Breast cancer symptoms

Today we will introduce you to breast cancer as it is one of the most common killer diseases around the world

Breast cancer is cancer that forms in the cells of the breasts.

after skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in women in the United States. Breast cancer can occur in both men and women, but it's far more common in women.

Substantial support for breast cancer awareness and research funding has helped create advances in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. Breast cancer survival rates have increased, and the number of deaths associated with this disease is steadily declining, largely due to factors such as earlier detection, a new personalized approach to treatment and a better understanding of the disease.

Check out the following resources to help you with breast cancer symptoms:

The Insider's Guide to Metastatic Breast Cancer: https://amzn.to/2Lx0wr3

F*CK Breast Cancer: I'm Kicking Cancer Ass Book: Cancer Journals For Patients To Write In: Blank Medications, Appointments, Contacts, Symptoms & Journaling Writing Pages: Cancer Encouragement Notebook: https://amzn.to/3q1lr4I

Braving Chemo: What to Expect, How to Prepare and How to Get Through It: https://amzn.to/3tG7rPN

How to stop your metastasized cancer: https://relaxingmusic.website/relaxing-music-shop/

Causes of Breast cancer

Doctors know that breast cancer occurs when some breast cells begin to grow abnormally. These cells divide more rapidly than healthy cells do and continue to accumulate, forming a lump or mass. Cells may spread (metastasize) through your breast to your lymph nodes or to other parts of your body.

Breast cancer most often begins with cells in the milk-producing ducts (invasive ductal carcinoma). Breast cancer may also begin in the glandular tissue called lobules (invasive lobular carcinoma) or in other cells or tissue within the breast.

Researchers have identified hormonal, lifestyle and environmental factors that may increase your risk of breast cancer. But it's not clear why some people who have no risk factors develop cancer, yet other people with risk factors never do. It's likely that breast cancer is caused by a complex interaction of your genetic makeup and your environment.

Inherited breast cancer

Doctors estimate that about 5 to 10 percent of breast cancers are linked to gene mutations passed through generations of a family.

A number of inherited mutated genes that can increase the likelihood of breast cancer have been identified. The most well-known are breast cancer gene 1 (BRCA1) and breast cancer gene 2 (BRCA2), both of which significantly increase the risk of both breast and ovarian cancer.

If you have a strong family history of breast cancer or other cancers, your doctor may recommend a blood test to help identify specific mutations in BRCA or other genes that are being passed through your family.

Consider asking your doctor for a referral to a genetic counselor, who can review your family health history. A genetic counselor can also discuss the benefits, risks and limitations of genetic testing to assist you with shared decision-making.

Symptoms of Breast cancer

Breast cancer can have different symptoms for different people. Most don’t notice any signs at all.

The most common symptom is a lump in your breast or armpit. Others include skin changes, pain, a nipple that pulls inward, and unusual discharge from your nipple.

Early Warning Signs of Breast cancer

Common symptoms of breast cancer include:

• A lump in your breast or underarm that doesn’t go away. This is often the first symptom of breast cancer. Your doctor can usually see a lump on a mammogram long before you can see or feel it.

• Swelling in your armpit or near your collarbone. This could mean breast cancer has spread to lymph nodes in that area. Swelling may start before you feel a lump, so let your doctor know if you notice it.

• Pain and tenderness, although lumps don’t usually hurt. Some may cause a prickly feeling.

• A flat or indented area on your breast. This could happen because of a tumor that you can’t see or feel.

• Breast changes such as a difference in the size, contour, texture, or temperature of your breast.

• Changes in your nipple, like one that:

  • Pulls inward

  • Is dimpled

  • Burns

  • Itches

  • Develops sores

• Unusual nipple discharge. It could be clear, bloody, or another color.

• A marble-like area under your skin that feels different from any other part of either breast.

Breast cancer Types and their Symptoms

There are several kinds of breast cancer. Many of them share symptoms.

