One in 9 women is expected to develop breast cancer during her lifetime. One in 27 will die of it. Breast cancer attacks mainly women, however there’s 1% of breast cancer patients are men.

As we get older, the risk of getting breast cancer increases. Basically, all women have a certain degree of risk of developing breast cancer. Women who have a family history of breast cancer have a much higher risk of contracting this disease. There are other factors that may attribute to the higher or lower the risk of developing breast cancer, some of them, e.g. Genetic risk factors, aging etc you can’t change, some e.g. lifestyle-related factors, you can.

Good news is that most of breast cancer patients will survive and still live a healthy life if diagnosed early and treated properly. The important thing we can do is do regular screening. It’s a way to check if there are any changes in the breasts that may lead to problems. Screening includes a breast x-ray (mammogram), clinical breast examination (a physical exam of the breasts by a health care professional, CBE for short) and breast self-examination (BSE).

All women starting from age 20 are recommended to do breast cancer screening according to the following guidelines:

For women in their 20s and 30s, take clinical breast examination once in every three years, for women 40 and older, take it once every year.

For women 40 and older, take a mammogram every year. Mammography may have some limitations and could miss some cancers, it is still considered to be the gold standard for early detection of breast cancer.

Starting from age 20, women may choose to do breast self-examination. The benefits of BSE may not be too obvious as it’s probably a little too late when you can notice any changes. It could still be beneficial in that it helps notice any changes in the breasts so you can report them to your doctor.

Those women with higher risk factors of developing breast cancer, for example, women with family history of cancer or with a known genetic mutation of a BRCA gene, need to take extra efforts to promote awareness and take steps for prevention. Consult your doctor to discuss the risk and take necessary steps to reduce your risk of developing breast cancer.

Breast cancer is mostly curable if found early and given good treatment. Screening is a way to detect it at its early stage. Bear this in mind: breast cancer screening can save you life. Take the time to do it.

It is shocking to live with breast cancer statistics rising to 1 in 8 women developing some form of breast cancer in their lifetime. Women 50 and older are at the greatest risk. Breast cancer is usually detected with mammograms or self breast exams. About 200,000 new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed each year. While the survival rate is increasing, it is important to note the increase in occurrence over the last 50 years. Let’s examine what causes breast cancer so we can prevent and deal with breast cancer naturally.

Causes of Breast Cancer

Everyone’s cancer is caused by something different, and so pinpointing the cause of breast cancer usually isn’t high on the list of priorities once a woman is diagnosed with the potentially deadly disease. But, in general cancer is caused by free radicals, or deformed cells, that attach themselves to your good cells.

Breast cancer specifically has been linked to too much estrogen found in the body. There are several reasons why women have too much estrogen. The birth control pill increases the amount of estrogen in the female body. Hormone replacement therapy also has been shown to cause breast cancer because of its tampering with hormone levels.

High levels of preservatives, herbicides, pesticides and other chemicals used to treat food contribute to breast cancer. And estrogens found in dairy and meat can be overwhelming to the body.

Holistic Treatment of Breast Cancer

Plant estrogens like soy are a great way to combat breast cancer. These plant estrogens give the female body everything it needs without the harmful effects. Women with breast cancer should increase their intake of soy foods. When possible they should try to reduce the amount of dairy in their diet and replace it with soy.

Eating whole grains, green leafy vegetables, and fruit also give the immune system a boost and enable the body to wage its own war against cancer. Vitamin and mineral supplements help to fill in the gaps of nutrition you may miss from your diet. Antioxidants counteract the free radicals floating around your body, bind with them, and the body flushes them right out so they can do no harm.

Mental and spiritual well being is also important in a holistic approach to fighting breast cancer. Meditation, stress reduction, improved outlook, and positivity all help improve your mental well being. And as many of us realize, you are what you think about. So change your focus, look for the beauty in life, and take care of yourself, inside and out.

