Breast cancer

Breast cancer is the fifth the most common type of cancer world wide, and is the most common fatal cancer in women (Breast cancer. Retrieved November 16, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breast_cancer). By the end of the year 2007 the World Health Organization (WHO) is expecting that in Canada alone there will be 22311 new cases of breast cancer, and 5317 deaths related to breast cancer(WHO|Cancer. Retrieved November 17, 2007, from http://www.who.int/ncd_surveillance/infobase/web/InfoBasePolicyMaker/Reports/cancer.aspx). This paper shall explain the various types of breast cancer, as well as the diagnostic and treatment procedures. The purpose of these explanations to provide a better understanding of the disease than what is know through various awareness campaigns.

There areseveral different types of breast cancer. The first type is non-invasive breast cancer. Non-invasive breast cancer is when the cancer remains within the breast, and does not spread to other parts of the body. Non-Invasive breast cancer can broken into two types, ductal carcinoma in situ and lobular carcinoma in situ. Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is when the cancer originates from the milk ductsof the breast. DCIS often produces a lump in the breast, which can be detected through a self-exam or a mammography. DCIS is also the most common type of breast cancer to occur. Lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) is when the cancer originates from the lobules (the milk glands). Unlike DCIS, LCIS is far more difficult to detect since it often does not produce a lump. LCIS is often discovered whileanother breast related issue is being looked at (Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. Retrieved November 14, 2007, from http://www.cbcf.org/breastcancer/bc_diagnosis_ty.html).

The second type of breast cancer is invasive breast cancer. Invasive cancer is when, unlike non-invasive cancer, the cancer spreads from the breast to other parts of the body. The most common type of invasive breast canceris invasive ductal carcinoma. This is when the cancer begins in the milk ducts of the breast, and eventual begins to spread to other parts of the body (Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. Retrieved November 14, 2007, from http://www.cbcf.org/breastcancer/bc_diagnosis_ty.html).

The third and fourth types of breast cancer are both very rare, only consisting of 5% of all cases. The third type isinflammatory breast cancer, which is when the cancer causes the breast to swell and the skin to gain an orange like texture to it. This is a very difficult type of cancer to diagnose since the symptoms are more likely to be mistaken for an infection then cancer. The fourth type of cancer is Paget’s disease, which is when the cancer causes the nipple to feel itchy and weep. In most cases of Paget’sdisease there is another type of cancer in the breast (Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. Retrieved November 14, 2007, from http://www.cbcf.org/breastcancer/bc_diagnosis_ty.html)..

As with most forms of cancer early detection is the key to treating breast cancer effectively. There are several ways to detect cancer, one of which is the breast self examination (BSE). The purpose of a BSE is for awoman to check their breasts regular, and keep track of any changes that may occur between BSEs. The BSE itself consists of first examine the breast from various angles to look for any visual changes, and then to feel the breast for any lumps of abnormalities that may have appeared (Breast self examination. Retrieved November 17, 2007, fromhttp://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/testing/self_exam/index.jsp).

Besides the BSE a woman may also have periodic mammograms done to check for abnormalities that a BSE cannot detect. A mammography consists of an x-ray being taken of the breast while it is placed between two metal plates. Some women find mammography’s highly uncomfortable and choose only to perform BSEs. In some cases the material of the breast may be too dense for a mammography to...