What is breast Cancer?
The human body is made up of billions of building blocks called cells. There are natural systems within the body which regulate the formation, growth and death of the cells in a controlled way to produce and replace the body's tissue. If something disrupts this controlled process, the cells divide and develop without their normal control and grow into a lump called a tumour. Tumours are either benign or malignant, cancer is the name given to a malignant tumour.
Breast cancer occurs when this control process fails in the cells that make up the breast tissue and they develop into a tumour.
If the tumour is detected as soon as possible, then there is a good chance it can be treated successfully. The more the cancer has spread, the more difficult it is to treat. It is important to be breast aware and know what is normal for you.
Important Facts.
* Breast cancer now affects one woman in 9 during her lifetime in the United Kingdom.
* Breast cancer is the commonest cancer in minority ethnic groups in the UK.
* Breast cancer claims more years of life from women under 65 than coronary heart disease.
* Every week 730 new breast cancers are diagnosed and 250 women die from breast cancer.
* Each year 38,000 women are newly diagnosed and 13,100 women die from breast cancer.
* Survival rates are improving, on average 74 per cent of women are still alive five years later.
Breast cancer explained.
The term breast cancer actually refers to a large family of cancers that can develop in any part of the breast tissue. The most common types of breast cancer start in the glandular tissue - and the most common of all in the ducts.
Understanding cells
Our bodies are made up of tiny structures called cells, which are not visible to the naked eye. Groups of cells form the tissues and organs of the body and each of these, such as the brain, liver, kidneys and lungs, has a unique function.
Normally, cells reproduce themselves by dividing in a regular, orderly fashion so that growth and repair of body tissues can take place. Disease can disrupt this normal function in various ways.
Tumours
Sometimes there is an uncontrolled growth of cells causing a swelling or tumour. Tumours that remain contained within a limited area are called benign. Once treated, often by an operation, these don't usually cause any further problems.
Cancers, or malignant tumours, also start within a limited area but unlike benign tumours they have the ability to spread to nearby organs or tissues, or to more distant parts of the body. This spread is known as metastasis, or secondary cancer. The area where the cancer originated, for instance the breast, is called the primary cancer.
How cancer develops,
Cancer develops from one single cell. Normally, cells are controlled by a variety of in-built safety catches that make sure that each cell grows and behaves as it should.
A cell can become cancerous in a number of ways:
The cell becomes 'switched on' to divide, and does not have a functioning safety catch to stop the process, so the cell can carry on dividing. The cell becomes unable to recognise damage to DNA (the chemical code for a cell) or does not have the ability to repair any damage, so the cell continues to live with a faulty 'instruction manual'. The cell can lose its ability to sense neighbouring cells and interact with them normally.
The proteins that normally play a part in controlling these processes may become damaged. This can lead to cells behaving abnormally and multiplying out of control. When cells are dividing too much they can go on to form a lump, a characteristic of many cancers, including breast cancer.
How cancer spreads
Breast cancer cells can break away from the original lump, move through surrounding tissue, and eventually be carried by the body's transport systems to other parts of the body.
Breast cancer cells can spread to the lymph nodes in the armpit. In fact, involvement of the lymph nodes can be an indication of how likely it is for the cancer to return.
Secondary breast cancer
Secondary cancer is when cancer cells from the breast have spread and established themselves in other parts of the body. This spread is called metastasis and cancer that has spread is said to have metastasised.
In breast cancer, the spread is most often to the bones, lungs or liver. The original (or primary) cancer is in the breast. The secondary cancer is still breast cancer, but it has invaded a different part of the body and become established there.
With Thanks to BreakThroughCancerCampaign for this information.