Breast cancer is cancers originating from breast tissue, commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas and those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas. There are many different types of breast cancer, with different stages and genetic makeup. It is currently estimated that one in 14 of all female children born will develop breast cancer in their lifetime.

Types of Breast Cancer

Invasive ductal carcinoma: It is the most common type of breast cancer. It begins inside the duct and then penetrates the duct's wall to reach the fatty tissue of the breast. From there it spreads to other parts of the body through the lymphatic system and bloodstream.

Invasive lobular carcinoma: It is the second-most common tumor type cancer, accounting for ten percent of all breast cancer. It begins in the terminal ducts of the breast milk-producing glands.

Medullary carcinoma: It is most common in women with a genetic predisposition to breast cancer. It is found that between 13 and 19 percent of all cancers in women who carry a BRCA1 mutation are medullary carcinomas.

Paget's disease: It accounts for 3 percent of all breast cancer. It is associated with abnormal scaling and redness of the skin of the nipple and areola with burning or itching.

Inflammatory breast cancer: It accounts for only one percent of all breast cancers. It’s symptoms include redness, warmth, and swelling of the skin of the breast and are caused by cancer cells blocking lymph vessels or channels in the skin over the breast.

Symptoms of Breast Cancer

• Swelling of the breast
• Skin irritation
• Breast pain
• Nipple pain or the nipple turning inward
• Redness, scaliness, or thickening of the nipple
• Nnipple discharge
• Swelling in the armpit (lymph nodes)
• Microcalcifications in tight clusters
• Dense mass with spiky outline
• Change in the breast skin color, resulting in pink, red, or dark-colored areas
• Breast is excessively warm to the touch, or harder than usual
• Breast skin ulcers (later stage IBC)

Causes of Breast Cancer

• Early start of menses and early menopause are also associated with breast cancer
• Using hormone replacement therapy also cause it
• Exposure to harmful chemicals like Organochlorines
• Late childbearing
• The risk of breast cancer increases with age
• Previous Breast Cancer
• Genetic Mutations, hereditary
• Hormonal factors that include early first menstrual period, late menopause, no pregnancies, late pregnancy, or use of birth control pills
• Alcohol Use
• Radiation therapy in the chest area during childhood or young adulthood
• Cigarette smoking
• Abortion / miscarriage history

Treatment of Breast Cancer

Surgery: Surgery is done to remove the cancer from the breast and lymph nodes. In a lumpectomy, only cancerous tissue plus a rim of normal tissue is removed. Simple or total mastectomy includes removal of the entire breast. Modified radical mastectomy includes removal of the entire breast and lymph nodes under the arm.

Radiation Therapy: Radiation is used to destroy cancer cells remaining in the breast, chest wall, or underarm area after surgery, or to reduce the size of a tumor before surgery.

Systemic Therapy: Systemic therapy includes chemotherapy and hormone therapy. Chemotherapy medications for breast cancer include Paclitaxel, Doxorubicin, Paraplatin, Cyclophosphamide, Epirubicin, Gemcitabine and Vincristine. Hormone therapy is given to block the effects of estrogens on the growth of breast cancer cells. Hormone therapy is effective in both postmenopausal and premenopausal patients whose cancers are positive for steroid hormone receptors.