Posts Tagged ‘female health’

What Exactly Is DCIS Breast Cancer And Find Out How To Determine It

Thursday, September 23rd, 2010

DCIS, or else known as ductal carcinoma in situ, is a relatively new diagnosis although breast cancer have been around for a long period of time. DCIS is cells growing inappropriately inside the ducts of the breast. These cells usually do not spread to other parts of the body and they only stay at the ducts of the breasts.

More cases of DCIS breast cancer had surfaced now as compared to the past. It is also the cause of 20% of the cases of breast cancer. DCIS is at the same time known as stage breast cancer, whereby cells aren’t obtrusive yet.

Although DCIS do not spread to other areas of the body like other cancer cells, they can still not be taken lightly because they can change genetically and become true malignant cells. Therefore it is best to receive treatment for DCIS despite the fact that they aren’t harmful at this time because you’ll never know when they’re going to mutate and turn into a threat to your health.

You’ll find different types of DCIS as well which determines how aggressive the cells are. Comedo is more aggressive than cribiform as it is high-grade compared to cribiform that is low-grade. High-grade suggests that the DCIS cells tend to be more likely to become true cancerous cells.

Different doctors might get different outcomes for the diagnostic report for DCIS which is why you might need to seek another doctor and be prepared mentally as well as paying for a second time to be diagnosed again. This assists in determine whether or not you need to receive treatment for DCIS.

Since DCIS is pretty new, there are not confirmed causes of DCIS although it’s highly believed to be the same as cancer. Cancer is actually made from cells, our regular body cells, however the only difference between cancer cells and regular cells is that cancer cells had lost their ability to stop producing and they had gone haywire. The cancer cells keep producing cells and as a result a tumor is created and the tumor could be deadly.

These tumors might either be benign or malignant. If they are malignant, they’ll start spreading throughout your whole body as time passes. DCIS so happened to fall somewhere in between these as DCIS do not spread to other parts of the body. However, if they are left untreated and develop into cancerous cell, they may deal exactly the same impact as what cancer will deal to you.

Please don’t be overwhelmed if you learn that you have DCIS. You should be grateful that you found out about it at a very, very early stage where it is still harmless for your body. And DCIS do not necessary evolves into cancerous cells although it’s still safer to have them removed. To add on, females with DCIS had a survival rate of nearly 100%. Do not lose hope then.

To learn more about Breast Cancer, please visit http://www.breast-cancer-blog.org

Warning Signs Of Breast Cancer You Should Be Aware Of

Friday, September 3rd, 2010

Breast cancer could be a quite dangerous disease as the worst outcome might lead to the end of your life. However, if you receive treatment for it at an early stage, you definitely have a higher possibility of surviving and also getting a complete cure to it too.

Contracting breast cancer doesn’t necessary means “the end”. If you look into it at a different angle, it is “the beginning” of you learning the right way to fight for your life and finding hope.

Since breast cancer is one of the most typical forms of cancers being contracted by people in the world, it is better to have a deeper understand of such cancer and the its warning signs.

Which are the warning signs of breast cancer?

* Shape or size change of the breast.

* A lump or thickening in the breast. (Possible areas include area surrounding the breast or the underarm.)

* Breast feels unusually warm to the touch.

* Retraction of nipple. (Nipple turned inwards or sunken into the breast.)

* Nipple’s shape becomes irregular.

* Rash on the nipple or areola.

* Discharge through the nipple. (Either bloody or fluid.)

* Dimpling of the skin on breast. (The skin looks like the skin of the orange.)

* Breast looks red, scaly or swollen.

* Breast feeling pain.

If any of the symptoms occurred to you and you feel uneasy about it, please consult your doctor as quickly as possible. Bear in mind that discovering that you have cancer at inintial stage is much better than discovering it at a more advanced stage.

Even if you were diagnosed by the doctor later that this isn’t cancer, it might be much better than worrying about this for days before finally deciding to tell someone about it.

However, please don’t take this matter lightly. Often be on a lookout for the changes of your breast, especially the nipples. If the nipple discharges either fluid or blood, or there’s a retraction of the nipples, these may be possible signs of cancer.

