Breast Cancer

Caucasian women have the highest

risk thanany other race

Although Caucasian women are more likely to get thecancer African American are likely to die from it

The StatisticsThe surviving rate for those who get earlyscreening is 97%

Those who get screening late when the cancer already spread have a 21% survival

96% get to live 5 more years when detectthe cancer early

Risk Factors

•Getting older. •Being younger when you first had your

menstrual period. •Starting menopause at a later age. •Being older at the birth of your first child. •Never giving birth. •Not breastfeeding. •Personal history of breast cancer or some

non-cancerous breast diseases.

Risk Factors

Family history of breast cancer (mother, sister, daughter).

•Treatment with radiation therapy to the breast/chest.

•Being overweight (increases risk for breast cancer after menopause).

•Long-term use of hormone replacement therapy (estrogen and progesterone combined).

.

•Having changes in the breast cancer-related genes BRCA1 or BRCA2.

•Drinking alcohol (more than one drink a day).

•Not getting regular exercise

Symptoms

•New lump in the breast or underarm (armpit).

•Thickening or swelling of part of the breast.

•Irritation or dimpling of breast skin.

•Redness or flaky skin in the nipple area or the breast.

•Pulling in of the nipple or pain in the nipple area.

•Nipple discharge other than breast milk, including blood.

•Any change in the size or the shape of the breast.

•Pain in any area of the breast.

Symptoms

Different people have different warning signs for breast cancer. Some people do not have any signs or symptoms at all.

Breast Cancer Diagnosis

Besides skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in America.

In 2008 more than 200,000 women were diagnosed with Breast Cancer.

From that, more than 40,000 actually died from the disease.

Where to go

To be screened you can go to a clinic, hospital or regular doctor’s office.

Most health insurance companies pay for the costs of the test.

If uninsured, there are many low-cost or free programs available.› Example: Any county public health

department clinic

Mammogram

This is the most efficient method to detect Breast Cancer.

Basically just an x-ray of the breastMammograms can detect Breast Cancer early when it is easiest to treat and before it is big enough to cause or feel any symptoms.

Clinical and Self Breast Exams

Clinical exams done by a doctor or nurse› Their hands are

used to feel for any types of lumps or changes in the breast

Self exams can be done at home to check your own breasts for lumps, changes in size or shape and any other changes in the breast/armpit area.

Biopsy If anything suspicious

is found during a screening, a biopsy will be done to determine the stage (extent) of the cancer.

During a biopsy a sample of the suspicious area is removed and looked at under a microscope.

Types of Biopsies There are several types of biopsies

› Fine Needle Aspiration Biopsy During this biopsy a thin, hollow needle is

used to draw a small amount of tissue from the suspicious area.

› Core (large needle) Biopsy A larger needle is used to remove a small,

cylinder, core type piece of tissue.› Surgical Biopsy

All or part of the lump is removed. This method typically is done at a hospital

and does leave a scar.

Screening

There are 3 main types of tests that can be done in order to be screened and diagnosed with Breast Cancer.

1. Mammogram2. Clinical Breast Exam3. Breast Self Exam

Screening is done before there are any signs or symptoms, to check the breast.

Breast cancer is treated in several ways. It depends on the kind of breast cancer and how far it has spread. Treatments include surgery, chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, biologic therapy, and radiation. People with breast cancer often get more than one kind of treatment.

Surgery. An operation where doctors cut out and remove cancer tissue. Chemotherapy. Using special medicines, or drugs to shrink or kill the cancer. The

drugs can be pills you take or medicines given through an intravenous (IV) tube, or, sometimes, both.

Hormonal therapy. Some cancers need certain hormones to grow. Hormonal treatment is used to block cancer cells from getting the hormones they need to grow.

Biological therapy. This treatment works with your body's immune system to help it fight cancer or to control side effects from other cancer treatments. Side effects are how your body reacts to drugs or other treatments. Biological therapy is different from chemotherapy, which attacks cancer cells directly.

Radiation. The use of high-energy rays (similar to X-rays) to kill the cancer cells. The rays are aimed at the part of the body where the cancer is located.

It is common for doctors from different specialties to work together in treating breast cancer. Surgeons are doctors that perform operations. Medical oncologists are doctors that treat cancers with medicines. Radiation oncologists are doctors that treat cancers with radiation.

RADIATION THERAPY

A recent study showed that older women (defined as over age 65) who’ve had a lumpectomy can dramatically reduce their risk of

both a cancer recurrence, and new tumors, by undergoing radiation therapy; and by taking tamoxifen, a drug that blocks the effects of

estrogen in the body, for five years. While these treatments are pretty much “standard of care” for younger women, older women

aren’t as likely to receive them.

older woman who do not have radiation after their lumpectomy are 60% more likely to develop cancer in the other breast than her counterpart who does have radiation, and 3.5 times more likely to have a recurrence in the same breast. In addition, older women who either didn’t take tamoxifen, or took it for less than a year, ran a 90% higher risk of recurrence than older women who took a full 5-year course of the drug.

Older women are more likely than younger to get breast cancer, anyway; and as the population of this age group increases, these facts will have more and more bearing on all of us.

Most older women diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer who are otherwise in

good health are likely to live for many years to come.

Other research has shown that older women get as many benefits from breast cancer

treatment as younger women. Still, research also has shown that doctors tend to treat

breast cancer in older women less aggressively than similar breast cancer

diagnosed in younger women.

Medicare coverage, some older

women may feel unable to navigate the paperwork involved, or may not quite believe that their insurance will cover the cost, of either radiation, or drugs. Perhaps the woman feared radiation’s side effects; having heard horror stories of burned skin, stiffened breast tissue, and long-lasting, flu-like symptoms, she chose to take her chances with a recurrence