About Cancer Of Breast Tissue

What Is Cancer?

The human body is made up of living cells that grow, divide, and die everyday. During childhood, cells normally divide faster allowing the person to grow. But after reaching adulthood, the cells divide only to replace the worn-out or dying cells according to the needs of the body. Cancer starts when the cells in a particular part of the body grow abnormally i.e they do not die. Almost all types of cancer start because of the out-of-control growth of cells. Instead of dying, cancer cells continuously grow and form new, abnormal cells that can invade other tissues thus growing to other parts of the body In most of the cases, the cancer cells form a tumor that grows continuously and stops vital functions of the organs.

What Is Breast Cancer?

Breast cancer starts in the cells of the breast. It generally affects women but there have been cases of men affected by it as well. One in every eight American women is diagnosed with breast cancer and the number of women that die of breast cancer is very high. Nearly three-fourths of all women who are diagnosed with breast cancer die because of it. Inside a woman’s breast are 15 to 20 sections called lobes. Each lobe is made of many smaller sections called lobules. Lobules have groups of tiny glands that can make milk. After child birth, breast milk flows from the lobules through thin tubes to the nipple. There are a lot of fat and fibrous tissues that fill the spaces between the lobules and the tiny tubes. There are also a number of small vessels called lymph nodes that transfer body fluids to different body parts. Groups of lymph nodes are near the breast in the underarm, above the collarbone, and in the chest behind the breastbone. Any abnormal growth in any of the mentioned parts can lead to breast cancer.

Types of Breast Cancer

There are mainly two types of breast cancer. Ductal Carcinoma is the most common type and it affects almost 90% of the patients diagnosed with breast cancer. DCIS is a type of ductal carcinoma which is not invasive and and well contained and the chances of successful treatment of this type of cancer is very high. Usually, a lumpectomy surgery is required to remove the tumor followed by radiation therapy for such cases. Lobular Carcinoma affects the lobes and the glands that produce milk. It is very invasive and is reported very less. This type of breast cancer can also be removed by a simple lumpectomy. There are many other varieties of cancers and their treatment vary depending on the severity of the case.

Comments

Most Recent Articles