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Recurrent breast cancers

January 19, 2018

Recurrent breast cancers causes: The remnants of cancer cells

Recurrent breast cancers

Recurrent breast cancers causes will becomes evident when cells that were part of the patient’s original breast cancer break away from the original tumor

Recurrent breast cancers causes will becomes evident when cells that were part of the patient’s original breast cancer break away from the original tumor and hide nearby in the breast or in another part of the body. By and by, these cells multiplies again. All the treatment procedures like chemotherapy, radiation or hormone therapy you underwent during the first breast cancer diagnosis was intended to kill all cancer cells that may have remained after surgery. However, sometimes these treatments aren’t able to kill all of the cancer cells leaving some remnants. This is because there are certain cancer cells which can remain dormant over the years without causing harm. These dormant cells can be triggered gets activated causing them to grow rapidly spreading to other parts of the body. Why this happens, is yet to be established scientifically.

Recurrent breast cancer causes: Risk factors

For breast cancer survivors, factors that increase the risk of a recurrence include:

Lymph node involvement. Finding cancer in nearby lymph nodes at the time of your original diagnosis increases your risk of the cancer coming back. Women with many affected lymph nodes have a higher risk.

Larger tumor size. Women with larger tumors have a greater risk of recurrent breast cancer.

Positive or close tumor margins. During breast cancer surgery, the surgeon removes the cancer along with a small portion of the normal tissue surrounding it. A pathologist then examines the edges of the tissue looking for cancer cells. When the borders are free of cancer from the examination result, then we have a negative margin. However, if there are some cancer cells, it is a positive margin. In this case the risk of breast cancer recurrence is increased.

Lack of radiation treatment following lumpectomy. Most female patients who choose lumpectomy for breast cancer undergo breast radiation therapy to reduce the risk of recurrence. Those who don’t undergo the radiation therapy have an increased risk of local breast cancer recurrence.

Younger age. Women below age 35 at the time of their original breast cancer diagnosis, face a higher risk of recurrent breast cancer.

Inflammatory breast cancer. Women with inflammatory breast cancer have a higher risk of local recurrence.

Cancer cells with certain characteristics. If the breast cancer wasn’t responsive to hormone therapy or treatments directed at the HER2 gene (triple negative breast cancer), you may have an increased risk of breast cancer recurrence.

Recurrent breast cancer causes: Prevention

Treatments that have been linked to a reduced risk of breast cancer recurrence include:

  • Targeted therapy. For women whose cancer makes extra HER2 protein, the drug trastuzumab (Herceptin) can decrease the chance of the cancer recurring.
  • Radiation therapy. Women who’ve had a breast-sparing operation to treat their breast cancer and those who had a large tumor or inflammatory breast cancer have a lower chance of the cancer recurring if they’re treated with radiation therapy.
  • Maintaining a healthy weight. Maintaining a healthy weight may help decrease the risk of recurrent breast cancer.
  • Hormone therapy. Women with hormone receptor positive breast cancer may reduce their risk of recurrent breast cancer by taking hormone therapy after their initial treatment.
  • Regular exercise may reduce your risk of breast cancer recurrence.
  • For women with breast cancer who have an increased risk of cancer recurrence, chemotherapy has been shown to decrease the chance that cancer will recur, and those who receive chemotherapy live longer.

Recurrent breast cancers causes: The remnants of cancer cells

 

 

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Recurrent breast cancer

January 19, 2018

Recurrent breast cancer: The remnants of cancer cells

Recurrent breast cancer

Recurrent breast cancer and as the name suggest, is that type of breast cancer that reappears after the initial treatment

Recurrent breast cancer, and as the name suggest, is that type of breast cancer that reappears after the initial treatment. It is true that, the initial treatment is aimed at eliminating all cancer cells, nonetheless, a few may evade treatment and survived. These undetected cancer cells then multiplies which eventually becomes recurrent breast cancer. They may occur months or years after your initial treatment. The cancer may come back in the same place as the original cancer (local recurrence), or it may spread to other areas of your body (distant recurrence). It is not an easy experience to go through this especially after the treacherous dealings with the initial diagnosis. Speaking to doctor Dalal Akoury MD, President and founder of AWAREmed health and wellness resource center, when this happens, all is not lost. With good treatment, all the local, regional or distant recurrent breast cancer can be eliminated. But if complete treatment is not possible, the disease can be put in check for a longer period of time.

