Breast Cancer

Breast Cancer: The Emerging Global Health Calamity

Breast Cancer is a disease due to the uncontrolled growth of cells in the breast region. It is the most common disease among women all over the world. Millions of women in the world are suffering from the disease. It has been found in men but quite rarely. As this is more associated with women due to which it is called as Breast cancer.

It is commonly found in women all around the world but the most affected countries are the United States of America, the United Kingdom, France and China. In countries such as the United States of America, every one out of eight women is affected by this disease. When we talk about our India the rate is relatively low as compared to the other countries. Though, it ranks first in all types of cancer shown in women in India.

The most common age for this type of cancer to be detected is 35 to 55 years. It is rare in teenagers as the rate is quite low among them. It has a very good survival rate among the patients & also, the death rate around the world is quite low if found in earlier stages. As we know this disease can become even more hazardous if found in later stages. But in most cases, it is easily detectable especially in its early stages due to the advancement in medical science.

 Breast Cancer Types 

Some common breast cancer types are:

1. Ductal Carcinoma In Situ (DCIS).

2. Lobular Carcinoma In Situ (LCIS).

3. Invasive Ductal carcinoma (IDC).

4. Phyllodes Tumor.

5. Inflammatory Breast Cancer.

6. Triple-Negative Breast Cancer.

How can breast cancer be detected?

Self-awareness is the most important aspect of the detection of this disease in its earliest stages. One should be aware of changes in one’s body especially the woman.

Symptoms of breast cancer

Anyone can detect the early symptoms of breast cancer by themselves if there is any change in their breast or underarm region of the body such as lumps in the breast region, changes in the shape of nipples, discharge of fluid from nipples, changes in the color of nipples, blood discharge from nipple etc. These are some ways by which a woman can save herself from the adverse effects of this harmful disease.

Where breast cancer lumps are found?

To answer the question "Where breast cancer lumps are found?" we can state the fact that breast cancer is that type of cancer which can be found anywhere in the breast region. It is quite unpredictable to found what is the exact location where the chances of having breast cancer are maximum but to find some sort of conclusion to the answer we can say the most common location is the underarm region of breast, upper & outer section of the breast.

One should immediately consult the doctor for further investigation if any of the above changes occur in the body. As there are some tests popularly known as breast-screening methods such as mammography which can detect if any lumps present in the concerned area and breast MRI which do the same & helps in locating these lumps. On findings of these tests, a doctor will assign a stage to us if we are suffering from this disease.

Breast Cancer Stages

Breast Cancer Stages are determined by examining how much is the spread of tumor in the breast area or the concerned region. Doctors have been using the TNM system (Tumor Nodes Metastasis) to discover breast cancer stages.

Here, T (Tumor) represents the size of the tumor as well as its location. N (Nodes) help us in gaining information regarding the spread of tumor over lymph nodes and by how much. Whereas M (Metastasis) gives us information on whether the spread of the tumor has reached to the other parts of the body or not. With the help of this staging system and some other important tests, doctors will be able to decide your breast cancer stage.

Generally, there are 5 breast cancer stages present right now:

Breast Cancer Stage 0- Cancer in this stage is non-invasive. Here, the cancer cells are found inlining of the breast duct.

Breast Cancer Stage 1 - In this stage of breast cancer, the tumor is smaller & generally found in lymph nodes.

Breast Cancer Stage 2 - In this stage, there is a small tumor found which is also found in lymph nodes under the arm region and inside the chest region.

Breast Cancer Stage 3 - Breast Cancer Stage 3 is one of the crucial stages of breast cancer which is sub-divided into three groups.

Breast Cancer Stage 03 A - Here, Cancer is found in four to nine lymph nodes under the arm region.

Breast Cancer Stage 03 B - In this subgroup of stage 3 there can be a cancer of any size as well as it may be found anywhere around the lymph nodes & near the breast bone.

Breast Cancer Stage 03 C - In this subgroup, there can be a cancer of any size and shape spreading to the skin of the breast area or chest wall, lymph nodes under the arm region or near the breast bone.

Breast Cancer Stage 4 - Breast Cancer Stage 4 is the other crucial stage of this type of cancer where the spread of cancer goes beyond the breast area or region by affecting lymph nodes and other organs of the body. This is also called as Metastatic breast cancer.

This is the most serious stage of breast cancer as you can depict from the fact that it not only affects the breast region which is obvious in this type cancer but also starts to spreads to the other parts of the body which is hazardous for any person. It spreads from the breast region to other parts of our body such as bones, lungs, brain and many more.

Causes of Breast cancer

The main causes are:-

Improper Breastfeeding-

Mothers who breastfeed their children can reduce the risk of this disease if they choose to breastfeed at least several months. We have seen the examples of old aged ladies as to how they combated it by doing the same as this disease was not that prominent in those days just because of their efforts.