Exercise is a fantastic way to improve your immune system, build a physically healthy body, and improve your mental well being at the same time. Yoga, Tai-Chi, and walking are all beneficial ways to exercise the body and mind without overdoing it and causing damage.

Progesterone cream delivers the hormone, progesterone, to the body in the fastest way possible – transdermally, or through the skin. Progesterone helps to regulate the other hormones in the body, especially estrogen levels. As a woman ages, her natural progesterone levels decrease leaving her exposed to excess estrogen. In research conducted in 1995, progesterone was shown to have protective effects on breast tissue because it inhibits the growth of more breast cancer cells. Estrogen does the opposite and encourages breast tissue growth. Pro-Gest is a good progesterone cream for women with breast cancer.

The risk of getting breast cancer is generally higher among older women, women with a family history or previous history of breast cancer, women who had radiation therapy in the chest region, women who started their periods before 12 years old, women who had menopause after 50 years old, women who never had children or had them age 30 or older, or women with genetic mutation. In recent times genetic mutations for breast cancer have become a hot topic of research.

The breast cancer tumor has the following symptoms: lump or thickening that appears on the breast or underarm, changes in the breast’s shape, nipple turned inwards followed by colorless discharge, red or scaled skin or nipple, or ridges on the breast skin.

If a woman experiences any of these symptoms, it does not necessarily mean she has breast cancer. In such a case she should undergo a breast cancer personal check-up. It is estimated that 95% of breast cancer is detected through personal check-up. The breast cancer personal check-up includes checking for lumps in the breasts after each menstrual period, puckering the skin, and checking for nipple retraction or discharge. For consistent result, every woman should do a breast cancer personal check-up at the same time every month. Various other techniques such as mammography, thermography, ultrasonography, computerized tomography scan etc, can also help detect breast cancer.

Breast cancer treatments include surgery that removes cancerous tissues, with breast conservation therapy (BCT) being one such surgery. Other breast cancer treatments include chemotherapy, radiotherapy, hormonal therapy and biologic therapy. Radiotherapy is a common breast cancer treatment, and radiation treatment and chemotherapy may follow surgery to ensure the destruction of the stray cancer cells.

Even after undergoing many or all of these breast cancer treatment measures, unfortunately almost half the women suffer from a recurrence of the disease.

Breast cancer is said to be one of the biggest killers of women around the world today. Statistics from the University of Maryland Medical Center explain that every year in the United States, about 185,000 women are diagnosed with some form of breast cancer. Along with these statistics, about 40,000 women die per year because of breast cancer related complications. In 99% of all cases of breast cancer, women are involved. Only a few men are diagnosed with this condition.

What are the symptoms of breast cancer, and what are the possible causes of the disease? Doctors often recommend their patients to performs routine breast self examinations (BSE) to be able to detect lumps or other abnormalities in their breasts. If a woman detects a change in the shape and firmness in her breast, or if there are skin problems in the breast area, she should see a doctor right away. Some of the causes of breast cancer are genetic, while some sources explain that hormonal levels in the body can cause the growth of the tumor. Sometimes, exposure to carcinogenic substances may be the cause. In other instances, women who have breast implants develop a form of breast cancer.

Currently, the treatments for breast cancer include chemotherapy with radiation therapy. There are several drugs that have been tested and recommended for chemotherapeutic use, and it has been observed that the administration of regular radiation sessions allow chemotherapy drugs to work better against breast cancer tumors. In some cases of breast cancer, a mastectomy or surgical removal of one or two breasts may be needed.

What is the nutrition for breast cancer that should be followed? Sources from the University of Maryland Medical Center suggest that antioxidant-rich foods should be added to the diet. These foods include blueberries, cherries, squash, and tomatoes, among many others. Vegetables like spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage should be eaten more often. It is best to avoid foods with trans-fat, preservatives, and foods that contain substances that can cause allergies. For protein sources, it is best to avoid red meats, and opt for leaner protein sources including tofu, soy, and some types of fish like tuna, herring, salmon, and others.

