Facts You Should Know About Breast Cancer

Do you know that breast cancer is the leading cause of death among women? It is a type of cancer that originates in the cells of the breast. It ranks second and is the most common type of cancer found in women after lung cancer. The odds of a woman contacting breast cancer are twice that of colon rectal or cervical cancer and about three times that of lung cancer. The good news is that it is no longer recognized as a fatal disease, but is viewed as a chronic illness. Thanks to the progress of medicine and the early detection programs available such as mammogram and self breast exams, the cure rates are much higher.
There has been much new information discovered by researchers about the causes of breast cancer. It is now believed that generic and/or hormonal factors are the main risk factors for developing breast cancer. Doctors have been able to identify how cancer has spread by using staging systems and this enables them to make the best decisions regarding treatment options.
These treatment options include surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy and hormone therapy, biological therapy and treatment choices by stage.
The best thing that women can do is try to prevent breast cancer before it happens. If you have a lot of stress in your life, you may need to make a change in your lifestyle to ease some of that stress. You need to make sure that you eat a healthy diet and regularly participate in some sort of an exercise program. You do not have to go to a gym or a fitness club to do this as you can exercise at home if you choose to do so. Here are a few more tips that you can follow:
* Ask your Doctor to calculate Your Risk
* Do self Breast Exams
* Get screened
*Discuss prevention options with your Doctor
*Maintain a Healthy Weight
*Eat a Healthy Diet and exercise on a regular basis
*Take your genes into Account
Unfortunately, there is no written guarantee that you will not develop breast cancer, but you can definitely reduce the odds against it by taking preventive measures.
I hope that you found this information useful and if you would like more information on ways to live healthy, then please visit my healthy living web site where you will find great information to help you live a long and healthy life.

About the Author

I am a 53 year old retired mill worker from Northern Maine. I am happily married with 3 wonderful boys. My main interests are my family and God. I own a healthy living web site with great information designed to help you live a healthier and longer life.
http://eatinghealthyhub.com

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Different Types of Cancer and Their Treatments

Breast cancer is a type of cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules which supply the ducts with milk. Breast cancer is a common type of non-skin cancer in women and the 5th most common cause of death from cancer. It is about 100 times more common in women than in men. Severe breast cancer can lead to the death. Breast cancer is usually treated with surgery and then probably with chemotherapy or radiation, or both. Hormone positive cancer is cured with long term hormone blocking therapy. Breast cancer treatments are offered with increasing aggressiveness according to the prognosis & risk of recurrence. Prevention is the key for breast cancer treatment. Breast feeding to your baby, less alcohol, a good life style can assist you in escaping from breast cancer.
Prostate cancer is a form of cancer that develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. Most of prostate cancers are slow developing. However, there are cases of aggressive prostate cancers. The cancer cells may spread from the prostate to other parts of the body, mainly the bones & lymph nodes. Prostate cancer may cause difficulty in urinating, pain, problems during sexual intercourse, or erectile dysfunction. There are many options available for prostate cancer treatment. Prostate cancer treatments include surgery, radiation therapy, proton therapy, hormonal therapy, chemotherapy, cryosurgery, and high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU)
Skin cancer, known as skin neoplasia, is the most common form of human cancer. It is expected that over 1 million new cases take place yearly. The yearly rates of all forms of skin cancer are rising every year, representing a growing public concern. The warning of skin cancer is a change in the appearance of the skin, like a new growth or a sore that will not heal. Skin cancer can catch to any person of any age. Prevention is the key for escaping from skin cancer. You must use preventive techniques. Skin cancer treatment may include curettage and desiccation, surgical excision, cryosurgery, Mohs micrographic surgery, radiation therapy, medical therapy using creams etc.
Heart disease is the medical term used for a variety of different diseases affecting the human heart. There are several causes of heart diseases. The most common cause of heart disease is the blood vessels that supply blood to the heart itself, narrowing or blockage of the coronary arteries. Smoking, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, family history, peripheral artery disease, insufficient exercises, stress, obesity are the causes of heart diseases. The heart diseases are usually treated in a multi-step approach depending upon a patient's symptoms of heart diseases. The patient & healthcare service provider need to work together to return the patient to a normal lifestyle. Medication and advices are applied to treat the heart patients. Surgery & heart transplant are also done in severe condition for heart diseases treatment.

