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Types, risk factors & symptoms of breast cancer


Breast cancer has various types. Although different, these types share some common symptoms and the treatment options are more or less the same. The types of cancers presenting in the breast are listed below:
1.      Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS): it is the most common type of noninvasive cancer in the breast. This type of cancer has not spread and therefore usually has a very high cure rate.
2.      Lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS): is another noninvasive carcinoma of the breast.
3.      Invasive ductal carcinoma: This cancer starts in a duct of the breast and grows into the surrounding tissue. It is the most common form of invasive cancer in the breast. It makes about 80% of the total invasive cancers in the breast.
4.      Invasive lobular carcinoma: This breast cancer starts in the milk producing glands of the breast and makes about 10% of total invasive cancers in the breast.
5.      Mucinous carcinomas: these are formed from mucus-producing cancer cells.
6.      Mixed tumors: these contain a variety of cell types.
7.      Medullary carcinoma: it is an infiltrating cancer that presents with well-defined boundaries between the cancerous and noncancerous tissue.
8.      Inflammatory breast cancer: This cancer gives the skin of the breast an appearance of infection making it red and warm. These changes are mainly due to the blockage of lymph vessels by cancer cells.
9.      Triple-negative breast cancers: This is a subtype of invasive cancer with cells that lack estrogen and progesterone receptors and have no excess of a specific protein (HER2) on their surface. It tends to appear more often in younger women and African-American women.
10.  Paget's disease of the nipple: This cancer starts in the ducts of the breast and spreads to the nipple and the area surrounding the nipple. It usually presents with crusting and redness around the nipple.
11.  Adenoid cystic carcinoma: These cancers have both glandular and cystic features. They tend not to spread aggressively and have a good prognosis.
12.  Papillary carcinoma
13.  Phyllodes tumor
14.  Angiosarcoma
15.  Tubular carcinoma

Risk factors for most diseases can be divided into modifiable (such as alcohol use) or non-modifiable (such as age) factors. The following are risk factors for breast cancer:
·         Age: The chances of breast cancer increases with age.
·         Family history: Having a close relative with the disease (sister, mother, or daughter) doubles a woman's risk.
·         Personal history: women previously diagnosed with breast cancer in one breast have an increased risk of cancer in the other breast or the chance of an additional cancer in the original breast.
·         Women diagnosed with certain benign breast conditions also have an increased risk. Most common condition is atypical hyperplasia, a condition in which there is abnormal proliferation of breast cells but no cancer has developed.
·         Menstruation: early menarche (before 12) and/or late menopause (after 55), increases the risk.
·          Breast tissue: Women with dense breast tissue (as documented by mammogram) have a higher risk of breast cancer.
·         Race: White women have a higher risk, but African-American women, when they do develop cancer, tend to have more aggressive tumors.
·          Exposure to previous chest radiation or use of diethylstilbestrol.
·         Having no children or the first child after age 30.
·         Being overweight or obese.
·         Use of oral contraceptives in the last 10 years.
·         Using combined hormone therapy after menopause.
·         Excessive alcohol use.

Breast cancer symptoms depend upon the type, severity and spread of cancer. It can present with a change in the appearance and/or feel of the breast and/or nipple and a discharge from the nipple. The main symptoms include:
·         Dimpling anywhere on the breast
·         Unexplained swelling or shrinkage of the breast (especially if on one side only)
·         Any abnormal change in the size or shape of one or both the breast
·         Inverted or slightly turned inward nipple
·         Skin of the breast, areola, or nipple that has ridges or pitting resembling the skin of an orange also known as peau d’orange or becomes scaly, red, or swollen.
·         Nipple tenderness
·         a lump or thickening in or near the breast or axila
·         a clear or blood stained discharge.

More information can be found on healthcarevilla.com.

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