This post is published in conjunction with the Breast Cancer Awareness month. Please note that information presented in this article was extracted and adapted from various sources in the Internet, and that you are advised to consult your doctor for more information.
What is breast cancer?
Breast cancer is cancer that forms in tissues of the breast, usually the ducts (tubes that carry milk to the nipple) and lobules (glands that make milk). It occurs in both men and women, although male breast cancer is rare (accounts for about 1% of all cancer deaths in men).
Normally, cells grow and divide to form new cells as the body needs them. When cells grow old, they die, and new cells take their place. Sometimes, this orderly process goes wrong. New cells form when the body does not need them, and old cells do not die when they should. These extra cells can form a mass of tissue called a growth or tumor.
Tumors can be benign (rarely life-threatening) or malignant (generally more serious than benign tumors and may be life-threatening).
When breast cancer cells spread, the cancer cells are often found in lymph nodes near the breast. Also, breast cancer can spread to almost any other part of the body. The most common are the bones, liver, lungs, and brain. The new tumor has the same kind of abnormal cells and the same name as the primary tumor. For example, if breast cancer spreads to the bones, the cancer cells in the bones are actually breast cancer cells. The disease is metastatic breast cancer, not bone cancer.
While the majority of new breast cancers are diagnosed as a result of an abnormality seen on a mammogram, a lump or change in consistency of the breast tissue can also be a warning sign of the disease.
The increase in awareness of breast cancer risk in recent years has led to an increase in the number of women undergoing mammography for screening, leading to detection of cancers in earlier stages which significantly improves their survival rates.
With advances in screening, diagnosis, and treatment, the death rate for breast cancer has declined by about 20% over the past decade, and research is on-going to develop even more effective screening and treatment programs.
More on the Breast Cancer Awareness series:
- Breast cancer?! What?!
- Breast cancer-related statistics
- Breast cancer: Examine yourself
- Risk factors for breast cancer
- Breast cancer symptoms
- Breast cancer treatments
- Breast cancer news
If you think this post might benefit other bloggers:
Good of you to highlight breast cancer awareness, Pelf! Keep it coming.
In the UK, death rate from breast cancer has reduced by 25% because of early detection by mammographic screening.
Bernard’s latest blog post: Hasta la Vista, Baby!
I have already written about the dangers on breast cancer on my own blog here. I think it’s important for all women to put in some effort to ensure that we are all aware of this disease and how important early detection is. I was in a room with a whole group of women who would not have been there if they did not discover their tumours early.
Spread the word.
nyx’s latest blog post: Itz Teh Kiut! I Is Likkeh!
What an amazing blog you have. Makes my little blog look like kindergarten. Your pink-ness is terrific. How rewarding to feel like maybe you made a difference in just one woman’s health.
Linda McClain’s latest blog post: I’m Going Pink
That is a great intro to breast cancer. I love the pinkyness of your blog too! Please pop over to mine and comment as I am donating 5 pence per comment in October to Cancer Research.
Lin’s latest blog post: Gretel and me.
Fantastic post! I couldn’t have said it better myself. No really, I’m never sure how much detail to go into.
I also didn’t know that it usually starts in the ducts or glands. The research going into detection of primary cancer sources and characteristics are pretty exciting. I hope that someday soon the methods will be available to lots more people.