Alternative Cancer Treatment – Breast Cancer: What is it?
According to most sources, breast cancer is ‘cancer of the breast tissue’. Not very helpful. But digging a little deeper makes the answer clear. Cancer is a malignant growth or tumor caused by abnormal or uncontrolled cell division. Normal cells become misshapen and grow too rapidly. The result is a mass or lump that continues to grow and may spread.
Not all lumps are cancerous. Most are benign. They reach a certain size and level off. They may be soft and fluid filled, like cysts. Or they may be firm like fibroadenomas, which also are benign since they don’t grow and spread. Or, they may simply be scar tissue or hardened fat.
But a true cancer in breast tissues is malignant and serious. Nearly 90% are a type known as ductal carcinoma (sometimes called DCIS, ductal carcinoma in situ). Somewhat less than 10% of the rest are lobular carcinomas (LCIS). In both cases lumps may appear as a thickening in some part of the breast, or even in the armpit. Lymph nodes are located there and sometimes play a role in the development of the disease.
It is highly recommended that individuals start to perform self breast exams at the age of 20 and that they begin to get regular mammograms at the age of 40.
You shouldn’t be alarmed at every single breast change, however a significant alteration in the size or shape of the breast after maturity is a sign to look for. Fluid might also seep from the nipple that doesn’t resemble milk. If you have cancer the fluid will show itself as a form of pus, which indicates infection.
An individual’s nipple or areola might also alter in shape and size.
Breast cancer develops through identifiable stages which mark out the progression of the disease.
Stage 0 is the initial showing of the condition. Breast cancer is labeled Stage I when the tumor is fewer than 2cm thick and has not started to spread. At Stage II tumors are usually between 2-5cm thick and there could be other areas of the body that are also effected. If the disease reaches Stage III it has penetrated the chest wall. By this time the treatment is very difficult and the survival rate isn’t as great.
Stage IV is the most serious. At this point the cancer has, as it’s called, metastasized. That means the cancer has spread and that it has formed secondary tumors which resemble the initial growth. Such cancers are very often fatal.
Because of these stages, and the increasing health consequences at each level, seeking diagnosis and treatment early is imperative. A simple lumpectomy may well cure the condition completely. If it progresses to the point that chemotherapy or radiation treatments are called for, the odds of recover are much lower and the cure is often as bad as the disease.
Much progress has be made over the past 40 years. The equipment available today allows for a much greater diagnosis. Treatments have also evolved to make the cure not as painful and more sure.
Cancer at any stage is definitely something to be concerned with, however there is a 95% survival rate for individual’s whose cancer is quickly identified and treated by Stage I. You have a greater chance of survival if you monitor yourself and get treatment quickly.
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