The symptoms for breast cancer might not come that early the moment you contracted the disease, which is why it’s advisable for you to do body check-ups regularly, especially for older ladies as they had a higher chance of contracting such cancer.

You can actually examine your breasts or nipples on a regular basis and note for any changes to them, the moment that you sense something is not right, consult your doctor right away even if you’re feeling that it could be a false alarm. This is especially important if you’re one of those people out there who have a very unhealthy lifestyle.

That’s exactly why you need to remain healthy and treasure your life!

To learn more about Breast Cancer, please visit http://www.breast-cancer-blog.org

Recognizing Inflammatory Breast Cancer Symptoms & Simple Tips To Prevent It

Thursday, September 2nd, 2010

There is not just one type of breast cancer in this world. Inflammatory breast cancer is one of them and it is a very rare type of cancer.

“Inflammatory breast cancer” has the same symptoms as inflammation. The symptoms are typically swelling, skin redness and pain. However, the symptoms for this kind of cancer usually are not caused by infection or injury. It is caused by cancer cells blocking the lymph vessels in the skin.

So what are the symptoms of inflammatory breast cancer?

* Swelling of the breast. One breast will suddenly be much larger than the other. (The size change of the breast will occur between days to weeks.)

* Itching. (Do not overlook the itch if it occurs too frequently since it could be a sign of a sickness.)

* The breast looks red, purple, pink or bruised. Otherwise called discoloration. It may have a texture which is identical to an orange.

* Ridges, thickened areas on the skin of the affected breast. This is just like an orange peel.

* Breast feeling unusually warm.

* Nipple retraction. (Nipple is flattened or is turned inwards.)

* Discharge coming out from the nipple.

* Breast pain. (Tenderness or aching too.)

* Enlarged nymph nodes. They occurred under the arm, above or below the collarbone.

These changes occur quickly, usually within a time of several weeks. This means that that the cells of cancer spreads quickly and the possibility of surviving for longer than 5 years is less than 50%, with only a 40% survival rate according to research made.

Please note that this sort of cancer may not form a lump, which is a common sign for many cancers do. If some of the above symptoms occurred to your breast or you have symptoms that worries you, please find your doctor to examine asap as your health may be in danger.

Although it is not certain what the cause of inflammatory breast cancer could be, it’s still better to have precautions by living life the healthy way, for example eating the right food, exercising regularly and having sufficient rest. Ladies having kids before the age of 30 also decreases the chance of contracting breast cancer.

Start practicing a healthy lifestyle now before it’s too late! Remember to get full body check-ups on a regular basis to detect for any changes in the body. Although it is said that females contracts breast cancer easier at a mature age, that doesn’t rule out the potential of contracting at a young age.

Be prepared for the future and maintain a healthy lifestyle from now on!

To learn more about Warning Sign of Breast Cancer, please click here!

An Overview Of Inflammatory Breast Cancer Prognosis

Wednesday, September 1st, 2010

Inflammatory Breast Cancer prognosis can be very hard to treat early because of the difficulty in diagnosing this type of cancer. Unlike different kinds of cancer, IBC does not usually present with a breast tumor or lump. It often is not seen on a regular Mammogram and may go undetected until it has metastasized, or invaded other organs and tissues in the body.

IBC is considered a Stage IIIB breast cancer and, when diagnosed, is treated aggressively. This cancer has some physical characteristics that will most likely be noticed by the patient before it is noticed by other people. This cancer causes an higher flow of blood, build-up of white cells, and blocked lymph vessels by cancer cells. This causes redness, warmth, and swelling in the affected breast.

It has recently been found that some breast cancer diagnoses have some IBC involvement. Although the cancer is very rare, it is one of the most deadly types of cancer and most difficult to treat without aggressive measures. In some cases there will be a breast denseness when a mammogram is done. This denseness can be identified if the current mammogram is compared to a previous mammogram. IBC occurs most often at about age 50 and grows more quickly than other breast cancers.

When a person is diagnosed with IBC their prognosis will vary based on many factors. The earlier that the cancer is diagnosed and treated, the more positive the prognosis is and greater the survival rate. Of the women diagnosed and treated aggressively, about half have a five or more year survival rate. Nearly one-third of the women diagnosed and treated are alive 20 years after the diagnosis. The average survival rate is based on the number of patients diagnosed with IBC not all breast cancers. And, remember, when diagnosed and treated early, the prognosis is significantly raised.

