BREAST CANCER
By Monica Morrow, M.D., Assoc. Prof. of Surgery
Edited by Tachsin Fernandi (additional various articles)

Cancer is still known as one of the most horrifying disease until these days. When it attacks; likely some people think of their lives and age become shorter, although technology of the latest medical developments have found some cures and techniques to defend against it. Cancer strikes people of all ages but is largely common in the middle-aged and the elderly. It occurs about equally in males and females. The disease can attack any part of the body and may spread to other parts. The sites most often affected are the skin, the digestive organs, the lungs, the prostate gland, and the female breasts.

Nearly all scientists do not know exactly why cancer develops. But they have found that heredity, environment, and lifestyle all play a role in causing the disease. They have also learned that good nutrition can help prevent certain kinds of cancer in laboratory animals. Large doses of vitamins A and C have been proved to prevent some cancers in animals. Many scientists believe that certain foods contain substances that may help prevent some cancers in people. Such foods include broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, fruits, spinach, whole-grain breads and cereals, and some sea-food. Lessening intake of fats and increasing the intake of fiber may also help prevent some cancers from forming.

What is cancer?

Cancer is a disease in which cells multiply wildly, destroy healthy tissue, and endanger life. Every person begins life as a single fertilized egg cell. Through a complicated process of growth, division, and specialization, the egg multiplies into the trillions of cells in a healthy body. Every cell contains complex instructions that direct this process. The instructions are chemically coded in long coils of a substance called DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). Particular sections of DNA called genes control specific cell functions. DNA even contains genes that enable the molecule to repair itself. But as people grow older, damage can build up and destroy DNA's ability to keep up its own accuracy.

Cancer results from damage to the genes that control cell growth and division. Two important classes of these genes are called proto-oncogenes and suppressor genes. Proto-oncogenes promote cell growth or division. Damage to a proto-oncogene may transform it into an overactive form called an oncogene. Oncogenes can lead to cancer by directing a cell to multiply excessively. Scientists have identified dozens of oncogenes that contribute to cancers in many sites, including the bladder, breasts, liver, lungs, and colon.

Suppressor genes limit cell growth or division. Damage to a suppressor gene can lead to cancer by destroying that gene's ability to stop cell multiplication. About 100 kinds of cancer attack people. The disease is a leading cause of death in many countries. Cancer occurs in most other animals and in many kinds of plants as well as in people.

Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is the second largest disease that attacks women after cervix cancer. The youngest cancer patients are being reported from age of 20 – 29, the large scales are age of 40 – 49, and the oldest patients are 80 – 89 years old.

Breast cancer is an uncontrolled, potentially deadly division of cells in the breast. In the United States, breast cancer is the most common women's cancer. According to the American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute, an average of 1 American woman in 8 will develop breast cancer sometime during her life. Women in Africa and Asia have a lower risk of breast cancer than do women in North America and Europe. A small number of men also develop breast cancer.

The risk of breast cancer increases for all women as they grow older. A woman's risk also increases if a relative, especially her mother or a sister, has also had the disease. Scientists have found two rare abnormal genes, called BRCA1 and BRCA2, that greatly increase risk. Tests to detect these genes are available, but doctors disagree about when such tests should be used. Most women with one or two relatives who have had breast cancer do not have inherited genetic abnormalities.

A painless lump is the most common symptom of breast cancer. Doctors advise women to examine their own breasts for lumps every month. A breast X ray called a mammogram can detect many cancers before they can be felt. Most doctors recommend an annual mammogram for women over 50 years old.

Doctors usually begin treatment of breast cancer by surgically removing the tumor. When the cancer is small, a lumpectomy can preserve the breast. In this operation, a surgeon removes the cancerous lump and a margin of the normal tissue surrounding it. The breast is then treated with radiation to kill stray cancer cells. If the cancer is large, the entire breast must often be removed in a modified radical mastectomy.

In either a lumpectomy or a mastectomy, doctors also remove and examine lymph nodes from the armpit. These nodes are small masses of tissue that help the body fight disease by filtering out bacteria and other harmful particles.

To determine the best treatment, doctors test some cancer cells to see if female hormones make them grow. If the cells respond, doctors may prescribe the drug tamoxifen to block the action of these hormones. If hormones have no effect, or if the patient still has menstrual periods, doctors may use chemotherapy (drug treatment that kills cancer cells as they divide). Both tamoxifen and chemotherapy significantly reduce the risk of cancer returning.

Anticipation against Breast Cancer and other kinds of cancer:

• Taking regular exercises (sport)
• Eating more vegetables and fruits: they are rich sources of dietary antioxidants. Citrus fruits are a rich source of vitamin C. Vitamin E is found in vegetable oils and nuts. Foods plentiful in beta-carotene or other carotenoids tend to be deep yellow or green, such as carrots and spinach. Flavonoids occur in many fruits and vegetables. Some studies have connected a diet rich in antioxidants with a reduced risk of cancer, heart disease, cataracts, and other diseases common among older people
• Examination of weight: the increasing of weight after age of 18 may face risk of breast cancer, for escalating fats in our bodies will trigger more estrogen hormone; as one of the major symptoms generates the breast cancer
• Breastfeeding the babies: these activities can generally reduce the risk of breast cancer before menopause (Most women have their last menstrual period between the ages of 45 and 55. The last menstrual period marks the end of a woman's natural childbearing years. Menopause is often called the change of life)
• Don't smoke: Scientists think that smoking causes about one-third of all cases of cancer, including most lung cancer. Smoking also causes many cancers of the mouth, breast, larynx, trachea, esophagus, pancreas, kidney, bladder, cervix, and some forms of leukemia. Cigarette smoke can even cause cancer in nonsmokers who live or work closely with smokers.
• Taking sun-bath: the rays of sun shine on our skin, they will produce Vitamin D, this vitamin shall assist breast to absorb calcium to prevent the risk of breast cancer
• Keep away from being stress: Long-term stress can lead to serious illness such as cancer
• Shunning or lessening intake of fats and junk food
• Don't consume alcoholic drinks