About the Author

Get log on to lung cancer treatment along with skin cancer treatment and lots more with medical in india that bring wide knowledge about different diseases and its related treatments and diagnoses.

TREATMENTS FOR BREAST CANCER

Women living with breast cancer deserve real tender care, breast cancer is a heartless beast, growing in the unsuspecting, taking the lives of the innocent. Breast cancer is a respecter of no race, personality or even gender. The statistics show that about 45,000 American women will loss their lives to breast cancer each year, this statistics sobering, showing the fatal reality of breast cancer as a debilitating disease.

Recently, scientist have being working tirelessly developing effective breast cancer treatments that drastically reduce the mortality rate of breast cancer patients. In this article a few effective breast cancer treatments will be analyzed.

  BIOPSY: Biopsy is the removal of a sample of tissue from a living person for laboratory examination. Biopsy for breast cancer a doctor performs a minor surgery on the patient removing a lump for diagnosis, this surgical biopsy is called open biopsy. Other biopsies are;

·         External biopsy

·         Aspiration biopsy

·         Punch biopsy

More information will be provided for other biopsies in subsequent articles.

CHEMOTHERAPY: chemotherapy is the use of chemical agents to treat diseases, infections or other disorders, especially cancer.

Paul ehrlich a German bacteriologist and Nobel laureate was among the noble contributors to chemotherapy. Ehrlich contribution was in syphilis treatment, but his work help lay the foundation for others to build on, and to discover new treatments for breast cancer.

Chemotherapy drug work by attacking a specific tumor, and travel through the blood stream to kill other cancerous cells in other parts of the body. Doctors prescribe chemotherapeutic drugs if the patient’s diagnosis indicate that cancerous cells have spread to lymph nodes, or In addition to surgery to reduce the risk breast reoccurrence, or to help reduce the size of breast cancer tumors so that only a part of the breast is surgically removed not the whole breast. Chemotherapy is a very effective breast cancer treatment, the only disadvantage is that the chemotherapeutic drugs may not perfectly differentiate between cancerous and non-cancerous cells, which could make the drugs destroy healthy cells.

RADIATION THERAPY

Radiation therapy or radiation oncology is the therapeutic use of ionize or x-ray radiation at various intensities to treat various cancerous cells. Radiation therapy is another ingenious invention used for breast cancer treatment. radiation therapy is based on the discovery that normal cells and cancer tumor cells respond differently to radiation. After both normal cells and cancer tumor cells are exposed to radiation, cancer tumor cells are destroyed completely and normal cells even though are damage grow back.

Depending on the stage of breast cancer, doctors prescribe radiation therapy after surgery to ensure that cancer does not reoccurred and to reduce the pain from surgery.

There are to major types of radiation therapy:

1.      Internal radiation therapy

2.      External radiation therapy

Subsequent articles will provide information for these types of radiation therapy.

HORMONE THERAPY

Although, the specific cause of breast cancer is not yet know, scientist believe that female sex hormones, like estrogen and progesterone increase breast cancer cell growth. Hormone therapy is aimed at stopping the production of  hormones that increase the growth of breast cancer cells. Hormone therapy could be surgical or by drugs.

Estrogen and progesterone are produced from the  ovaries, surgical hormone therapy involves surgical removal of the ovaries to stop estrogen and progesterone production. Hormone therapy by drugs involves administering drugs to a breast cancer patient only on the basis that diagnosis show that the breast cancer cells are estrogen-receptor-positive or progesterone-receptor-positive. This is because hormone therapeutic drugs are meant to stop estrogen and progesterone production in other parts of the body after the ovaries are removed.