As soon as it is diagnosed an aggressive treatment plan is scheduled. The prognosis for survival of IBC is directly attributed to aggressive cancer treatment. When diagnosed and treated early, about half of the women with IBC survive 5 years or more. Nearly one-third of women are alive twenty years after they have been diagnosed.

Physicians monitor their patients carefully after treatment. The likelihood for reoccurrence is very high during the first three years after being treated. After an aggressive treatment program of chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation treatments, the physician will follow-up on a regular basis to make sure there is no reoccurrence. For several years, IBC was thought to be so rare that it was not aggressively studied. However, in the last few years, it has been included in cancers of the breast that are being studied and great strides have been made in positive prognosis after treatment.

Early diagnosis and treatment are very important. Statistics for prognosis should not impact a woman’s decision to be tested and treated for this cancer. The early that diagnosis and treatment begin, the greater the rate of survival will be. It is important to remember that people respond differently to treatments for any type of cancer and by working closely with your medical professionals and creating a plan, the inflammatory breast cancer prognosis will be more positive.

Meeting with treatment professionals is very important to get the information and details about treatment options available and which steps need to be taken to assure that the IBC is addressed quickly and effectively. The steps that are taken will require persistence, determination, and a positive attitude. Having a network that includes breast cancer survivors will be helpful when collecting the information that you will need to increase your success with inflammatory breast cancer prognosis.

To learn more about Breast Cancer, please visit http://www.breast-cancer-blog.org

Breast Cancer- Symptoms You Need To Look Out

Sunday, August 15th, 2010

One out of every eight women will at some point be diagnosed with a stage of Breast Cancer during their life More than likely either you or someone you know is currently struggling with this horrible trial. You are not invisible and it could very well strike you at any given moment. Below, we are going to tell you a bit about this horrible cancer.

The two most common types of breast cancer that are the most common are called Ductal Carcinoma and the other is Lobular Carcinoma. Ductal Carcinoma as noted starts in the milk ducts that have been created to transport milk between the breast and the nipple. Ductal Carcinoma is the very most common of all types of breast cancers.

Research has shown that a number of cancers are very sensitive to the hormone estrogen. In certain cases, estrogen actually causes the tumors to grown. The name for this is estrogen receptor positive cancer. A certain percentage of women have HER2-positive breast cancer.

The hormone estrogen in certain types of chest cancer cases actually causes the cancer to grow at a very rapid rate. This is called HER2-positive cancer. The name comes from a gene who’s job is to make the cells grow, divide and finally do repairs on themselves. When a cell goes haywire and begins the duplication process to many times and cancer is present this will cause the gene to duplicate and rapidly grown the cancer. Research shows that women that have this type of cancer have a much higher chance to come out of remission. This problem is also seen as much more aggressive

The very beginning stages of this problem cannot be seen or felt but as the disease progresses these symptoms may or may not appear. You may notice one or both of your nipples changing in size and appearance, the breasts may start to feel very lumpy. You may also feel lumps in your armpits. The lumps may be very tough and hard to the touch and your nipples may begin to drip or leak.

As it is growing, one may notice the following: Your nipple may change in size, feel or shape, you may encounter redness or even puckering or dimpling (this could resemble the skin of an orange), you may feel a lump in your armpit or in your breast that is very hard to the touch and does not feel smooth. At this point there may be little or no pain and you may see pus leaking from the nipple

Cancer treatments may include the following: Hormonal therapy to block certain hormones that fuel cancer growth, targeted therapy to interfere with cancer cell growth and function, radiation therapy which helps to destroy all of the tissue that has cancer in it, chemotherapy which helps to destroy the cells causing cancer and surgery to eradicate all traces of the cancer. This may include a lumpectomy or a mastectomy depending on personal choice and the severity of the cancer. Also, hormonal Therapy and Targeted therapy may be discussed and tried.

Continue to do monthly self exams if you are over the age of 20 and yearly mammograms over the age of thirty five. If there is a history of this problem in your family you may want to consult your doctor about early testing.

To learn more about Breast Cancer, please visit http://www.breast-cancer-blog.org