Nutrition for breast cancer also involves supplementing the diet with B vitamins, calcium, vitamin C, pro-biotics, and others. Omega-3 fatty acids are also highly recommended, and these forms of fatty acids are found in many types of nuts as well as fish. The fish types that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids are herring, salmon, albacore tuna, mackerel, and sardines. It is advised that at the least, 2 fish serving per week should be consumed.

This is the reason why fish oils are becoming popular supplements as nutrition for breast cancer. Fish oil supplements come from the above mentioned species of fish, and are rich in omega-3 fatty acids such as docosahexenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentenoic acid (EPA). As mentioned in a 2003 paper Indoor and Built Environment, DHA and EPA have already proven effective against tumor growth, and when added to the diet, makes a patient more receptive to the benefits of chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

Breast cancer is a serious disorder that attacks women. It is a disease that women dread about. In medical terms, this disease can be defined as a formation of malignant or cancer cells in the breast tissues.

The disease has been termed as heterogeneous. This means that it is a different disease that appears and forms differently in different women of different age groups. Younger women are said to be more vulnerable to this disease.

This disease can be cured if detected early. This is the reason that young women are advised to carry out a self-examination for any kind of lungs inside their breast every three to six months. They should also go for a medical examination in every six months.

When failed to detect, this disease can result in to some real threatening stages. In certain severe and final stages of breast cancer, women are advised to go for a breast removal surgery or masectomy. This is really dreadful moment in a woman life.

Fortunately, this disease can be treated successfully if detected early. Hence, it is very important to learn about the symptoms of breast cancer and keep tabs on any of the warning signs that may hit our body anytime.

Here are some potential breast cancer symptoms to help you learn about this disease and detect it on time in a better and effective way.

- The warning sings

Usually, breast cancer does not carry any pain. However, a woman is still advised to visit her health care practitioner on a regular basis to know about the development of the disease in her body.

Common symptoms

a) Change in breast and nipple feel

You may suddenly experience tenderness of nipple or even a lump or thickening near the breast or underarm area without any specific reason.

b) Change in the appearance of breast or nipple

This means that there is a change in the shape or the size of the breast or a nipple. The nipple may appear scaly, read, swollen, turn slightly inward or contain ridges or pitting similar to the skin of an orange.

c) Nipple discharge

Sometimes, you may also experience nipple discharge. The discharge may be clear or bloody.

d) Pain

You may sometimes feel pain in the nipple.

e) Swelling

Women with breast cancer can even observe swelling or mass inside the arm pit.

f) Lump

A lump near the arm pit or breast is a clear indication of breast cancer.

g) Rash

You would find a rash on a nipple or the surrounding area.

All the above mentioned signs and symptoms are an indication that you may be suffering from breast cancer.

However, there are several other ways to detect breast cancer such as self examination. You can conduct a self examination at your home. Just inspect your breasts for any lumps or swelling, changes in contour of each breast, dimpling of skin or changes in the nipples.

Remember that early detection of this disease is the only way to cure it. You need to focus on the signs and symptoms of this disease in order to detect it. Watch out for the symptoms and be safe.

Find More Breast Cancer Articles

Breast cancer has been characterized as a serious disease that strikes mainly women. This is the reason that most people and experts in the field of medical science and research have devoted themselves who make a research on breast cancer and other factors revolving it.

Here are some of the results concluded by these experts with some known facts about breast cancer.

A) How common is this disease?

Breast cancer is very common in the UK. It is sad but true that about 44,000 women are diagnosed with this deadly disease each year. This actually estimates to about more than 100 women in a day. Though this disease is rare in men, about 300 men every year are diagnosed with this disease.

Medical experts have warned that the rates of this disease have increased by 50% over the last twenty years. In UK, this rate has been increased by about 12% in last 10 years. Women over the age of 50 are usually diagnosed with this disease.

B) Surviving the disease

Today, fortunately, more women are surviving this disease. The survival rates have actually improved in the last twenty years. The reason is the increasing awareness of this disease and early diagnosis.

