A Quick Glance Into The Mysterious World Of Breast Cancer
Author: Donald Saunders
Category: Health
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Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer that occurs in women and, following lung cancer, it is the second main cause of cancer death among females. In the year 2004 some 186,772 new breast cancer cases were reported according to the American Cancer Society and this number appears to be rising year on year.
It is also worthy of note that breast cancer is not confined only to women and that 1,815 men were also diagnosed with the disease in 2004 and 362 men died of breast cancer in the same year.
Women's breasts are complicated pieces of machinery consisting of fat, glands and fibrous connective tissue. Each breast has numerous lobes which are split into lobules and end in the milk glands and there are also a large number of tiny ducts from the milk glands which connect together and culminate in the nipple.
Eight out of ten breast cancer cases occur in these ducts and this condition is called infiltrating ductal cancer. It is also fairly common for cancer to occur in the lobules where it is known as lobular cancer. Other types of cancer are known as inflammatory breast cancer.
Pre-cancerous changes (called 'in situ') are also common in women and are changes which have not spread from the place in the breast where they started. If these changes take place within the ducts then the condition is known as ductal carcinoma in situ or DCIS and where changes are spotted in the lobules they are called lobular carcinomas in situ or LCIS.
The most serious type of breast cancer is metastatic cancer which involves the spread of a cancer from its original site of growth. It usually metastasizes into the lymph nodes above the collarbone or under the arms on the same side of the body as the cancer which leads to pain and swelling to the affected area as the lymphatic drainage system becomes compromised. Other common sites of breast cancer metastasis include the brain, liver and the bones.
Aside from the clear factor of gender, age is another critical factor when considering the chances of getting breast cancer. In spite of the fact that breast cancer can and does appear at just about any age the risk of finding it increases with age. A normal woman of 30 will usually have a 1 in 280 chance of developing breast cancer by the time she reaches 40 years of age. However, this risk then rises to a probable 1 in 70 chance when that same women is in her forties.
Family history is also an important risk factor for breast cancer with the risk being especially high when you have a close relative (such as a mother or aunt) who has developed breast cancer at a young age.
Although it has yet to be confirmed, there is thought to be a cancer gene which can be passed from mother to daughter.
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Keywords: breast cancer, breast cancer facts, breast cancer stages, breast cancer signs, breast cancer questions
View Count: 424
Date Submitted: 1/20/2009
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