Types

• Angiosarcoma

• Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS)

• Inflammatory breast cancer

• Invasive lobular carcinoma

• Lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS)

• Male breast cancer

• Paget's disease of the breast

• Recurrent breast cancer

Symptoms of ductal carcinoma

This is the most common type of breast cancer. It begins in your ducts. About 1 in 5 new breast cancers are ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). This means you have cancer in the cells that line your ducts, but it hasn’t spread into nearby tissue.

You may not notice any symptoms of ductal carcinoma. It can also cause a breast lump or bloody discharge.

Symptoms of lobular carcinoma

This kind begins in the glands that make milk, called lobules. It’s the second most common type of breast cancer. Symptoms include:

• Fullness, thickening, or swelling in one area

• Nipples that are flat or point inward (inverted)

Symptoms of invasive breast cancer

Breast cancer that’s spread from where it began into the tissues around it is called invasive or infiltrating. You may notice:

• A lump in your breast or armpit. You might not be able to move it separately from your skin or move it at all.

• One breast that looks different from the other

• A rash or skin that’s thick, red, or dimpled like an orange

• Skin sores

• Swelling in your breast

• Small, hard lymph nodes that may be stuck together or stuck to your skin

• Pain in one spot

Symptoms of metastatic breast cancer

Without treatment, breast cancer can spread to other parts of your body, including other organs. This is called metastatic, advanced, or secondary breast cancer. Depending on where it is, you may have:

• Bone pain

• Headache

• Changes in brain function

• Trouble breathing

• Belly swelling

• Yellow skin or eyes (jaundice)

• Double vision

• Nausea

• Loss of appetite and weight loss

• Muscle weakness

Symptoms of triple-negative breast cancer

Breast cancer is called triple-negative if it doesn’t have receptors for the hormones estrogen and progesterone and doesn’t make a lot of a protein called HER2. This kind tends to grow and spread faster than other types, and doctors treat it differently.

Triple-negative tumors make up 10% to 15% of breast cancers. They cause the same symptoms as other common types. Get an overview on triple-negative breast cancer symptoms and treatment.

Symptoms of male breast cancer

About 1% of breast cancers happen in men. Because it’s so rare, you may not pay attention to the symptoms until the cancer has grown. Watch for:

• A lump or thick spot in your breast or armpit

• Changes in the skin of your breast or nipple, such as redness, puckering, scales, or discharge

Symptoms of Paget’s disease of the breast

This type often happens along with ductal carcinoma. It affects the skin of your nipple and areola. Symptoms may look like eczema and include:

• Nipple skin that’s crusted, scaly, and red

• Bloody or yellow discharge from the nipple

• A flat or inverted nipple

• Burning or itching

Symptoms of inflammatory breast cancer (IBC)

Inflammatory breast cancer is a rare type that causes symptoms similar to an infection. They include:

• A breast that’s warm, swollen, and red

• Skin that’s dimpled, leathery, or ridged

• A nipple that turns inward

• Unusual nipple discharge

Symptoms of papillary carcinoma

This is a very rare type of ductal cancer. It’s named for the tiny lumps, or papules, on the tumor. Common symptoms include:

• A small, hard cyst

• Bloody discharge from the nipple

Symptoms of angiosarcoma

Fewer than 2% of breast cancers are angiosarcomas. These start in the cells that line your blood vessels or lymph nodes. Angiosarcoma may cause:

• A lump in your breast

• A purple area of skin that looks like a bruise

• Skin that bleeds easily when scratched or bumped

• Pain in one area

Risk factors

A breast cancer risk factor is anything that makes it more likely you'll get breast cancer. But having one or even several breast cancer risk factors doesn't necessarily mean you'll develop breast cancer. Many women who develop breast cancer have no known risk factors other than simply being women.

Factors that are associated with an increased risk of breast cancer include:

• Being female. Women are much more likely than men are to develop breast cancer.

• Increasing age. Your risk of breast cancer increases as you age.

• A personal history of breast conditions. If you've had a breast biopsy that found lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) or atypical hyperplasia of the breast, you have an increased risk of breast cancer.

• A personal history of breast cancer. If you've had breast cancer in one breast, you have an increased risk of developing cancer in the other breast.