C) Causes of breast cancer

Exact causes of breast cancer are not known. However, the experts have a drawn certain conclusions on the basis of the studies and researchers they have made.

Here are some of the causes that may be responsible for the development of breast cancer.

a) Woman with a family history of breast cancer can develop this disease. Usually women with their mother, sister or daughter diagnosed with this disease are at greater risk.

b) Obesity is another major reason for the development of this disease. This increases the risk of post menopausal breast cancer by up to thirty percent.

c) Women who have been under or are using HRT or hormone replacement therapy for about five years or more than that can develop this disease. The treatment increases the risk of the development of this disease by 35 per cent.

d) Women using oral contraceptives are more vulnerable to breast cancer development as compared to those who are not using any oral contraceptive methods.

e) Alcohol consumption is yet another cause of increasing the risk of the development of this serious disease.

f) Less active lifestyle is another reason for the development of breast cancer. One should lead an active lifestyle. Make sure you exercise daily for at least half an hour at stretch or go for a walk.

D) Risk factors

- Benign breast cancer

- Age

- Personal history of breast cancer

- Family history of breast cancer

- Reproductive history such as age at menarche, parity, age at menopause, age at first birth and breast feeding

- Endogenous hormones

- Exogenous hormones

- Body weight

- Mammographic density

- Physical activity

- Height

- Diet

- Alcohol

- Ionizing radiation

- Socio-economic status

E) Treatment options

There are several treatment options available from surgery to medication. However, medical experts believe that early diagnosis of this disease is the best treatment.

Related Breast Cancer Articles

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in women worldwide. For whatever reason, the number of cases has increased in the last 30 years. Ductal carcinoma starts at the cells lining the milk ducts and makes up more than 75% of breast cancer. Lobular carcinoma begins in the milk secreting glands. Many women want to know what the risk factors and symptoms of breast cancer are so they can catch it in the early stages.

Symptoms breast cancer

Early breast cancer usually does not cause pain. In fact, when breast cancer first develops, there may be no symptoms at all. But as the cancer grows, it can cause changes that women should watch for:

A lump or thickening in or near the breast or in the underarm area.
A change in the size or shape of the breast.
A discharge from the nipple.

Breast cancers in their early stages are usually painless. Often the first symptom is the discovery of a hard lump. Fifty percent of such masses are found in the upper outer quarter of the breast. The lump may make the affected breast appear elevated or asymmetric. The nipple may be retracted or scaly. Sometimes the skin of the breast is dimpled like the skin of an orange. In some cases there is a bloody or clear discharge from the nipple. Many cancers, however, produce no symptoms and cannot be felt on examination. They can be detected only with a mammogram.

Possible symptoms of breast cancer include:

Discharge from the nipple. This can be dark and bloody or clear in nature.

Itching, burning or scaling nipples.

Persistent pain or tenderness in the breast or underarm area.

dimpling or puckering of the skin – thickening and dimpling skin is sometimes called orange peel

redness, swelling and increased warmth in the affected breast

changes to the nipple – such as a change in shape, crusting, a sore or an ulcer, redness or a nipple that turns in (inverted) when it used to stick out

changes to the skin of the breast – such as dimpling of the skin, unusual redness or other colour changes

Breast Cancer Risk Factors

The likelihood of developing breast cancer greatly increases with age. Most women develop breast cancer after the age of 50. By the time you are 85, you have a one in eight chance of developing the disease. However, women younger than 50 are not immune to developing this type of cancer, as evidenced from such high profile stars developing breast cancer such as Melissa Etheridge, Sheryl Crow, and Kylie Minogue. Other known risk factors include:

Smoking with a family history of cancer
Chemical exposure
Alcohol abuse
Breast changes discovered after breast biopsy

More Breast Cancer Articles

The whole usual of five-year survival figure for women who deal breast evil is around 86% for those whose disease has not metastasized. That means, 86% of the women who treaty it live for at least five existence. Nevertheless even that equitably high number is just a global norm. The facts are even better for some categories. Those figures depend on the scaffold at which the blight is detected and treated.

