THE LUMP

It is not possible for a woman or a physician to know for certain whether a breast lump indicates breast cancer until imaging exams The lump is firm and hard The degree to which women experience symptoms of fibrocystic breast condition varies considerably. Some women with fibrocystic breasts have only mild breast pain and may not be able to feel any breast lumps when performing breast self-exams. Other women with fibrocystic breasts may experience more severe breast pain or tenderness and may feel multiple lumps in their breasts. Most fibrocystic breast lumps are found in the upper, outer quadrant of the breasts near the armpit), although these lumps can occur anywhere in the breasts. Fibrocystic breast lumps tend to be smooth, rounded, and mobile (not attached to other breast tissue), though some fibrocystic tissue may have a thickened, irregular feel. The lumps or irregularities associated with fibrocystic breasts are often tender to touch and may increase or decrease in size during the menstrual cycle. Eight out of 10 lumps that women may feel in their breasts are benign (not cancerous). A benign lump can be a collection of normal or hyperactive breast gland cells, or it may be a water-filled sac (cyst). One way to make lumps less frightening is to get to know what your breasts normally feel like. There's no better way to find out than by doing your monthly . The upper, outer area—near your armpit—tends to have the most prominent lumps and bumps. The lower half of your breast can feel like a sandy or pebbly beach. The area under the nipple can feel like a collection of large grains. Another part might feel like a lumpy bowl of oatmeal this is something that

BACKGROUND ON BREAST CANCER

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in women, with approximately one in nine women developing the disease in her lifetime. Although breast cancer is known to affect women, it also can be equally devastating to men. Male breast cancer accounts for 1% of all diagnosed breast cancer. Breast Cancer is a disease in which cancerous cells are found in the tissues of the breast. These cancerous cells continue to grow and eventually form into a lump known as a tumor. Although more than 80% of breast lumps are not cancerous, a process known as a biopsy is the only way to know for sure. A biopsy requires the doctor to remove a small sample of tissue and examine it under a microscope and check for cancerous cells. Breast Cancer affects more American women than any other type of cancer. There were about 100,000 new cases diagnosed in 1985, and in 1994, over 180,000 new cases were confirmed. One reason given to this dramatic rise is that more women are receiving diagnostic tests for breast cancer. However, other reasons for the long-term increase in breast cancer are not yet fully understood. Some researchers believe that maintaining a low-fat diet can lower a person's risk for breast cancer. Also, one should consult with a physician before taking any hormone-containing drugs, since some of these medications have been linked to breast cancer. The best strategy for preventing the onset of breast cancer is to follow the recommended early detection guidelines A proper diagnosis of breast cancer can only be made by a physical examination of tissue extracted from the breast. This type of examination is called a biopsy. A lump in the breast usually requires that a biopsy be perfomed even when a mammogram has described the tissue as being normal. Breast tissue may be obtained by needle aspiration biopsy or surgical biopsy. Needle aspiration helps to distinguish between solid tumors and liquid-filled tumors (cysts ). In this procedure, a fine needle is inserted into the breast and the fluid is removed. Cysts are rarely associated with cancer and only are tested if they are bloody or if the patient is older than 55 years of age. If the lump is solid, then a needle also is used to gather a cluster of cells, which can then be sent to a laboratory for further testing. Surgical biopsy is usually performed if the lumps are solid. There are two types of surgical biopsy that can be performed. An incisional biopsy removes only a portion of the suspicious lump for the pathologist to examine. An excisional biopsy, the most commonly performed procedure, is used when lumps are small. In this case, the entire lump and a small amount of surrounding tissue are removed. The entire lump of suspicious tissue is then sent to the pathologist for further examination











