It is important to understand the stages of breast cancer in order to understand chances of survival, kind of treatment to be obtained and understand the prognosis or the outcome of the cancer.

The stages of breast cancer are standardized so that healthcare providers the world over are able to understand the nature and extent of a given person’s disease; which are 0 through IV stages.

According to the National Breast Cancer website, those who are at the 0 stage have 100% chance of 5 year survival; at Stage I that rate is 98%, at Stage II the five year survival rate drops to 80%, at stage III it is between 56% and 49% and at stage IV the five year survival rate is only 16%. The different stages of cancer correspond to the following situations:

Stage 0 (Carcinoma in Situ): This is breast cancer at the earliest stage, when the abnormal cells have not spread outside the lobules of the ducts which produce milk during lactation.

This stage could signify the woman’s risk of developing cancer or it signifies a very early stage wherein it is easy to treat the cancer before it starts to spread and go on to the next stage.

Stage I: At this stage the size of the tumor is two centimeters or less and has not yet spread to areas other than the breast or the surrounding lymph nodes.

Stage II (A & B): At the stage of breast cancer II A the cancer is about an inch in size and has spread to the lymph nodes situated in the underarm. If the tumor is between 2 and 5 centimeters but hasn’t spread to the lymph nodes, it is still classified as being Stage II A.

At Stage II B the tumor is between 2 and 5 centimeters in size but has spread to three lymph nodes. If the tumor is larger than 5 centimeters but has not spread to the lymph nodes, then this is still classified as Stage II B.

Stage III (A & B): At stage III A, the cancer is between 2 and 5 centimeters in size and has also spread to the nine auxiliary lymph nodes. If the cancer has spread to areas such as the ribs, chest wall, skin of the breast, or the lymph nodes of the chest wall or collar bone.

Stage IV: This is the last of the stages of breast cancer, when the cancer has spread to surrounding areas such as the lungs, the liver, the brain, the skeletal system or the collar bone lymph nodes.

It is important to understand the different stages of breast cancer so as to be able to make informed decisions about treatment, and form opinions and expectations about survival.

According to the study published in the American Journal of Public Health, breast cancer rates have been declining by about 2% per year since the year 1999. So what is responsible for this?

Well we are informed that this decrease may be linked to the decrease in use of menopause treatment or Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) by women. According to a study conducted by Harvard researchers on 350,000 women with breast cancer it was found that this was the reason for the decline. The HRT treatment that uses progesterone and estrogen was seen to increase women’s risk of developing breast cancer and heart disease.

Another reason why this decline is seen to be connected with reducing HRT treatments is the fact that this decline is seen among the demographic of Caucasian women over the age of 50 from affluent back grounds. In other words, the same women who would be most likely to get hormone treatment done after menopause showed decline in breast cancer rates.

Source: newsweek

Well, thankfully we women can rest assured that this rumor is just that a rumor; a fact confirmed by Dr. Ted Gansler director of medical content for the American Cancer Society.

The claim made by the proponents of the theory is that bras allegedly prevent elimination of toxins and therefore block lymph flow.

However, Dr. Gansler clarified that this is not why breast cancer develops and described the hypothesis of bras causing breast cancer as being “scientifically implausible”.

Firstly, there is very little evidence to show that lymph drainage from breast tissue affects chances of getting breast cancer. And secondly it is quite unlikely wearing a bra in anyway impacts the lymph nodes if even minimally.

So the study that made the rather outrageous claim is quite categorically denied by a spokesman of the American Cancer Society who even said that it is unlikely that a theory such as this one (as preposterous as this one, he implied) will be tested in a real epidemiological study. And so we women may well rest assured that there is no immediate and grave need for us to go braless just yet.

The Women’s Health Mag

• Monthly self exams should be done so that you can detect any change in shape, size, texture of the breast. Do this at the same time every month, that is the same time of the monthly cycle.
• Eat a healthy diet.
• Exercise for half an hour 5 times a week.
• Take daily a multi vitamin which includes Vitamin D as well.

This is also displayed resistance to the anthracycline class of drugs according to this Science Daily report.