Just like other cancers, breast plague develops in different stages. Each of these stages has both a letter and a number. The disease types are labeled based on a norm classification of cancers (T, N, and M and a volume from 0-IV). A T shows the bulk of the individuals growth, N means the sarcoma has butter to the lymph nodes and M means hazy metastasis. When a lump spreads from the major lump to other areas and spreads tumors to the inferior areas therefore forming the same nature of tumors.

Tumors that have been labeled TX are tumors that aren’t adept of being assessed. T0 means that there is no mark of any melanoma. Tis means that an individual has a melanoma that might be DCIS (ductal carcinoma in situ), LCIS (lobular carcinoma in situ) or Paget’s disease which is a rare form of pest where the areola and/or nipple is actually cancerous.

Stage 0 cancers are the original of all. In Stage I, tumors are less than 2cm in size and have not swell. Stage II shows a lump that is 2-5cm in diameter, and Stage III one bigger than 5cm. A Stage IV tumor has become friendly to the chest side and expand to the lymph nodes.

Fortunately, merit to superior diagnosis and dealing methods, many more breast cancers are jammed and eliminated in the very early stages.

For both women and men who are able of obtaining healing during Stage 0 or Stage I of their scourge there is a five year survival quotient of about 100%. Men too can treaty breast blight, but their toll of contraction are far fewer than that of women. Individuals who have Stage II cancers the survival quotient is between 81% and 92%. Your speed of survival will not institute to dip awaiting you get to Stage III, it is during Stage III that the survival pace is about 67%, and at Stage IV the tariff is about 20%.

Beating the scourge odds is forever doable. Even people who are in the later plague stages are skillful of present for longer periods of time than they might have likely, sometimes even more than seven days. Due to the technological advances that have occurred in the diagnostic and healing methods the odds for individuals are improving significantly.

One new approach of diagnosis is the QM-MSP (quantitative multiplex metylation-exclusive PCR). This procedure was discovered in 2001. It is a chemical adversity that draws fluid from the breast in suspect. The fluid is then analyzed for certain chemicals attached to certain genes. Cancer clumps that contain as few as 50 cells are adept of being detected with an 86% rank of accuracy. These new methods make the detection of sarcoma unfussy, hence improving the chances that an individual’s behavior will be successful.

Treatments are improving, too. Hormone therapy, embattled radiation, molecule limited drugs and other contemporary techniques constitute the biting creep, where once there was only unkind.

Breast melanoma is not an amusing disease. It would always be a very honest disease. Breast tumor does not have to be life threatening. Breast cancer doesn’t even have permanently to disfigure. Breast cancer does not have to be important any longer.

By now you should be friendly with the blond ‘Live Strong’ rubber melanoma awareness rings. Seven popularized them-time Tour de France cycling champion and canker survivor Lance Armstrong. The money from their proceeds goes for scourge seek.
If he has planned to pitchfork blight awareness into guild’s consciousness, Lance Armstrong has done a really good job. His rubber rings are ubiquitous nowadays, an ever state awareness tool for pest, and a furnish-raising tool for blight explore.

Among evil awareness ornaments, next to Armstrong’s rubber wristbands come the breast tumor awareness charms. However, different the ‘LiveStrong’ rubber ensemble rings, the breast bane awareness earrings come in different flag. The most accepted redden for breast melanoma awareness earrings is pink.

Nevertheless why pink? There is a chronicle behind it: Charlotte Haley, a 68-year-old lady, began making and distributing peach garland in the 1990s with cards that read: “The National Cancer Institute yearly plan is .8 billion, only 5 percent goes for growth prevention. Help us arouse up our legislators and America by draining this ribbon.” Haley’s daughter, sister and grandmother had breast menace. Self magazine sought to use Haley’s ribbon but she refused proverb they were too commercial. The magazine came up with another shade then — pink. Focus groups say pink is ‘gentle, comforting and curative.’ Soon the pink ribbon became the worldwide icon for breast bane, and Charlotte Haley’s peach ribbon chronicle.

