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Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Oct 5, 2021

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among American women, after skin cancer. The American Cancer Society (ACS) estimates that about 280,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in women in the U.S. each year and that about 43,000 women die from the disease. Men can also develop the disease; about 2,700 men are diagnosed with breast cancer each year, and approximately 500 men die of the disease.

 

What are the Signs and Symptoms of Breast Cancer?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, (CDC), people can present with different symptoms of breast cancer, and some people do not have any signs or symptoms at all.

Some warning signs of breast cancer are —

  • New lump in the breast or underarm (armpit).
  • Thickening or swelling of part of the breast.
  • Irritation or dimpling of breast skin.
  • Redness or flaky skin in the nipple area or the breast.
  • Pulling in of the nipple or pain in the nipple area.
  • Nipple discharge other than breast milk, including blood.
  • Any change in the size or the shape of the breast.
  • Pain in any area of the breast.

 

Risk Factors

Breast cancer can develop at any age, but the risk of developing it increases as women get older. The majority of cases develop for reasons we do not yet understand.

Examples of some factors that can increase risk of developing breast cancer include:

  • Family history – close relatives (mother, sister, aunt) who have had the disease
  • Being obese
  • Not getting enough exercise
  • Drinking alcohol (risk increases with higher amounts of alcohol consumed)
  • Cancer in the other breast
  • Not having children, having a first child after age 30, and/or not breastfeeding
  • Treatment with estrogen (e.g., some types of birth control, hormone replacement therapy after menopause)

BRCA Gene Mutation Testing may help determine risk of breast cancer for some women. Several other laboratory tests may be used in guiding treatment and determining prognosis:

  • CA 15-3
  • Estrogen Receptor, Progesterone Receptor Breast Cancer Testing
  • HER2
  • Tumor Markers

Sources:

https://www.cancer.org/latest-news/report-breast-cancer-death-rates-down-40-percent-since-1989.html

https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/breast/basic_info/symptoms.htm
https://www.cdc.gov/genomics/disease/breast_ovarian_cancer/testing.htm

 

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