Hectic lifestyle-

In today’s competitive world, everyone is busy in their professional & personal life. Due to this busy lifestyle, people start to neglect their health, especially our female class. This hectic schedule forces people to get away from physical fitness due to a lack of physical activity and eventually resulting in a stressful life. So, one should try to find a good work-life balance to live a healthy life.

Lack of physical activity-

It has been observed by many researchers that women who lack physical activity are most affected by this disease. Studies after studies have shown in the past that regular exercise can lower the risk of this disease. It is a well-known fact that doing exercise is good for not only this disease but also for the overall health of your body.

Stress-

Stressful life is a nightmare for everyone. Stress hormones present in our body support the breast cancer metastasis. We all know stress gives birth to many diseases and this is one of them. So, one should try to get rid of this stress as soon as possible for a better life.

Bad eating habits-

Due to bad eating habits, many suffer from weight gain by which many diseases such as Obesity, Diabetes, High blood pressure and many more but in the case of this it is equally harmful as well. So, one should avoid this habit to live a secure life.

Consumption of alcohol and smoking-

As found in many studies, consumption of these things increases the risk of this cancer and it is a renowned fact that consumption of alcoholic products is not good for anyone whether male or female.

Genetic disorder-

Only 5 to 10 per cent of cases in this disease is caused due to hereditary. Though the rate is lower than other factors, due to this disorder cells grow abnormally which eventually leads to this very cancer. So, one should keep track of one’s family history as far as this disease is concerned.

Treatment of Breast Cancer

After going through all these things, the question that comes to mind is “What can be the treatment of this disease gets into you”.

The only treatment available for the formation of lumps also called the tumor in the case of this cancer is surgery of that region popularly known as MASTECTOMY. In this surgery, the tumor part & some surrounding normal cells are removed completely from the concerned region.

So it is important to be vigilant about your health so that these sorts of diseases don’t get in your body. It is clear from above that only your vigilance can help you in tracking the early symptoms of this disease which will lower the risk factors.

Also, proper counselling should be given to all women especially young girls so they won’t have to face these serious issues in their later age.

Social stigma related to Breast Cancer

In our part of the world, there is a social stigma related to this disease especially, in rural India. Firstly most of the women in rural India are not educated due to which they are not aware & have no knowledge of breast cancer. In rural areas, no one wants to talk about these diseases in which some special attention is needed. This is due to social evils associated with such problems.

In our patriarchal society, the attention which is needed for the health of our woman is absent. She has no one to talk to as even other fellow women nearby try to suppress her voice if she feels anything wrong about her body, especially in this case. These social evils have made women so uncomfortable to even talk about this problem with anyone around them.

In many cases, their husbands don’t try to support them or listen to their problems. The situation for a woman gets even worse if she tries to visit a doctor after all those restrictions and finds out in the end that the doctor is a male which is the case in most of the rural hospitals. This is not only restricted to rural India but also to urban areas where women try to find female doctors instead of males.

Women in these circumstances feel alienated as no one is here to help them out. We all know very well that the condition of a woman in our society is not ideal and with these social evils which greatly affect them, are making their case even worse and far away from ideal.

All of this is happening due to this social stigma created by us and only we can eradicate it if we have will power inside us to do the same. This is a time taking process and not an immediate one but will eventually go out of our system if we want it to be.

 Breast Cancer Awareness Programs

As we know this disease can only be prevented if a person is fully aware of herself. So to prevent this disease there are many awareness programs run by various organizations while Pink Ribbon is regarded as the breast cancer symbol for all awareness programs organized across the world.

The whole month of October is celebrated as the Breast Cancer awareness month. In this program people especially women are educated regarding this disease and its effects.  This was started by American cancer society and American Pharmaceutical Company AstraZeneca in 1985. In this month several events such as public marches, speeches by various celebrities and survivors and many such events are being organized by many organizations working for this cause.

Every year in the month of January a pink test match is being organized in Sydney for breast cancer awareness in the honor of Jane McGrath (Died of breast cancer). She is the late wife of Australia’s cricketing legend Glenn McGrath and this match is organized by Cricket Australia every year to support and to raise funds for McGrath Foundation which works for patients related to this cancer.

In India, the government and many organizations are working in the direction to aware people regarding this disease. Since in India these awareness programs face a two front-war scenario as far as fighting against this cancer is concerned. Firstly they have to inform people about everything related to this disease and on the other hand they have to fight against the social evils related to this disease as discussed above.

Yes, it is a curable disease and many its survivors are living a happy and healthy life post-surgery. They have shown us that this disease can be defeated if a person is willing to. Here are some renowned celebrities who defeated this disease such as Angelina Jolie, Joan Lunder, Robin Roberts, Shannen Doherty and many more.

In India, legendary actress Mumtaz, Tahira Kashyap and Namrata Singh Gujral are some famous breast cancer survivors. The only message that we receive from all of these survivors is “If they can defeat it, you can too”.

Written by: Kanika

Edited By: Mukul Budakoti.