Breast Cancer
Taylor Flock
Types of Breast Cancer
There are many types of breast cancer. One type of breast cancer is intraductal carcinoma; intraductal carcinoma is a non-invasive breast cancer, which means the cancer cells haven’t spread outside the walls of the ducts into surrounding breast tissue (American Cancer Society). The most common type of breast cancer is invasive ductal carcinoma; this type of cancer starts in a milk duct but breaks outside and invades the fatty tissue of the breast (American Cancer Society). The American Cancer Society states that, “About 8 of 10 invasive breast cancers are infiltrating ductal carcinomas.” Another type of invasive breast cancer is invasive lobular carcinoma. Instead of the cancer starting in the milk ducts, like invasive ductal carcinoma, it starts in the milk-producing glands, or the lobules (American Cancer Society). There are many other types of breast cancer that are less common than the three mentioned before.
Risk Factors for Breast Cancer
Even when a woman has multiple risk factors for breast cancer, that doesn’t ultimately mean she will develop breast cancer. Many of the factors that increases a woman’s chance of getting breast cancer are factors that cannot be changed or prevented, such as being a woman, age, race, and their genes (American Cancer Society). Although men can develop breast cancer, it’s more common in women. According to the American Cancer Society website, “About 5% to 10% of breast cancer cases are thought to be hereditary, meaning that they result directly from gene defects (called mutations) passed on from a parent.” The percentage of this risk factor is much lower than some of the other factors. White women are also at a higher risk than African-American women to be diagnosed with breast cancer (American Cancer Society). Other factors that may increase a woman’s risks include having dense tissue breast, having been diagnosed with certain benign (noncancerous) breast conditions, being overweight, drinking alcohol, and many other risks (American Cancer Society). In some cases, women can have a lot of the risk factors but still not develop breast cancer.
Symptoms of Breast Cancer
Types of Treatments
There are three standard treatment options: surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy. Just like any other disease, sickness, or illness, the treatment is modified based on different factors. Some of the factors that affect the type of treatment are the size of the tumor, the type of breast cancer, and the patient’s general health (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services). Two main surgery options include a lumpectomy or a mastectomy. According to Cancer.net, “A lumpectomy is the removal of the tumor and a small, cancer-free margin of healthy tissue around the tumor” (American Society of Clinical Oncology). With a lumpectomy, most of the breast remains; however, with a mastectomy, the entire breast is removed during surgery. Generally, any type of surgery is followed by radiation therapy (American Society of Clinical Oncology). Radiation treatment involves high-energy x-rays to kill the cancer cells (American Society of Clinical Oncology). The third treatment option that is mentioned is chemotherapy. Chemotherapy uses drugs or medicine to stop the cancer cells from growing or spreading; chemotherapy is sometimes given to patients before surgery to help shrink the tumor (American Society of Clinical Oncology). The medicine used during chemotherapy changes the structure of the DNA (Crawford 387). There are still other types of breast cancer treatment options besides surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy.
Breast Cancer Organizations
Throughout the years, many breast cancer organizations have been created to find a cure. Not only to organizations raise money to find a cure, some raise money to provide financial support for patients who are uninsured, such as the American Breast Cancer Foundation (American Breast Cancer Foundation). The American Breast Cancer Foundation (ABCF) is made up of other programs. The Breast Cancer Assistance Program, the Community Partnership Program, and the Community Advocacy Program are programs that are a part of the ABCF who help with raising the money (American Breast Cancer Foundation). Another popular organization is the Susan G. Komen organization. According to the Susan G. Komen website, “Since 1982, we’ve funded more than $889 million in research, more than $1.95 billion in medical care, community and provider education, and psychosocial support, serving millions in over 60 countries worldwide.” The Susan G, Komen organization is an example of how research and the chances of finding a cure are increasing. May other breast cancer programs exist throughout the world whose fight is to ultimately find a cure.