Breast Cancer Diagnosis, Prevention and Treatment

Jun 03, 2019

The Breast Cancer Awareness Month that takes place in October each year aims to raise awareness about the disease. The event also raises funds for the research relating to breast cancer causes, prevention, diagnosis and treatment. While women are aware of the disease, not everyone takes it seriously or works towards creating awareness. Breast Cancer is a curable problem and awareness about the same would ensure one is timely action against any unusual sighting.

Breast Cancer Diagnosis

There are different methods of diagnosing breast cancer. The doctor perceives the symptoms before deciding the type of test to carry out. Considering the following factors, the doctor recommends the appropriate tests.

The type of cancer suspected
Signs and symptoms
Age and medical condition
Results of prior medical tests

Following are the types of tests:

Physical Examination of the Breast

During breast examination, the doctor examines both the breasts and lymph nodes in the armpit for any lumps or abnormalities, change in nipples, texture or skin dimpling.

Mammogram

It is an X-ray of the chest, commonly used to screen breast cancer. The mammogram is of two types, a screening mammogram, and a diagnostic mammogram. Screening mammography can diagnose breast cancer, even before the symptoms are evident - asymptomatic. This is especially helpful for women for older women and ones with fattier breasts. For more detailed view after the screening mammogram, the doctor may ask for a diagnostic mammogram, which focuses on a specific lump or the area of concern

Breast Ultrasound

Ultrasound is done to determine whether the breast lump is a solid mass or just a fluid-filled cyst. It deploys penetrative sound waves and produces painted images of structures on the computer.

Biopsy (Removal of samples of breast cells for testing)

The only definite way to diagnose breast cancer is through a biopsy. The doctor would use a special needle under the guidance of X-ray or other imaging tests for extraction of the core tissue from the suspicious area. A small metal marker remains at the site within the breast area for identification purposes during future imaging tests. The samples from the biopsy are then sent to labs for analysis and identification of cancerous cells if any.

Breast Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

Using an MRI machine, magnet and radio waves are used to create pictures of the breast interior. Before the MRI, the patient would receive an injection of dye. This helps in detecting how far cancer has spread.

Breast Cancer Prevention

As a preventive measure for breast cancer, one must follow healthy habits like limiting alcohol and maintaining a physical regimen. Here are some of the things that one can do-

Breast self-exam for breast awareness

It is good to be informed about the breasts and breast health which can be done by occasional inspection of breasts. Check for any unusual sign or change in the breast. While awareness can't prevent cancer, it can surely help one understand better and start early treatment.

Breast Cancer Screening

A breast cancer screening involves exams and tests like clinical breast examination and mammograms. A conversation with the doctor about any possible risks and benefits would be great for breast cancer prevention.

Limit alcohol intake, if at all

It is mandatory to limit the alcohol intake if at all one chooses to drink.

Exercise on most days

Maintain an exercise schedule of at least 30 minutes 5 days a week.

Postmenopausal Hormone Therapy

Hormone therapy increases the risk of breast cancer to a great extent. Some women may be willing to take the risk of breast cancer due to the symptoms they experience. Reducing the risk of breast cancer may involve using the lowest dose of hormone therapy for the shortest amount of time.

Maintain a healthy weight

A healthy weight ensures that one has a lower risk for any diseases.

Healthy Diet

Women who consume healthy foods are at a lesser risk of breast cancer. In fact, including more fruits and vegetables is a key to a healthy lifestyle and averts the risk of breast cancer as well.

Breast Cancer Treatment

There are a number of treatment options that the doctor may choose from based on the type of breast cancer, its stage, grade, size and whether the cancer cells are sensitive to hormones. Most women undergo surgery and also receive additional treatment before and after surgery. Some of the operations for the treatment of breast cancer are-

Lumpectomy

In this surgery, the surgeon removes the tumour along with a healthy margin of the surrounding healthy tissue from the breast. Doctors perform this procedure to remove small tumours and the ones with larger tumours undergo chemotherapy to shrink the tumour.

Mastectomy

Mastectomy is a surgery that removes muscle from the chest wall and the lymph nodes in the armpit also. Hence, most procedures remove the entire breast and breast tissue i.e., the lobules, fatty tissue, ducts and a part of nipple and areola as well. One or two breasts are partially or completely removed. If one has cancer in one breast, they may choose to have the other breast removed too. This reduces the risk of cancer in the other breast, which may be due to family history. However, most women with cancer in one breast will not have it in the other breast.

Sentinel Node Biopsy

This involves the removal of lymph nodes that first receive lymph drainage from the tumour. This is to prevent the spreading of cancer from the lymphatic system into other parts of the body.

Axillary lymph node dissection

If doctors spot cancer in sentinel lymph nodes, they may suggest the role of removal of additional lymph nodes in the armpit.

Therapy options

Radiation Therapy

Radiation therapy treats cancer using radiation i.e., beams of high-energy waves. The radiation comes from special machines or radioactive substances. External beam radiation therapy can be done after lumpectomy. Doctors may also suggest radiation therapy after mastectomy for larger breast cancers or cancers that have spread far. It has side effects like fatigue, red, sunburn-like rash at the place of radiation therapy.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy involves using drugs to destroy fast-growing cancer cells. It may be given orally or through a needle into the vein, known as intravenous chemotherapy. However, if cancer has high chances of returning, doctors suggest chemotherapy after surgery to decrease the chances of reoccurrence.

Hormone Therapy

Hormone Therapy is used to treat breast cancers sensitive to hormones. They prevent recurrence in hormone-sensitive breast cancers and is sometimes also deployed before the cancer is removed, to shink its size. Doctors refer to these cancers as estrogen receptor (ER) positive and progesterone receptor (PR) positive cancers.