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Breast Cancer and Texas Oncology: I Can Survive
At Texas Oncology, we believe that arming yourself with knowledge about the effects of breast cancer and options for breast cancer treatment is a wise way to prepare for the challenges and choices this illness brings. When a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer, fear is the most natural reaction. Spouses, partners, friends and family members are also affected by this emotionally overwhelming diagnosis. Learning the facts about breast cancer can be a lifesaving act for women and the peoplewho care about them. Texas Oncology provides this guide as a first step in self-education about breast cancer and breast cancer treatment. With Texas Oncology, you can have advanced cancer treatment in Texas, and in your hometown.
What is Breast Cancer?
Breast cancer begins as one damaged or mutated cell, which divides, creating two cancer cells, which also then divide, starting the process over again. This cell division, or doubling, happens at a rate ranging from 23 to 209 days. A 1 cm tumor (about the size of your little fingertip), large enough to be seen on an x-ray or felt on an examination, probably contains about a billion cancer cells.
Most breast cancers start out in the breast duct and then invade or infiltrate between the breast ducts. The cells then have the potential to travel away from the breast duct to the lymph nodes or elsewhere in the body.
After your breast cancer is diagnosed, your doctors will have information about how rapidly your particular cancer cells are dividing and how aggressively they might behave.
The two general areas of concern about a breast cancer are as follows:
- 1. How will the breast itself going to be treated? Your surgeon will offer you different treatment options based on your tumor and situation. Mastectomy with or without reconstruction and breast conservation surgery are the general treatment options discussed. Axillary sampling, often with a sentinel node procedure, is important in most cases to determine the extent the cancer has spread. Radiation therapy is almost always used following breast conservation surgery. Partial breast irradiation using a balloon catheter in the lumpectomy cavity is a new treatment option that is appropriate for some patients. Some patients need radiation therapy after a mastectomy if their tumor was large or lymph nodes were involved.
- 2. Have the cancer cells traveled elsewhere in the body (metastasized) prior to diagnosis? You may have x-ray tests, called staging studies, to assess this. The medical oncologist will meet with you after your final surgery and review all of your results from pathology and staging studies. He or she will give you an idea of how likely it is for cancer to return elsewhere in your body and what systemic treatments (for example, chemotherapy or anti-hormonal medications) might be helpful in decreasing the likelihood of cancer cells metastasizing.
Breast cancer varies between individuals, and at Texas Oncology a personalized treatment plan will be outlined for you based on your assessment.
What Causes Breast Cancer?
While the exact causes of breast cancer are not clear, a number of risk factors have been identified by the medical community, including the following:
- Gender: Simply being a woman represents a risk for developing breast cancer.
- Age: Your risk of developing breast cancer increases with age
- Heredity: 5-10% of breast cancer cases are thought to be hereditary, the result of gene mutations inherited from a parent
- Race: White women* face a somewhat higher likelihood of developing breast cancer than do African American women, while Asian, Hispanic and Native American women have an even lower risk; however, Hispanic women are at greater risk of breast cancer death than white women because diagnosis is more likely to be made at late stage when tumors are larger.
- Weight: Being overweight increases your odds for developing breast cancer.
How Can Breast Cancer Be Prevented?
There is no sure way to avoid developing breast cancer; however, certain behavioral factors such as alcohol use, lack of exercise and being overweight can increase the risk of contracting the disease.
- Screening
- Self-Exams: Women should begin to administer breast self-exams in their 20s. Any changes in your breasts should be reported to a doctor immediately.
- Clinical Breast Exams: Women in their 20s and 30s should have a clinical breast exam every three years, and women over the age of 40 should have annual mammograms. Mammograms can detect breast cancer at an early stage when treatment may be more effective and more treatment options are available. Mammography detects about 80 to 90 percent of breast cancers in women without symptoms.
- Lifestyle
- Regular exercise may decrease the risk of breast cancer. Exercise reduces estrogen levels, fights obesity, lowers insulin levels and boosts the function of immune system cells that attack tumors.
- Limit your consumption of alcohol. Studies show that high levels of alcohol can increase the risk of breast cancer.
- Since obesity can further complicate breast cancer, maintain a healthy body weight.
- Higher Risk
- Women and men who are BRCA-positive should discuss preventive mastectomy, and women who are BRCA-positive should discuss drug/hormone therapies with their physicians as options that may reduce breast cancer risk.
What are the Symptoms of Breast Cancer?
Breast cancer screenings can make women aware of a potential problem. But there are other signs to consider as well, including the following:
- Changes in breast size or shape
- A lump or thickening in the breast
- Swelling, warmth, redness or darkening of the breast
- New pain in one spot
- Dimpling or puckering of the skin
- Itchy, scaly sores or a rash on the nipple
- Pulling in of the nipple or other parts of the breast
- Nipple discharge that starts suddenly
- A lump under the arm
What are the Types of Breast Cancer?
The evaluation of two factors— where the cancer originated in the breast and whether or not it has metastasized (spread beyond the breast to other parts of the body)—determine the four main types of breast cancer:
- Ductal carcinoma in situ—cancer that originates in the milk ducts of the breast and remains in the general area of origin.
- Lobular carcinoma in situ—cancer that originates in the lobules of the breast and remains in the general area of origin.
- Invasive ductal carcinoma—cancer that originates in the milk ducts of the breast and spreads to other parts of the body.
- Invasive lobular carcinoma—cancer that originates in the lobules of the breast and spreads to other parts of the body.
In general, in situ forms of breast cancer are treated with higher success rates, given their localized condition; however, viable treatments are available for all four types of cancer.
What are the Breast Cancer Treatment Options?
Anyone with breast cancer should consult with a medical oncologist to determine their specific cancer treatment needs. When breast cancer is identified in the biopsy specimen, several other tests may be performed on the specimen in order to further classify the cancer and determine the optimal treatment strategy. Based on the stage of the cancer and the results of these tests, Texas Oncology personalizes breast cancer treatments for each individual. Cancer treatment may involve surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy and/or hormonal therapy.
Texas Oncology cancer centers provide cancer treatment and hope to people throughout the Southwest with cancer and blood disorders. At Texas Oncology, we use the same leading edge technologies as the top cancer centers in the nation; bringing advanced cancer treatment to Texas. In addition, our support services team is committed to addressing the educational, emotional, financial and nutritional needs of our patients during their cancer treatment. We have local cancer centers throughout Texas, providing access to Texas Oncology cancer treatment in a location near you.
Breast Cancer Facts and Statistics
- Next to skin cancer, breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer among American women.
- On average, every woman has a one in eight (12%) chance of developing breast cancer at some time in her life.
- According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), about 192,370 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed in the United States in 2009, with about 40,170 deaths occurring from breast cancer. Fortunately, due to earlier detection and more effective breast cancer treatment options, breast cancer death rates are declining.
- The ACS estimates that there are currently about 2.5 million breast cancer survivors in the United States.