Breast Cancer Research Paper

Breast Cancer Research Paper

Breast cancer is the most common disease in women, besides cancer of the skin, and is the second greatest cause of cancer deaths for women. Due to this malignancy, an approximate number of 200,000 new cases are diagnosed every year, and 40,000 deaths occur. Breast cancer is caused by the rapid and uncontrolled development, irregular growth, and division of cells in the lining of the ducts of the breast or the milk glands. These cells may create tumors, masses that devastate the surrounding local tissue. These tumors discard many other cancerous cells that find their way through the body by lymphatic and circulatory systems, and may create other tumors that spread other cancerous cells to other vital tissues and organs. This process is called metastasis. It is important to be well informed about your anatomy to understand and realize the difference between the normal and the abnormal. Your breast is made up of a clump of cells called glands, a network of small tubes called ducts, blood vessels, lymph vessels, and fatty tissue. Groups of glands in the breast are referred to as lobules. The products of these lobules are kept within a ductal system that leads to the nipples. Cancer may originate in lobules and even more rarely in other tissues of the breast. The cancers are classified into subtypes by a pathologist using a microscope. The subtypes are classified depending on the location of origin, and the characteristics of the cancer. Lobular carcinoma has a pattern involving the lobes or glands of the breast while Ductal carcinoma begins in the ducts. The greater the importance of the classification is dependent on the severity of the tumor, the tumors stage, and it's ability or inability to spread. These characteristics will define the disease as a true cancer. The stage before cancer spreads is called in situ. This means that the cancer is only found in one spot and has not yet spread. These would be considered minimal cancers. Through the process called metastasis, briefly discussed above, the tumor may spread from the breast to the regional lymph nodes. The lymphatic system carries a clear fluid called lymph throughout your body. Lymph contains cells from your immune system to fight off infections and is carried throughout channels and nodes. Almost all of the organs in your body have a primary lymph node group that filters unfamiliar and dead material from other organs. In the breast, the primary lymph node group is found under the armpit. Cells will shed from the tumor and travel through the lymphatic system to the blood vessels and from there to other parts of the body to create new tumors. An individual usually finds a lump in or around their breast when it is a centimeter in diameter and contains about one million cells. Researchers estimate that it usually takes from one to five years for a tumor of this size to grow. During this window, the cancerous cells may be spreading to other parts of the body. The usual sites of distant involvement for breast cancer are the liver, bones, lungs, skin, and soft tissue. In 2008 The American Cancer Society estimated that around 182, 500 new cases of breast cancer were diagnosed. The number unfortunately is increasing due to the increased use of screening mammograms; however the deaths are declining thanks to early diagnoses at more treatable stages. It is imperative that females keep in mind that every woman is at risk for breast cancer. Some risk factors are age, ethnicity, genes, diet, and family history. If a woman has no family history of breast cancer, her chances of being diagnosed are slim. That does not mean it is impossible. Ethnicity also plays are part in the risk factors of being diagnosed with breast cancer. The chances of a African American woman getting breast cancer are smaller than those of a Caucasian woman. As a woman's age increases, her chances of developing breast cancer increase drastically. The majority of all breast cancers cases are found in woman ages fifty and