Though resistant to the anthracycline class of drugs the kinds of cancers that bear the gene activity signature could still respond to chemotherapy, it was found by the study.

What the study has done is make it possible for oncologists and physicians treating breast cancer to opt for the best possible initial treatment for the breast cancer sufferer rather than use trial and error that may be potentially toxic for the patient.

Paying attention to warning signs of breast cancer can actually help in detecting the deadly condition and consequently help in saving lives.

Being one of the most common and wide spread cancers in the world, it is important for women to be aware of the warning signs of breast cancer that will help in early detection, which are as follows:

A lump or a thickening of any area of the breast or underarm: There are several physically palpable changes that women may experience through their menstrual cycle.

However if there is an unusual lump or growth that a woman can feel regardless of the time of month, this could be a warning sign of breast cancer.

Any change in the feel of breast: If one finds that there is a change in the shape of feel of the breast, which is either palpable or visible, then this may well be a sign of breast cancer. Any change in the size, shape, or contour of the breast should not be ignored.

Pain: Sometimes pain maybe the indicator that something is wrong, even if other signs of breast cancer do not manifest themselves. Any unusual and persistent or long lasting pain in the breast or armpit area should be looked at more closely.

Nipple Discharge: Any nipple discharge such as a clear fluid or blood could be a warning sign of breast cancer, so any nipple discharge other than milk, in fact any unusual bleeding or discharge ought to be considered seriously.

Change in appearance of the breast: If the skin of the breast area appears rough and scaly, if there is puckering or dimpling of the skin, if there is some redness or irritation, or if there is a pulling in of the nipple, these could be early symptoms of breast cancer which should be examined.

Changes in Bowel Movements: Constipation, diarrhea or other changes in bowel habits could be an early sign of breast cancer.

Other signs: If there is a sore that won’t heal right away, or if a woman experiences some difficulty swallowing, if she feels full without eating or without eating a normal meal, a nagging cough, or any changes in the shape and size of any moles or warts on the body, any of these could actually be one of the warning signs of breast cancer.

Surgery is the most common form of treatment to help save a person from breast cancer.

In the beginning, lymph nodes are removed to determine whether they contain cancer cells. This can determine future options when it comes to breast cancer surgery.

If a breast-conserving surgery is used, the portions of the breast which contain cancer are removed while leaving the whole of the breast intact.

A lumpectomy is when a portion of the breast that has a lump will be removed, while a partial mastectomy is where the part of the breast that has breast cancer will be removed, as well as a small portion of the untouched cells around this area.

Advanced treatments of surgery will have a total mastectomy, where the entire breast that has cancer will be removed. This will help to remove cancer from the body but also is a dramatic change in the body.

More advanced forms of a mastectomy will remove even more of the area around the chest, hoping to isolate the cancer in the area which is removed.

Save the Boobs !!! Best Public Service Ad ever for Breast Cancer Awareness

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tkB264wZZk

Fashion Targets Breast Cancer

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httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oh_i4CDNTeA

• Cancer.org is a comprehensive site that gives you detailed information to patients, family, friends, survivors, for caregivers and health information seekers, for professionals as well as donors and volunteers. In this write up, you can read about why it is so very important to detect breast cancer early, which is the best chance one has of being able to beat the disease.
• One of the best ways in which to detect breast cancer early is through breast self exam; and this is best done by carrying out systematic and regular breast self exams. The Breast Self Exam site, gives you all the information needed to perform this all important task, including videos. It tells you what you should be looking for and guides you in what it is that you should be doing if and when you do find something that doesn’t feel quite right.
• The National Breast Cancer site has an early detection program, which helps you assess your own personal risk factors. There is also a breast cancer risk assessment tool.

Dr. Xiaoli Chen of Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, and colleagues found that Chinese women, who were diagnosed with breast cancer, but reported low levels of regular exercise were more likely to report better mental, physical and social well-being than those reporting no exercise.

Researchers report that women with breast cancer, who exercised at levels recommended by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services fared best and have better living, better body image, less distress, and high quality relationships.

Source: Reuters