• A family history of breast cancer. If your mother, sister or daughter was diagnosed with breast cancer, particularly at a young age, your risk of breast cancer is increased. Still, the majority of people diagnosed with breast cancer have no family history of the disease.

• Inherited genes that increase cancer risk. Certain gene mutations that increase the risk of breast cancer can be passed from parents to children. The most well-known gene mutations are referred to as BRCA1 and BRCA2. These genes can greatly increase your risk of breast cancer and other cancers, but they don't make cancer inevitable.

• Radiation exposure. If you received radiation treatments to your chest as a child or young adult, your risk of breast cancer is increased.

• Obesity. Being obese increases your risk of breast cancer.

• Beginning your period at a younger age. Beginning your period before age 12 increases your risk of breast cancer.

• Beginning menopause at an older age. If you began menopause at an older age, you're more likely to develop breast cancer.

• Having your first child at an older age. Women who give birth to their first child after age 30 may have an increased risk of breast cancer.

• Having never been pregnant. Women who have never been pregnant have a greater risk of breast cancer than do women who have had one or more pregnancies.

• Postmenopausal hormone therapy. Women who take hormone therapy medications that combine estrogen and progesterone to treat the signs and symptoms of menopause have an increased risk of breast cancer. The risk of breast cancer decreases when women stop taking these medications.

• Drinking alcohol. Drinking alcohol increases the risk of breast cancer.

Prevention

Making changes in your daily life may help reduce your risk of breast cancer. Try to:

• Ask your doctor about breast cancer screening. Discuss with your doctor when to begin breast cancer screening exams and tests, such as clinical breast exams and mammograms.
  Talk to your doctor about the benefits and risks of screening. Together, you can decide what breast cancer screening strategies are right for you.

• Become familiar with your breasts through breast self-exam for breast awareness. Women may choose to become familiar with their breasts by occasionally inspecting their breasts during a breast self-exam for breast awareness. If there is a new change, lumps or other unusual signs in your breasts, talk to your doctor promptly.
  Breast awareness can't prevent breast cancer, but it may help you to better understand the normal changes that your breasts undergo and identify any unusual signs and symptoms.

• Drink alcohol in moderation, if at all. Limit the amount of alcohol you drink to no more than one drink a day, if you choose to drink.

• Exercise most days of the week. Aim for at least 30 minutes of exercise on most days of the week. If you haven't been active lately, ask your doctor whether it's OK and start slowly.

• Limit postmenopausal hormone therapy. Combination hormone therapy may increase the risk of breast cancer. Talk with your doctor about the benefits and risks of hormone therapy.
  Some women experience bothersome signs and symptoms during menopause and, for these women, the increased risk of breast cancer may be acceptable in order to relieve menopause signs and symptoms.
  To reduce the risk of breast cancer, use the lowest dose of hormone therapy possible for the shortest amount of time.

• Maintain a healthy weight. If your weight is healthy, work to maintain that weight. If you need to lose weight, ask your doctor about healthy strategies to accomplish this. Reduce the number of calories you eat each day and slowly increase the amount of exercise.

Choose a healthy diet. Women who eat a Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil and mixed nuts may have a reduced risk of breast cancer. The Mediterranean diet focuses mostly on plant-based foods, such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and nuts. People who follow the Mediterranean diet choose healthy fats, such as olive oil, over butter and fish instead of red meat.

Check out the following resources to help you with breast cancer symptoms:

The Insider's Guide to Metastatic Breast Cancer: https://amzn.to/2Lx0wr3

F*CK Breast Cancer: I'm Kicking Cancer Ass Book: Cancer Journals For Patients To Write In: Blank Medications, Appointments, Contacts, Symptoms & Journaling Writing Pages: Cancer Encouragement Notebook: https://amzn.to/3q1lr4I

Braving Chemo: What to Expect, How to Prepare and How to Get Through It: https://amzn.to/3tG7rPN

How to stop your metastasized cancer: https://relaxingmusic.website/relaxing-music-shop/