Medical science tells us that breast cancer is initially formed from malignant cells of the breast. Changes or mutations in cellular DNA cause normal breast cells to become malignant. Cell mutations inhibit the genes which tell cells when to divide, when not to divide, when to die and when to repair damaged DNA. The damaged cells begin to take on a life of their own and function outside the innate intelligence of the body. Under normal conditions, the body's immune system can effectively destroy and remove malignant cells. However, when the immune system is not functioning optimally or the body is overloaded with toxins or carcinogenic substances, the cancer cells can take over and start to multiply rapidly.
Cell Environment
According to Mike Anderson, author of Healing Cancer From Inside Out, the way in which breast cancer forms has more to do with the environment of the cellular tissue rather than the type of cancer it is. Cancer cells will travel throughout the body until they find an unhealthy spot where they can thrive. Medical science agrees that dietary and lifestyle factors are associated with 90 to 95 percent of all cases of breast cancer.
Primary Cause
The way in which breast cancer forms is very similar to how all forms of cancer form, according to Dr. Otto Warburg, 1931 Nobel Peace Prize winner. Warburg said the underlying cause of cancer is lack of cell respiration due to toxemia (accumulation of toxins and acid waste). All normal body cells require respiration of oxygen, whereas cancer cells live by fermentation of sugar.
Secondary Causes
Numerous secondary causes or risk facts are associated with the initiation of breast cancer. Contrary to popular belief, only five to ten percent of breast cancers are due to genetic factors. The most important risk factors in breast cancer include eating a high-fat diet, not exercising, being overweight or obese, drinking alcohol and smoking, having menstrual periods before age 12 or after age 55, exposure to chest radiation, taking birth control pills, using hormone replacement therapy and not breastfeeding.
Cancer Initiation
Both men and women can get breast cancer, but it is much more common with women. Most breast cancers in women are initiated in the cells that line the breast ducts, the tiny tubes that carry milk from the breast to the nipple. Other cancers start in the cells that surround the glands that produce the milk, called the lobules. And a small number of cancers begin in the fatty and connective tissues of the breast.
Tumor Formation
The damaged breast cells start to divide uncontrollably to form masses of tissue or lumps that are called tumors. A tumor simply means that a colony of cancer cells has grown to over a billion strong.
Metastasis
One of the common ways that breast cancer is believed to spread, or metastasize, to other parts of the body is through the lymph system. Breast cancer cells enter the lymphatic vessels, small veins that carry the lymph fluid away from the breast, and then start to grow in the lymph nodes. The nodes specifically connected to the breast through the lymphatic vessels are inside the chest, near the collarbone and under the arm. Breast cancer can also spread to other parts of the body through the blood.
References
- Medicalnewstoday.com: What Is Cancer?
- Beating Cancer with Nutrition; Patrick Quillin, PhD, RD, CNS; 2005
- Healing Cancer From Inside Out; Mike Anderson; 2009
