Heath & Beauty - Free Fitness Library
Breast cancer
You can have the perfect, healthy, active life only to discover you have cancer. Why?
Cancers can be caused by external factors:
* Radiation
* Chemicals
* Viruses
Cancers can also be caused by internal factors:
* Inherited genes (BRCA)
* Hormones
* Abnormalities in the immune system
Other cancer risk factors include:
* Smoking
* Continual inhalation of smoke
* A high fat diet
* Cancer personalities - people who don't release stress and pent up
anger.
* Multiple sex partners
In the UK, over 25,000 women will discover that they have breast cancer each year. Approximately 15,000 of them will die from it.
Women Who are at High Risk
* Those who have a family history of breast cancer.
* Those who have taken Oestrogen after the age of 50.
* Those who have already had breast cancer.
* Those who have had the synthetic oestrogen diethylstiboestrol during
pregnancy.
* Those who have been frequently exposed to high doses of X-rays over
the chest area.
What Are the Warning Signs?
* Breast lumps
* Swelling
* Dimpling
* Discharges from the nipple
* A retraction on the nipple
* Continued nipple tenderness or pain
* Skin irritation
Breast cancer is perhaps the most frightening of all cancers. The older we get, the more we hear of friends or relatives who have this disease.
Breast cancer has no pattern. It can be aggressive and kill rapidly, or it can advance more slowly. The rate that a breast tumour grows varies enormously as does the ability to fight it.
How do you check if you have a growth? A mammogram is an X ray picture of the breast is now the most widely used method to locate a suspicious lump in the breast. The theory is that an X ray screening can indicate the possibility of a small cancerous lump years before it is large enough to be felt by self examination. Mammograms can find lumps so small that they may be difficult to diagnose correctly under a microscope. They can also detect tiny deposits of calcium (called microcalcifications) that appear like grains of sand. Although calcium deposits are present in cancer cells, 75% of microcalcifications do not indicate cancer. Even if a mammogram shows a potentially cancerous growth, doctors can only be certain by taking a breast biopsy.
Radiation from the mammogram has its dangers. Radiation has a cumulative effect and no one knows exactly how large a radiation dose has to be to cause breast cancer. The breast tissue seems to become more resistant with age.
The American Cancer Society recommends that women in their forties should be screened every one to two years.
It is vital that you do check your breasts regularly - every month if possible.
If you have a mammogram screening at a clinic, check with the radiographer that the lowest possible dose of radiation is used - usually up to 2 Rads per examination.
Check that your mammograms are kept on record for future reference and comparisons.
Thermography, diaphramography and ultrasound are not effective forms of screening.
If you or your partner find a lump you should seek medical advice immediately. Monitor a lump to see if it fluctuates with your period. This is usually a harmless cyst, a fluid filled sack.
If you are older and post-menopausal, check the lump on the same date each month.
When seeking medical advice, have an experienced practitioner or nurse to examine the breast properly. If you have any worries, ask to be referred to a breast clinic.
If the lump feels like a large cyst, the doctor may try an immediate needle aspiration. A needle is inserted into the lump. With a cyst, the fluid is withdrawn and the lump collapses. If the lump is too small for an insertion or appears to be solid, a biopsy is vital.
A biopsy is the surgical removal of part of the lump in order to examine it under a microscope. This can be done under a local anaesthetic. After the biopsy, an oestrogen receptor test is usually recommended on the lump to see if it is malignant. This test is vital in planning future treatment.
If your lump is cancerous, you will need time to adjust and decide what treatment will be most beneficial for you. Taking a couple of weeks or so to discuss all the options with your doctor is vital. You may even want to have a second or third opinion as to what is right for you.
It may be suggested that you have a few lymph nodes removed from your armpit. These will be checked for any signs of cancerous cells which would indicate that the cancer may have spread to other parts of your body and that your immune system is not successfully fighting the spreading disease.
Treatment Options
A lumpectomy is the surgical removal of the lump and part of the surrounding tissue. After effects are scarring and disfigurement of the breast.
Lumpectomy with radiation. After the lump and its surrounding tissue has been removed, the area is irradiated by X-ray beams or by a tempuras radiation implant. Radiation can help prevent a cancerous lump from growing back.
Chemotherapy. Drugs in the form of pills or injections are given to kill cancer cells nesting or circulating in distant parts of the body. These drugs are quite strong and can take a serious emotional and physical toll.
Hormone Therapy. Hormones, again in the form of pills or injections are used to repress or eliminate oestrogen in the body. This curbs the spread of the disease, especially in those whose lymph nodes show signs of cancer.
Mastectomy is the surgical removal of the entire breast. This is necessary when the breast is small and the lump is large such that a lumpectomy would be more disfiguring. Mastectomy is also used when the cancerous cells have spread into small clusters throughout the breast.
Lifestyle Anti-Cancer Plan
There is still not enough research to give definite guidelines for protection, yet the following advice is being advocated by experts.
* Avoid smoking or inhaling smoke.
* Check your diet. Eliminate highly processed, high fat and fast food
products. Avoid saccharin.
* Eat a low fat, high fibre diet. Eat oily fish regularly. Try to eat
organically grown fruit and vegetables. Avoid carcinogens such as nicotine
or benzene.
* Drink less or stop drinking.
* Avoid sunburn and prelonged exposure to the burning sun.
* Maintain a sensible body weight for your height.
* Seek advice from a nutritionalist on taking an antioxidant suppliment.
Dietary Guidelines to Prevent Breast Cancer
* Eat a diet which is 80% or more fat free.
* Eat vegetables that are high in beta carotene.
* 70% of your diet should be whole grains, vegetables and fruit.
* to 13% of your diet should be protein.
* Eat oily fish.
* Eat 10% minimum fat.
* Nutritionalists recommend that you take an antioxidant supplement
such as A.C.E. and zinc selenium.
At one time it was said that breast feeding decreased your chances of contracting breast cancer, although this is not a proven theory. Don't think of this as a form of total protection. There is also no conclusive evidence that regular, strenuous exercise helps lower the risks.
Breast cancer can potentially effect any woman, whatever her background. If it is spotted early enough, steps can be taken to eradicate the cancerous cells allowing a full recovery. It is vital that all women learn how to check their breasts for the tell-tale signs of infection, and that they get into the habit of doing so regularly. Although there is no cure for breast cancer, education is the next best thing.
Further Reading
"Breat Cancer: The Facts"
by Michael Baum
Oxford University Press 1981
The orthodox medical viewpoint from a cancer specialist.
"Gentle Way With Cancer"
by Brenda Kidman
London Century / Arrow 1986
Based on the Bristol Centre
"New Approches to Cancer"
by Shirly Harrison
London Rider & Co 1987