Signs and symptoms of recurrent breast cancer vary depending on where the cancer comes back. Like for instance:

Recurrent breast cancer: Local recurrence

Under this, the reappearance of cancer takes place in the same area where the original cancer was. For those who undergone lumpectomy, the cancer could recur in the remaining breast tissue. Yet for those who undergone mastectomy, the cancer could recur in the tissue that lines the chest wall or in the skin. Signs and symptoms of local recurrence within the same breast include:

  • A new lump in your breast or irregular area of firmness
  • Changes in the skin of the breast
  • Skin inflammation or area of redness
  • Nipple discharge

Signs and symptoms of local recurrence on the chest wall after a mastectomy include:

  • One or more painless nodules on or under the skin of your chest wall
  • A new area of thickening along or near the mastectomy scar

Recurrent breast cancer: Regional recurrence

This happens when the cancer reappears in the nearby lymph nodes. You could look for the following as signs and symptoms; a lump or swelling in the lymph nodes located:

  • Under the arm
  • Next to the collarbone
  • In the neck
  • In the groove above your collarbone

Recurrent breast cancer: Distant recurrence

This recurrence happens when the cancer has traveled or spread to distant parts of the body, most commonly the bones, liver and lungs. The possible signs and symptoms include:

  • Weight loss
  • Severe headaches
  • Seizures
  • Persistent cough
  • Persistent and worsening pain, such as chest or bone pain
  • Loss of appetite
  • Difficulty breathing

Finally, with all these frustrations, when is the right time to see a doctor? Immediately after completing breast cancer treatment, there will be sessions of scheduled follow-up exams. It is during this time that your doctor checks for any signs of cancer recurrence. And on your part, you must be very observant and report any strange feelings however negligible.

Recurrent breast cancer: The remnants of cancer cells

 

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Pagets disease treatment

January 19, 2018

Pagets disease treatment: The genesis treating breast cancer

Pagets disease treatment

Pagets disease treatment is necessary beacause, the mere mention of the disease cancer is enough to send shock waves

If you have Paget’s disease of the breast, surgery is the most likely treatment approach you will need. And in addressing Pagets disease treatment, the type of surgery will depends on the condition of the skin around your nipple and how advanced the underlying cancer is. Such surgical options include:

Simple mastectomy. This is a procedure which involves the removing of the entire breast excluding the lymph nodes in the armpit (axillary lymph nodes). This procedure is essential in cases where there is an underlying breast cancer which has not spread to the lymph nodes.

Lumpectomy. Breast-conserving surgery (lumpectomy) involves removing only the affected portion of the breast. Under this procedure, the surgeon removes the nipple and areola along with a wedge- or cone-shaped section of the breast. The surgeon focuses on removing as little breast tissue as possible, while ensuring that the tissue removed includes an outer margin free of cancer cells so that only healthy cells remain.

Lumpectomy to treat Paget’s disease of the breast requires follow-up radiation therapy. Lumpectomy wouldn’t be recommended if you can’t have radiation therapy for some reason. Most women have nipple reconstruction after their treatment.

Pagets disease treatment: Adjuvant therapy

Upon the completion of the operation, the surgeon may recommend an additional treatment (adjuvant therapy) with anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapy), radiation therapy or hormone therapy to prevent a recurrence of breast cancer. The patient’s specific treatment will depend on the stage of the cancer and whether the tumor tests positive for certain characteristics, such as having estrogen or progesterone receptors.

Pagets disease treatment: Coping and support

The mere mention of the disease cancer is enough to send shock waves. But one is eventually diagnosed with breast cancer, the pressure may be unbearable bot to the direct and indirect victims. Adjusting to this piece of news is not easy. At this point, you will need to have some tailored ways of coping with the diagnosis. You may try several things until you find what works well for you. The following can be helpful:

Get to know all the information about your new condition. Schedule an appointment with your doctor and ask all the questions you have. Ask even if you think a given question may not be relevant. Questions about your breast cancer, the type, stage and hormone receptor status. This kind of knowledge will make you feel confident to face the treatment well.

Talk with other breast cancer survivors. People who had been in this before can be very helpful in encouragement and support.

Find someone to talk with. Do not feel pity for yourself, instead find a friend or family member who is a good listener or talk to or a clergy member or counselor.

Keep your friends and family close. Your friends and family can provide a crucial support network for you during your cancer treatment.

Take care of yourself. Love life and keep doing the things you like. Sleep well, feed on healthy diet full of fruits and vegetables, make time for gentle exercise on days you feel up to it, and find time for things you enjoy, such as reading or listening to music. And finally, keep consulting with the experts. You can call AWAREmed health and wellness resource center for more professional help.

Pagets disease treatment: The genesis treating breast cancer

 

 

 

 

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Pagets disease diagnosis

January 19, 2018

Pagets disease diagnosis: The genesis treating breast cancer

Pagets disease diagnosis

Pagets disease diagnosis. Anything that makes you vulnerable to breast cancer is an enemy to your health and must be addressed

Anything that makes you vulnerable to breast cancer is an enemy to your health and must be addressed professionally. Cancer is a life threating health condition that you don’t want to associate with. Like with all types of cancer Pagets disease diagnosis must be done early. According to the experts at AWAREmed health and wellness resource center under the able leadership of doctor Dalal Akoury MD, before the diagnosis, there are certain tests to be done for the purpose of evaluating the patient’s condition. Such tests include:

Pagets disease diagnosis: Clinical breast exam and physical exam

During this exam, the doctor will physically check for any unusual areas in both breasts, noting the appearance of the skin on and around your nipples and feeling for any lumps or areas of thickening.

