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What is
Breast Cancer?
What is the incidence of and mortality from breast cancer in the
WORLD ?
Who is at risk for breast cancer?
Does one's racial or ethnic background affect
the risk of breast cancer?
Can diet, nutrition and exercise influence one's
breast cancer risk?
Will drinking alcohol increase one's risk for
breast cancer?
Are women who use birth control pills at an
increased risk for breast cancer?
Are men at risk for breast cancer?
What are the signs of breast cancer?
What is a mammogram?
What are the most common treatments for breast
cancer?
What can be done to increase chances of survival
from breast cancer?
When should breast self-examination be
performed?
Smoking Can Be Lethal to Breast Cancer Patients
Cholesterol drugs may cut breast cancer risk
Breast Cancer Screening
What is Breast Cancer?
The body is made up of many types of cells.
Normally, cells grow and divide to produce more cells only when the body
needs them. Sometimes cells keep dividing when new cells are not needed.
These cells may form a mass of extra tissue called a growth or tumor. Tumors
can be benign (not cancerous) or malignant (cancerous). The most common type
of breast cancer begins in the lining of the ducts and is called ductal
carcinoma.
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What is the incidence of and mortality from breast cancer in the
WORLD
?
This year, 182,000 women will be diagnosed with
breast cancer (one every 3 minutes) and 43,300 women will die (one every 12
minutes). A report from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) estimates that
about 1 in 8 women in the United States (approximately 12.6
percent) will develop breast cancer during her lifetime.
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Who is at risk for breast cancer?
Most women who have breast cancer have no
family history.
More than twenty percent of breast cancers are
diagnosed in women under the age of 50.
Being a woman is the greatest risk.
Age increases risk.
Seventy percent of women with breast cancer
have no known risk factors.
Early detection is the key to a greater chance
of survival and more treatment options.
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Does one's racial or ethnic background affect
the risk of breast cancer?
The leading cause of death for African-American
women, ages 30-54, is breast cancer. African-American women die at twice the
rate of white women. Breast cancer knows no boundaries of races for attacking
women with the disease. Caucasian, Hawaiian, and African American women have
the highest levels of breast cancer risk. Asian/Pacific Islander and Hispanic
women have a lower level of risk; their chance of developing breast cancer is
less than two-thirds of the risk of Caucasian women. The lowest levels of
risk occur among Korean, Native American, and Vietnamese women.
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Can diet, nutrition and exercise influence one's
breast cancer risk?
Fat stores estrogen (some breast cancers are
estrogen dependent), so the more fit and trim we are, the better our health. Caloric
intake of fat 3 times the norm (obesity) could increase the risk of breast
cancer. The risk of breast cancer is higher in industrial nations and lower
in Asia, Latin America and Africa. Women who are from Asia, for example, but relocate
to an industrial nation (and adopt their eating and exercise habits) will
increase their breast cancer risk.
A diet rich in fruits, vegetables and grains plays
a role in overall better health.
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Will drinking alcohol increase one's risk for
breast cancer?
Studies have shown alcohol consumption can
cause between 40 - 70% increased risks of breast cancer with 2 drinks daily.
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Are women who use birth control pills at an
increased risk for breast cancer?
A woman's risk of developing breast cancer
depends on several factors, some of which are related to her natural
hormones. Hormonal factors that increase the risk of breast cancer include
conditions that allow high levels of estrogen to persist for long periods of
time, such as early age at first menstruation (before age 12), late age at
menopause (after age 55), having children after age 30, and not having
children at all.
A woman's risk of breast cancer increases with
the amount of time she is exposed to estrogen. However, studies examining the
use of oral contraceptives as a risk factor for breast cancer have produced
inconsistent results. Most studies have not found an overall increased risk
for breast cancer associated with oral contraceptive use.
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Are men at risk for breast cancer?
Approximately 1,300 men will be diagnosed with
breast cancer this year and 400 will die. While the percentage of men who are
diagnosed with breast cancer is small, men should also give themselves
monthly exams and note changes to their physicians.
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What are the signs of breast cancer?
Early breast cancer usually does not cause
pain. In fact, when breast cancer first develops, there may be no symptoms at
all. However, as the cancer grows, it can cause any of the following changes,
which women should watch for:
1. A lump or thickening in or near the breast
or in the underarm area
2. A change in the size or shape of the breast
3. Nipple discharge or tenderness, or the
nipple pulled back (inversion) into the breast
4. Ridges or pitting of the breast (the skin
looks like the skin of an orange
5. A change in the way the skin of the breast,
areola, or nipple looks or feels (for example, warm, swollen, red, or scaly).
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What is a mammogram?
