Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer that occurs in women and, after lung cancer, it is the second leading cause of cancer death in women. In the year 2004 no fewer than 186,770 new breast cancer cases were reported according to the American Cancer Society and this figure would seem to be rising year on year.
It is also worthy of note that breast cancer is not confined only to women and that 1,815 men contracted the disease in 2004 and that 362 men died of breast cancer that year.
The breasts in women are complicated pieces of machinery comprising glands, fat and connective fibrous tissue. Each breast has numerous lobes which are divided into lobules and end in the milk glands and there are also a large number of tiny ducts from the milk glands that join together and end in the nipple.
Eighty percent of breast cancer cases occur in these ducts and this condition is known as infiltrating ductal cancer. It is also fairly common for breast cancer to originate in the lobules where it is called lobular cancer. Other types of cancer are merely called inflammatory breast cancer.
Changes such as pre-cancerous changes (known as 'in situ') are also commonly seen in women and are changes which have not yet spread from the place in the breast where they were originally spotted. If these changes occur within the ducts then the condition is called ductal carcinoma in situ or DCIS and if they occur in the lobules they are known as lobular carcinomas in situ or LCIS.
The most serious type of breast cancer is known as metastatic cancer which involves the spread of cancer from the place where it began. It usually metastasizes into the lymph nodes under the arms or above the collarbone on the same side of the body as the cancer which results in pain and swelling as the lymphatic drainage system is compromised. Other relatively common sites of breast cancer metastasis are the liver, brain and the bones.
Excluding the obvious factor of gender, age is a very important factor when looking at the risk of contracting breast cancer. In spite of the fact that breast cancer can and does occur at any age the risk of finding it increases with age. A healthy woman aged 30 will generally have a 1 in 280 chance of developing breast cancer during the next ten years of her life. However, this then rises to a probable 1 in 70 chance when that same women is in her forties.
The risk factor for breast cancer is also affected by family history with the risk being particularly high when you have a close relative (such as a mother or aunt) who has developed breast cancer at a young age. - 16955
It is also worthy of note that breast cancer is not confined only to women and that 1,815 men contracted the disease in 2004 and that 362 men died of breast cancer that year.
The breasts in women are complicated pieces of machinery comprising glands, fat and connective fibrous tissue. Each breast has numerous lobes which are divided into lobules and end in the milk glands and there are also a large number of tiny ducts from the milk glands that join together and end in the nipple.
Eighty percent of breast cancer cases occur in these ducts and this condition is known as infiltrating ductal cancer. It is also fairly common for breast cancer to originate in the lobules where it is called lobular cancer. Other types of cancer are merely called inflammatory breast cancer.
Changes such as pre-cancerous changes (known as 'in situ') are also commonly seen in women and are changes which have not yet spread from the place in the breast where they were originally spotted. If these changes occur within the ducts then the condition is called ductal carcinoma in situ or DCIS and if they occur in the lobules they are known as lobular carcinomas in situ or LCIS.
The most serious type of breast cancer is known as metastatic cancer which involves the spread of cancer from the place where it began. It usually metastasizes into the lymph nodes under the arms or above the collarbone on the same side of the body as the cancer which results in pain and swelling as the lymphatic drainage system is compromised. Other relatively common sites of breast cancer metastasis are the liver, brain and the bones.
Excluding the obvious factor of gender, age is a very important factor when looking at the risk of contracting breast cancer. In spite of the fact that breast cancer can and does occur at any age the risk of finding it increases with age. A healthy woman aged 30 will generally have a 1 in 280 chance of developing breast cancer during the next ten years of her life. However, this then rises to a probable 1 in 70 chance when that same women is in her forties.
The risk factor for breast cancer is also affected by family history with the risk being particularly high when you have a close relative (such as a mother or aunt) who has developed breast cancer at a young age. - 16955
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