What is Breast Cancer?
A Review of the Literature
Breast cancer can affect anyone at any time; both women and men, regardless of the race or nationality. Breast cancer doesn’t discriminate against age; it is a frightening and life changing experience. Moreover, it is stressful for the patient, family, as well as the caregivers. Not only are you unique as a person, but so, too, is your particular form of cancer, your treatment options, and your prognosis. (Elk & Morrow) This paper will answer the following questions:
1. How is breast cancer defined?
2. What are the symptoms?
3. How is it treated?
4. How is it diagnosed?
How is Breast Cancer Defined?
Breast cancer is a malignant tumor that forms in the cells of the breast. The disease occurs …show more content…
They include surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy, along with other options. Radiation therapy is a treatment with high-energy rays or particles that destroy cancer cells (cancer.org). In addition, external beam radiation is the most common type of radiation therapy for women. Radiation to the breast is often given after breast-conserving surgery to help lower the chance the cancer will come back in the breast or nearby lymph nodes. When surgery is required it’s often needed to remove a breast tumor. Furthermore, some women will lose their whole breast or part of it. Women who undergo surgery for breast cancer may end up with lymphedema, a painful, visible swelling, usually in the arm. (Burt & White) Chemotherapy is used either before or after surgery. It is a treatment with cancer-filling drugs that may be given intravenously or orally. During chemotherapy treatment, patients are normally sick a lot and they tend to lose their hair as …show more content…
Doctors use different tests from imaging tests, surgical tests, and blood tests to determine the breast cancer. Some tests may also help the doctor decide which treatments may be the most effective (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality). While some lumps are too tiny to feel, breast self-exam is still a proactive way to detect breast cancer. Furthermore, a clinical breast exam is performed by a health care professional—it is a part of women’s annual checkups, starting at age twenty. Additionally, a mammogram is a special type of x-ray taken to look for abnormal growth in the breast tissue; it is one of the most commonly used tests to detect breast cancer (webmd.com). Doctors also use ultrasound to check whether a breast lump is a cyst or a solid mass. In addition, a biopsy I performed by removing cells from a suspicious mass to determine if a lump is just a tumor or
A Review of the Literature
Breast cancer can affect anyone at any time; both women and men, regardless of the race or nationality. Breast cancer doesn’t discriminate against age; it is a frightening and life changing experience. Moreover, it is stressful for the patient, family, as well as the caregivers. Not only are you unique as a person, but so, too, is your particular form of cancer, your treatment options, and your prognosis. (Elk & Morrow) This paper will answer the following questions:
1. How is breast cancer defined?
2. What are the symptoms?
3. How is it treated?
4. How is it diagnosed?
How is Breast Cancer Defined?
Breast cancer is a malignant tumor that forms in the cells of the breast. The disease occurs …show more content…
They include surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy, along with other options. Radiation therapy is a treatment with high-energy rays or particles that destroy cancer cells (cancer.org). In addition, external beam radiation is the most common type of radiation therapy for women. Radiation to the breast is often given after breast-conserving surgery to help lower the chance the cancer will come back in the breast or nearby lymph nodes. When surgery is required it’s often needed to remove a breast tumor. Furthermore, some women will lose their whole breast or part of it. Women who undergo surgery for breast cancer may end up with lymphedema, a painful, visible swelling, usually in the arm. (Burt & White) Chemotherapy is used either before or after surgery. It is a treatment with cancer-filling drugs that may be given intravenously or orally. During chemotherapy treatment, patients are normally sick a lot and they tend to lose their hair as …show more content…
Doctors use different tests from imaging tests, surgical tests, and blood tests to determine the breast cancer. Some tests may also help the doctor decide which treatments may be the most effective (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality). While some lumps are too tiny to feel, breast self-exam is still a proactive way to detect breast cancer. Furthermore, a clinical breast exam is performed by a health care professional—it is a part of women’s annual checkups, starting at age twenty. Additionally, a mammogram is a special type of x-ray taken to look for abnormal growth in the breast tissue; it is one of the most commonly used tests to detect breast cancer (webmd.com). Doctors also use ultrasound to check whether a breast lump is a cyst or a solid mass. In addition, a biopsy I performed by removing cells from a suspicious mass to determine if a lump is just a tumor or