wary about the occurrence of relapse, which almost always occur at a far worse scenario. That is why the need for close monitoring is very significant.