A mammogram is a safe, low-dose x-ray picture
of the breast. Mammograms are quick and easy. You simply stand in front of an
x-ray machine. The person who takes the x-ray places your breast between two
plastic plates. The plates press your breast and make it flat. This may be
uncomfortable for a few seconds, but it helps to get a clear picture. You
will have x-rays taken of each breast. ("Mammograms: Not just once, but
for a lifetime")
Your mammogram facility (this can include
breast clinics, radiology departments, mobile vans and doctor's offices) can
send you a report with your mammogram results. There should be an
easy-to-understand version and a medical version. Usually the staff of the facility
can recommend a doctor if your results indicate you should visit one.
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What are the most common treatments for breast
cancer?
Treatment for breast cancer usually includes
one or more of the following:
surgery, radiation,
chemotherapy, and hormone therapy.
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What can be done to increase chances of survival
from breast cancer?
When breast cancer is found and treated early,
the chances for survival are better. Women can take an active part in the
early detection of breast cancer by having regular mammograms and clinical
breast exams (breast exams performed by health professionals). Women should
also perform monthly breast self-exams.
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When should breast self-examination be
performed?
Give yourself a monthly breast self-exam and
watch for any changes in your breasts that may indicate a problem. An early
detection plan should include:
1. Clinical breast examinations every 3 years
from age 20-39 and then every year thereafter.
2. Monthly breast self-examinations beginning
at age 20. Look for any changes in your breasts.
3. Baseline mammogram by the age of 40.
4. Mammogram every 1-2 years for women ages
40-49, depending on previous findings.
5. Mammogram every year for women over age 50.
6. Keep a personal record of your self-exams
and mammograms. Mark your calendar well in advance to remind you each month.
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Smoking Can Be Lethal to Breast Cancer Patients
Kicking the smoking habit can extend the lives
of breast cancer (news - web sites) patients who’ve been treated with
lumpectomies and radiation, say a study by researchers at
Fox
Chase
Cancer
Center in
Philadelphia. The study included
1,039 breast cancer patients, smokers and nonsmokers, treated with lumpectomies
and radiation at Fox Chase from March 1970 to December 2002. Median follow-up
of the patients was 67 months.
The researchers compared overall survival rates
and deaths from breast cancer among the smokers and nonsmokers. "This
analysis shows that smoking, either past or present, was associated with
increases in distant metastases and deaths from breast cancer," Fox
Chase radiation oncologist Dr. Khan H. Nguyen says in a prepared statement. "Even
after we adjusted for different prognostic factors, those who continued to
smoke during treatment did not live as long as those who had stopped. Our
study suggests that smoking cessation remains an integral component in the
comprehensive management of breast cancer," Nguyen says.The study was presented Oct. 20 at the annual
meeting of the American Society of Therapeutic Radiology Oncology in
Salt Lake City.
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Cholesterol drugs may cut breast cancer risk
Cholesterol-lowering medications might reduce
women's risk of breast cancer as well as heart disease, a new study suggests.
The notion that inhibiting cholesterol might prevent the development of
tumors is a decade old. So far, results of studies of cholesterol-lowering
drugs have been inconclusive. Some studies have found no effect on cancer
risk, some have found a benefit and others have found an increased risk of
cancer in certain users of the drugs. The new study is one of the first to
look specifically at breast cancer risk. But lead author Jane Cauley says it's too early to add reduced
breast cancer risk to the list of cholesterol-lowering medications' benefits.
"We just need more information and more
confirmatory studies," says Cauley, an epidemiologist
at the University of
Pittsburgh. Cauley
and her fellow researchers studied 7,528 women 65 and older whose average age
was 77. The women were participants in a study of osteoporotic fractures. At
one clinic visit during the study, researchers asked the women whether they
took any cholesterol-lowering drugs. To verify the information, the
researchers asked the women to bring all of their medications to the clinic.
About 8% of the women reported that they were
taking a cholesterol-lowering drug — half statins, half other drugs such as
niacin or gemfibrozil. The researchers did not collect information about how
long the women had been taking the drugs. For the most part, women who took
cholesterol-lowering drugs had similar patterns of hormone therapy use as
women who didn't. (The government-sponsored Women's Health Initiative found
that taking estrogen plus progestin raised women's breast cancer risk.) None
of the women had breast cancer at the time the researchers collected
information about their use of cholesterol-lowering medication. The scientists
then followed them, for nearly seven years on average, to see who developed
breast cancer. A total of 244 women were diagnosed with the disease during the
follow-up period, the researchers report in the October issue of the Journal
of Women's Health.
After accounting for age and weight, two
factors related to breast cancer risk, the researchers found that statin
users were three-fourths less likely to develop breast cancer than women who
weren't taking any cholesterol-lowering medication. Users of other
cholesterol-lowering drugs were two-thirds less likely to develop the disease.
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