Understanding Breast Cancer: Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Treatments
School
DeVry University, Chicago**We aren't endorsed by this school
Course
HIT 170
Subject
Anatomy
Date
Dec 12, 2024
Pages
10
Uploaded by CoachHawk7446
Breast Cancer•Lisa Tunstall•Fundamentals of Human Anatomy and Physiology/Angela Burcham•12/12/2023/ Module 8
Breast Cancer Facts
Background•Because most of my aunts and uncles experienced it. My mother passed from it in 2019. That’s why this topic is very near to me because of family history. Breast cancer starts when healthy cells change and begin to grow out of control and turn into a tumor. Tumors can begin in different areas of the breast, like the glands that make breast milk, the ducts that carry milk to the nipple, or other tissue regions.
Symptoms•Early-stages, symptoms like lumps in the breast or change in breast appearance can be detected through a self-exam, breast cancer symptoms can become more difficult to detect once the cancer has advanced and metastasized in other parts of the body. Fatigue, Fever, Swelling, Discharge
Diagnosis•Diagnosis involves physical examination, blood tests, and few imaging tests to confirm the condition. Common tests & procedures Physical examination of the breast - Checking for lumps, hardness, or tenderness in the breasts and lymph nodes.•X-ray of the breast.•Blood tests for complete blood cell count, and to assess other abnormalities such as infection.•To determine the staging of cancer. PET scan•Imaging the breast using sound wavesto detect for abnormal lumps.•MRI of breast provides detailed image of the breast lumps.•Removing a sample of breast cells for microscopic examination. Breast Biopsy
Available Treatment Options•Surgery, when used to treat cancer, is a procedure in which a surgeon removes cancer from your body. Depending on the type of cancer and how advanced it is, surgery may be used to remove the entire tumor, remove part of a tumor, or remove a tumor to help ease symptoms caused by cancer. Surgeons are medical doctors with special training in surgery. There are many types of surgery. Surgery may be open or minimally invasive.•In open surgery, the surgeon makes one large cut to remove the tumor, some healthy tissue, and maybe some nearby lymph nodes.•In minimally invasive surgery, the surgeon makes a few small cuts instead of one large one. She inserts a long, thin tube with a tiny camera into one of the small cuts. This tube is called a laparoscope. The camera projects images from the inside of the body onto a monitor, which allows the surgeon to see what she is doing. She uses special surgery tools that are inserted through the other small cuts to remove the tumor and some healthy tissue. For some patients, it may take less time to recover than open surgery.•Basically, chemotherapy and radiation
Prognosis•Survival rates can give you an idea of what percentage of people with the same type and stage of cancer are still alive a certain amount of time (usually 5 years) after they were diagnosed. If caught early, it can go into remission or be eradicated
Affected Body Systems•Breast Tissue, Heart, Respiratory .•Breast: Breast cancer can cause a lump or thickening in the breast or underarm area, nipple discharge, or changes in the size or shape of the breast.•Cancer will spread of cancer cells, occurs in advanced stages of most cancers. Cancer cells move through the body using a variety of methods depending on where they arise; for example, cancer in the intestines can easily travel to the liver through the abdominal veins. As we have seen, the lymphatic system is a diffuse structure with widespread vessels and nodes. Cancer cells can enter the lymphatic system via any nearby lymph vessels or nodes to spread the disease to other areas of the body
Additional Information•A relative survival rate compares women with the same type and stage of breast cancer to women in the overall population. For example, if the 5-year relative survival rate for a specific stage of breast cancer is 90%, it means•that women who have that cancer are, on average, about 90% as likely as women who don’t have that cancer to live for at least 5 years after being diagnosed. •Breast cancer is more common in the left breast than the right.•The first operation to use anesthesia was a breast cancer surgery.•The incidence of breast cancer is highest in more developed countries and lowest in less developed countries.•Men can also get breast cancer, although it is very rare.•Researchers believe that almost half of the breast cancers and deaths related to them can be prevented.
References•https://www.understandcancertogether.com/understand-cancer/types-of-cancer/•https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/breast-cancer/understanding-a-breast-cancer-diagnosis/•Breast Cancer: Symptoms, Risk Factors, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention (webmd.com)Links to an external site.•What is HER2-positive Breast Cancer? | PHESGO® (pertuzumab/ trastuzumab / hyaluronidase-zzfx)Links to an external site.•Understand Breast Cancer - What Is it, Stages (understandcancertogether.com)Links to an external site.BreastCancer Facts & Stats | Incidence, Age, Survival, & More (nationalbreastcancer.org)