Mammogram

A mammogram is an X-ray exam of done on the breast tissue. It may indicate whether the nipple and skin changes are linked to an underlying breast cancer, as is usually the case in Paget’s disease of the breast. In the event that the results from mammography conducted in both fails to effectively reveal any signs of breast cancer, a further test of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may be applied. This is done to help in detecting any cancer that’s not able to be seen on a mammogram.

Pagets disease diagnosis: Breast biopsy

A biopsy is done by the doctor where he or she remove a small sample of breast tissue from the skin of your nipple for further examination under a microscope in a laboratory. Where a patient has some nipple discharge, a sample of the discharge might also be collected.

Alongside with that, if a patient has some lumps in the breast, a biopsy of that tissue will also be done. If the test reveals any cancer cells from the samples collected, the doctor may choose to refer the patient to a breast surgeon to discuss treatment options.

Pagets disease diagnosis: Sentinel lymph node biopsy

If you have invasive breast cancer, the lymph nodes under your arm (axillary lymph nodes) need to be checked to see if the cancer has spread to this area. This can be done in a procedure known as a sentinel lymph node biopsy.

During the biopsy, your surgeon locates the sentinel nodes the first lymph nodes to receive the drainage from breast tumors and therefore the first place cancer cells will travel. If a sentinel node is removed, examined and found to be normal, the chance of finding cancer in any of the remaining nodes is small and no other nodes need to be removed.

Pagets disease diagnosis: The genesis treating breast cancer

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Pagets disease risks factors

January 19, 2018

Pagets disease risks factors: What makes you susceptible to breast cancer

Pagets disease risks factors

Pagets disease risks factors. The best thing one can do to be safe from any disease is to prevent it from happening

Pagets disease risks factors are closely associated with other factors that increase the development of any other type of breast cancer. Therefore, the following are some of the factors likely to cause an individual to develop Paget’s disease of the breast cancer:

  • Radiation exposure. If you received radiation treatments to your chest as a child or young adult to treat another cancer, you’re more likely to develop breast cancer later in life.
  • Race. White women are more likely to develop breast cancer than black or Hispanic women, but black women are more likely to die of the disease.
  • Past history of breast abnormalities. If you’ve had lobular carcinoma in situ or atypical hyperplasia, your risk of developing breast cancer is higher.
  • Overweight. Excess weight is unhealthy and increases your risk of breast cancer especially after menopause.
  • Hormone replacement. Taking estrogen after menopause increases the risk of breast cancer for some women.
  • Having a history of breast cancer. Those who had suffered breast cancer in one breast before, have an increased risk of developing cancer on the other breast.
  • Gene. If you have close family members like a mother, sister or daughter etc., with breast or ovarian cancer or both, you have a greater chance of developing breast cancer.
  • Dense breast tissue. Women with dense breast tissue, as seen on a mammogram, face a higher risk of breast cancer.
  • An inherited gene mutation that increases the risk of breast cancer. Defects in one of several genes, especially BRCA1 or BRCA2, put you at greater risk of developing breast cancer as well as ovarian and other cancers.
  • Alcohol. Drinking large amounts of alcohol increases your risk of developing breast cancer.
  • Age. As one advances in age, the chances of developing breast cancer increase.

Nevertheless, having any of these risk factors doesn’t necessarily make you develop breast cancer. There are so many women struggling with breast cancer, but have never experience any of the stated risks factors.

Pagets disease risks factors: Prevention

The best thing one can do to be safe from any disease is to prevent it from happening. According to the experts at AWAREmed health and wellness resource center under the leadership of doctor Dalal Akoury MD, it is more rewarding to prevent than to treat. Breast cancer may be prevented in many ways including:

  • Stop or use alcohol in moderation. If possible stop drinking but if you have to do it moderately like less than a bottle in a day.
  • Maintain a healthy weight and diet. If your weight is healthy, work to maintain that weight and reduce it if overweight. Women who eat a Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil and mixed nuts may have a reduced risk of breast cancer.
  • Limit postmenopausal hormone therapy. Combination hormone therapy may increase the risk of breast cancer.
  • Exercise. Take time to exercise on most days of the week. Consult with your physician if you haven’t been active lately for guidance.
  • Breast self-exam and awareness. Women need to periodically inspect their breasts during a breast self-exam for breast awareness. If any changes like lumps or other unusual signs in your breasts is noticed, talk to your doctor on time. This is important in the prevention of breast cancer.
  • Asking questions about breast cancer screening. Ask specialist the right time to start breast cancer screening exams and tests like clinical breast exams and mammograms. Get to know the benefits and settle on which breast cancer screening strategies to use.

Pagets disease risks factors: What makes you susceptible to breast cancer

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