SOURCE-http://www.lbl.gov/Education/ELSI/cancer-breast1.html

Credible-Non Credible

CREDIBLE

Breast cancer incidence in women in the United States is 1 in 8 (about 13%).
In 2008, an estimated 182,460 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in women in the U.S., along with 67,770 new cases of non-invasive (in situ) breast cancer.
About 1,990 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in men in 2008. Less than 1% of all new breast cancer cases occur in men.
From 2001 to 2004, breast cancer incidence rates in the U.S. decreased by 3.5% per year. One theory is that this decrease was due to the reduced use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) by women after the results of a large study, called the Women’s Health Initiative, were published in 2002. These results suggested a connection between HRT and increased breast cancer risk.
About 40,480 women in the U.S. are expected to die in 2008 from breast cancer, though death rates have been decreasing since 1990. These decreases are thought to be the result of treatment advances, earlier detection through screening, and increased awareness.
For women in the U.S., breast cancer death rates are higher than those for any other cancer besides lung cancer.
Besides skin cancer, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among U.S. women. More than 1 in 4 cancers are breast cancer.
Compared to African American women, white women are slightly more likely to develop breast cancer, but less likely to die of it. One possible reason is that African American women tend to have more aggressive tumors, although why this is the case is not known. Women of other ethnic backgrounds — Asian, Hispanic, and Native American — have a lower risk of developing and dying from breast cancer than white women and African American women.
As of 2008, there are about 2.5 million women in the U.S. who have survived breast cancer.
A woman’s risk of breast cancer approximately doubles if she has a first-degree relative (mother, sister, daughter) who has been diagnosed with breast cancer. About 20-30% of women diagnosed with breast cancer have a family history of breast cancer.
About 5-10% of breast cancers are caused by gene mutations inherited from one’s mother or father. Mutations of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes are the most common. Women with these mutations have up to an 80% risk of developing breast cancer during their lifetime, and they often are diagnosed at a younger age (before age 50). An increased ovarian cancer risk is also associated with these genetic mutations. Men with a BRCA1 mutation have a 1% risk of developing breast cancer by age 70 and a 6% risk when they have a BRCA2 mutation.
About 90% of breast cancers are due not to heredity, but to genetic abnormalities that happen as a result of the aging process and life in general.
The most significant risk factors for breast cancer are gender (being a woman) and age (growing older).

Non Credible

Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer among women and affects approximately one million women worldwide.Breast cancer accounts for 30 per cent of all female cancers in the UK and approximately 1 in 9 women in the UK will get breast cancer sometime during their life. Men can also develop breast cancer, accounting for 1% of cases diagnosed annually in the UK – around 250 men are diagnosed every year in the UK. There is quite a difference in incidence and death rate of breast cancer between different countries. The biggest difference is between Eastern and Western countries. Recent, age-adjusted figures show that the rate of breast cancer per 100,000 women is 24.3 in Japan and 26.5 in China compared to 68.8 in England and Wales and 72.7 in Scotland and 90.7 in North America in white females. However, studies of women from Japan who emigrate to the US show that their rates of breast cancer rise to become similar to US rates within just one or two generations, indicating that factors relating to everyday activities are more important than inherited factors in breast cancer.

Personal Relfection

There is a lot of thing’s that I would like to learn about and everyday life cause you can never learn to much but I really want to learn about breast cancer the reason I want to learn about this topic is because someone and my family seem to have this type of issue and I would like to help them and give them as much information as I can. It also seem like one topic that is very interesting and would give me a chance to learn something that I never would want to talk about just at anytime, when looking up some information on breast cancer I have learn more then I ever thought I would on this topic. And I’m happy that I chose this topic to write about, There is a large amount of women who are diagnosed with breast cancer every day but they usually do not know a lot about it in terms of how it forms and the many ways it can be treated. Breast cancer is a very serious disease that shouldn’t be taken lightly; if it is left untreated it can spread to other organs and eventually kill you. Even if you do not have breast cancer, chances are that you know or will know someone who will get it, so it is imperative that people understand how breast cancer forms, know the stages of breast cancer, be familiar with who gets breast cancer and how you can possibly avert it, and understand all of the different ways to treat the cancer and prevent it from coming back. Cancer Right now, cancer is one of the most feared diseases in the world. In the early 1990s almost 6 million new cancer cases developed and more than 4 million deaths from cancers occurred. Also more than one-fifth of all deaths were caused by cancer and it has been predicted, by the American Cancer Society, that about 33% of Americans will eventual die of cancer and that can to a total shock to me so I just wanted to learn as much as possible.

-WhAt I AlReAdY KnO-

Hey my name is Deemesha Taylor and I’m doing my blog on breast cancer which seem to be a main topic and the world today Cancer occurs as a result of mutations, or abnormal changes, in the genes responsible for regulating the growth of cells and keeping them healthy new cells take over as old ones die out. But over time, mutations can “turn on” certain genes and “turn off” others in a cell. That changed cell gains the ability to keep dividing without control or order, producing more cells just like it and forming a tumor. A tumor can be benign benign tumors are not considered cancerous: their cells are close to normal in appearance, they grow slowly, and they do not invade nearby tissues or spread to other parts of the body. Malignant when reading this information I was very shock about how breast cancer is a very serious thing at first I really didn’t see it as a big thing to really worry about. Over time, cancer cells can invade nearby healthy breast tissue and make their way into the underarm lymph nodes, small organs that filter out foreign substances in the body. If cancer cells get into the lymph nodes, they then have a pathway into other parts of the body. The breast cancer’s stage refers to how far the cancer cells have spread beyond the original tumor there is already something’s I knew such as you should go to the doctor a least every month to get your breast check out, and always look for different type of things that look very strange so you can know if there is anything wrong. While there are steps every person can take to help the body stay as healthy as possible (such as eating a balanced diet, not smoking, limiting alcohol, and exercising regularly), breast cancer is never anyone's fault. Feeling guilty, or telling yourself that breast cancer happened because of something you or anyone else did, is not productive.