Thank you for reading this article.      

BREAST CANCER PREVENTION

Prevention, in my opinion has being the best form of treatment for any disease not just breast cancer. Many people say prevention is better than a cure, and I strongly agree. The value of preventing any disease not just breast cancer can be measured not just in money but in time and energy.

For women who are likely to develop breast cancer prevention by early detection is the best form of treatment. Below are a few preventive measures for breast cancer.

1.      Women who are at risk of developing breast cancer are advised to perform regular self-examination for any sign of suspicious breast lumps (though not all breast lumps may indicate cancer tumor growth)

2.      Reducing alcohol and fat consumption and increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables can reduce the risk of a woman developing most types of breast cancer

3.      Annual sonogram and mammogram test is recommended for women who have a family history with breast cancer.

4.      Homone therapy is a breast cancer preventive therapy, hormone therapy drugs like; tamoxifen (designer estrogen) can prevent breast cancer developing in some women. Tamoxifen should only be taking based on a professional doctor’s diagnosis, this is because tamoxifen has side effects, tamoxifen could cause uterine cancer in some women (uterine cancer includes both cervical and endometrial cancer).

5.      Women with a high risk of breast cancer should avoid smoking and those who smoke. This is because women are especially sensitive to the carcinogens in tobacco.

6.      Regular exercise is recommended for women at risk of developing breast cancer; a regular exercise program helps reduce production of female sex hormones like, estrogen and progesterone. Two hormones observed to have direct relationship to breast cancer cells growth. Another healthy reason to hit the gym.

This are just a few breast cancer preventive measures a women could use. But always remember this; in fact put it at a place you can see it every day “prevention and early detection is the key to effective breast cancer treatment”. 

THANK YOU FOR READING THIS ARTICLE

WHAT IS BREAST CANCER?

Breast cancer is the uncontrolled growth of cancer tumor cells in the breast. As you are aware, all breast cancer cells spread from a single cell, which destroy other healthy breast cells and tissues.

Breast cancer is a common and a major fatal health problem for many women and some “men” around the world. For many women breast cancer in its early stages (carcinoma in situ “stage 0”) is usually not painful, but as the cancer grows to different stages (micrometasis “stage I”, stage II “IIA and IIB” and so on) in the breast tissue it could cause discomfort and may change the size, shape, color or feel of the skin, areola and nipples.

Many scientist and researchers don’t understand exactly what causes breast cancer, although, studies suggest that patients could get breast cancer by long exposure to female sex hormones, like estrogen and progesterone or by taking birth control pills. Therefore, let’s see how natural sex hormones and birth control pills could increase the risk of a woman getting breast cancer.

FEMALE SEX HORMONES AND BREAST CANCER

Female sex hormones develop during puberty (a period when the sexual reproductive organs mature) during puberty female sex hormones like estrogen and progesterone are also produced in the ovaries, this hormones help to control reproductive organ development, regulate menstruation and pregnancy. As stated earlier scientist say that female sex hormones contribute to breast cancer cells growth. How you may ask? At puberty, estrogen and progesterone increase and decrease at menopause. The longer the time differences from puberty to menopause, the longer the exposure to estrogen and the higher the probability for a woman, to have breast cancer.

BIRTH CONTROL PILLS

Many scientist and doctors say that continuous use of birth control pills could result in breast cancer. How? Birth control pills have being used, since the 1960’s to prevent pregnancy, many birth control pills are made from female sex hormones, like the most popular birth control pill called combination pills, is made from estrogen and progestin. Although birth control pills are effective in preventing pregnancy, they also increase the amount of estrogen in the body that, could help breast cancer cells grow, increasing the probability of a woman to have breast cancer.

Weather a woman should take birth control pills or not will depend on what her doctor prescribes.

Thank you for reading this article.