The National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc. says that more than 211,000 women will be diagnosed with breast bane in America in 2005. Of these 43,300 will die. One woman in eight either has or will ripen breast canker in her life. In addition, 1,600 men will be diagnosed with breast scourge and 400 will die this year.

However, the breast menace awareness charms can come in all insignia, a rainbow of them, depending on the organization or gifts promotion them. These charms typically have some point, such as ‘Support Breast Cancer Research And Education’ stamped on them.

Well, the breast menace awareness charms needn’t be made of rubber or silicone either. The charms can be made of prize, or cats eye, or metal, or any other fitting pertinent. There are even stainless steel breast melanoma awareness earrings! The difference between them is, of course, the value. The rubber ones would advertise for around an example. The metal ones would promote senior. Some nugget breast canker awareness charms push for around a piece. Such bracelets help two purposes — they are jewels and butter the memo of charity and breast plague research.

The advantage with rubber breast pest awareness bracelets, distant from the value, is that they are infinitely customizable. Yes, you can order them in any affect and with any note stamped on them. You needn’t take them off while washing or live — they are all-coarsen bracelets. And you don’t have to agonize about losing them, disparate the pearl or cats eye ones.

The rubber breast cancer awareness bracelets can be ordered in immensity or bought in packets of a dozen or so from many Web sites.

In most luggage, it isn’t bright what causes routine breast cells to become cancerous. Doctors do know that only 5 percent to 10 percent of breast cancers are inherited. Families that do have genetic defects in one of two genes, breast bane gene 1 (BRCA1) or breast sarcoma gene 2 (BRCA2), have a, much larger endanger of developing the breast and ovarian bane. Other inherited mutations — with the ataxia-telangiectasia mutation gene, the chamber-phase checkpoint kinase 2 (CHEK-2) gene and the p53 growth suppressor gene — also make it more expected that you’ll advance breast tumor. If one of these genes submit in your family, you have a 50 percent occasion of having the gene.

Inflammatory breast plagued is a variety of breast plague that involves the skin of the breast. This sorted of pest composes excluding than 4% of all breast cancers diagnosed each year in the US. The bodily symptoms of inflammatory breast melanoma enter rosiness of the skin of the breast and a general boil of the breast. In some bags, a lump may be present.

Types of Breast Cancer

Tumor grade: If the melanoma is an insidious typeface, the pathologist assigns it a grade. The grade is based on how closely cells in the test hankie resemble habitual breast bandanna under the microscope. The grading information, along with the group enter, helps your physician establish handling options.

Tubular carcinoma: This singular form of breast blight gets its name from the appearance of the plague cells under a microscope. Though it’s an insidious breast evil, the outlook is more kind than it is for insidious ductal carcinoma or invasive lobular carcinoma.

Metaplastic carcinoma: Met fake carcinoma represents excluding than 1 percent of all newly diagnosed breast cancers. This lesion tends to continue localizing and contains several different types of cells that are not typically seen in other forms of breast evil. Prognosis and treatment are the same as for invasive ductal carcinoma.

Lobular Carcinoma In Situ is NOT sarcoma. Nevertheless it’s a signal that the lady who has it is 6 to 7 more times possible to progress melanoma, over the course of her existence, than a lady who doesn’t have LCIS: the same risk you’d be at if your mother and sister both had disease.

Most lumps corner out to be fibrocystic changes. The name “fibrocystic” refers to fibrosis and cysts. Fibrosis is the formation of fibrous (or wound-like) hankie, and cysts are fluid-crammed sacs. Fibrocystic changes can start breast growth and ache. This often happens just before a phase is about to create. Your breasts may feel lumpy and, sometimes, you may sight a filmy or slightly dull nipple discharge.