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Breast Cancer

Breast Cancer

Adipose tissue, lobes, glands, milk ducts and sinus cavities constitute the breast tissue. Breast cancer is among the most common cancer types in women. The rapid spread of cancer cells in the milk glands or milk ducts in the breast tissue is called breast cancer. Cancer cells, which cause deterioration in the DNA of healthy cells, are very long-lived and multiply rapidly. Rapidly proliferating cancer cells cause tumor formation by accumulating in masses. Tumors formed by cancer cells that multiply rapidly in sensitive areas of the breast tissue are divided into two groups as benign tumors or malignant tumors. The slow progression of the spread and reproduction of malignant tumors makes it difficult to diagnose the disease. In people who cannot be diagnosed early, the disease can spread to different parts of the body and cause metastasis. People who are diagnosed with early diagnosis and treated before the disease spreads to the whole body have a very high recovery rate. All women over the age of forty, with or without a family history of breast cancer, should have a mammogram every two years and see a doctor regularly. In cases where the mammography examination is risky or in doubt, this period may be once a year or even in the form of strict follow-up with an interval of 6 months. Those who have a benign mass in their breasts can have their routine follow-up with ultrasonography performed every 6 months.-“

What are Breast Cancer Risk Factors?

The most determining risk factor for breast cancer is undoubtedly gender. Breast cancer, which is found in one percent of men, is well above this number in women.

Another important determinant among breast cancer risk factors is age. Breast cancer, which is less common in people under the age of 35, is more common in people over the age of 50. In people who have to struggle with breast cancer at an early age, the most basic factor of the disease is genetic factors.

Family factor also affects your rate of getting breast cancer. Having breast cancer, especially on the mother’s side, that is, in the mother’s sibling, mother and grandmother, increases the risk of developing breast cancer in young people.

If a woman has an early menstrual period and a late menopause date, people are more likely to develop breast cancer. In addition, long-term use of the drugs prescribed by specialists as a result of menopausal disorders increases the risk of developing breast cancer.

The fact that people never gave birth, gave birth to their first child after the age of thirty, and did not breastfeed their child voluntarily or involuntarily after birth causes an increased risk of developing breast cancer.

Among the risks of getting breast cancer are factors such as inactivity, conditions of modern city life and gaining excessive weight.

As with all types of cancer, smoking and alcohol use increase the likelihood of the disease.

What Are the Symptoms of Breast Cancer? 

With the effect of today’s awareness raising, the symptoms of breast cancer are found by the people themselves. It takes a long time for cancerous cells to form tumors and to be noticed during the examination. However, when the size of the cancerous cells reaches at least one cm, these masses can be easily noticed thanks to the hand control method performed by women. This situation proves how important it is for women to apply hand control method frequently. The most important feature that will allow you to distinguish cancerous cells from other glands is a hard, irregular structure and not being able to move easily in the breast tissue. Breast cancer symptoms vary from person to person and according to the stage of the disease. In addition, some people do not have any symptoms of breast cancer, and the fact that people are not sick is determined by ultrasonography and mammography examination. We can list the common breast cancer symptoms in people as follows.

– Persons encountering a mass or hardness during hand control

-Noticing a visible and visible asymmetry between the breasts of people

Conditions such as wounds, eczema, redness, cracking and crusting that occur suddenly on the breasts

-Changes in the direction and shape of the nipples and an inward pull on the nipple or around the breast

– A red or pink discharge from the nipple

-Women feel a different intensity of pain in their breasts during their menstrual period.

– Enlargement and extra swelling in the breasts outside the menstrual period

-Recognition of a mass, stiffness or swelling in the armpit, other than swelling in the breast area

-The appearance of the breast tissue resembling an orange peel

People who experience at least one of the above-mentioned symptoms should definitely consult a specialist. In addition, although these symptoms are thought to be seen in women, some of them are the same as the symptoms of breast cancer in men. The symptoms of breast cancer seen in men are usually in the form of discharge from the nipple, redness, inward collapse, non-painful swellings, swelling and shrinkage. Since the mentioned symptoms do not always indicate cancer, it would be beneficial to consult a specialist when these findings are encountered.

What Are the Types of Breast Cancer?

Breast cancers are divided into various types and groups among themselves. The type of breast cancer is learned through the tissues taken by biopsy. The biopsy sample taken from the breast tissue is sent for pathology examination and the type of breast cancer is determined after the examinations. Although breast cancers contain many types, they are grouped under two main headings as those occurring in the cells that provide the formation of the breast ducts and those occurring in the mammary glands. Ductal carcinoma (occurring in the mammary duct) and lobular carcinoma (occurring in the mammary glands) are divided into two groups among themselves as tumors with and without the ability to spread.

Ductal Carcinoma: It is a type of cancer that is very difficult to diagnose during manual examination and manifests itself with its irregular structure during mammography. There may be discharge in the breasts of people diagnosed with ductal carcinoma.

Lobular Carcinoma: It is a type of cancer that occurs within the breast lobes and spreads.

Spreading Tumors: Invasive, that is, spreading cancer types, occur when the cancerous cell progresses to the upper parts of the place where it is located. Among the cancer types that can spread, ductal carcinoma occurring in the breast canal is among the most common cancer types.

Tumors that do not spread: Non-invasive is the name given to the type of cancer that does not show any symptoms in general and may rarely occur with symptoms such as redness or hardness. It is the hardest and fastest-acting type of breast cancer. This type of breast cancer is likened to inflammatory diseases surrounding the breast.

What are the Stages of Breast Cancer?

Breast cancer is a type of cancer that progresses slowly and can reach a size of one cm in about five to seven years. Breast cancer can spread to organs such as bones, liver or lungs thanks to the lymphatic channels, to the lymph nodes in the armpit and from there to the blood. Experts perform staging to find out what stage the cancer cells are in and to which regions they have spread, and start the treatment process in this way. Experts use a system called TNM to find out at what stage breast cancer is. In the system called TNM, the letter T indicates the diameter of the tumor, the letter N indicates the number of lymph nodes in the armpit, and the letter M indicates the spread of cancerous cells. Breast cancer consists of four stages. First, second, and some third-stage cancer cells are considered early-stage breast cancer. Fourth and some third stage cancer cells are called advanced breast cancer. Experts decide according to the stage of breast cancer, whether the cancerous cell has spread or not, and the size of the cancerous cell.

How is Breast Cancer Diagnosed?

Every woman over the age of fifty, with or without breast cancer in her family, should be under the control of a specialist and have regular mammography examinations. Women over the age of thirty-five should definitely apply the manual control method at regular intervals. Performing such examinations regularly is of great importance in terms of early diagnosis and accelerating the treatment process. The diagnosis of breast cancer is made during routine screening of people or when people apply to a specialist physician with signs of breast cancer. The diagnosis process first starts with a physical examination and when necessary, ultrasound, mammography, biopsy, computerized tomography and magnetic resonance imaging devices are examined and the treatment process is started.