Breast cancer arises when cells within the breast ducts or lobules begin to divide abnormally quickly. Stage IV breast cancer has spread throughout the body. Although it may be difficult to completely eradicate this type of breast cancer, there...
The use of high-powered radiation to destroy cancer cells or stop them from growing and multiplying is one of the major treatment approaches in the management of breast cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, or ACS, radiation therapy...
Breast cancer is staged according to its ability to invade surrounding tissues and by how far it has spread to other organs. Stage IV breast cancer is cancer that has already spread to other organs, usually the bones, lungs, brain or liver,...
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women, but it can also occur in men. In 2009, the National Cancer Institute reported 192,370 cases of breast cancer in women and 1,910 cases in men. The treatment for breast cancer depends on the stage of...
Breast cancer is a devastating disease that ranks as the second most common cancer found in women after skin cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute.
Breast cancer occurs when malignant cancer cells begin to grow and divide in breast tissue. Breast cancer may be detected by clinical examination, mammography or ultrasound and is further confirmed by biopsy. Your doctor determines your breast...
Once a patient is diagnosed with breast cancer, she will typically discuss a treatment plan with her physician. An individual's treatment plan for breast cancer depends on multiple factors. The physician will likely consider tumor size, the type...
After a diagnosis of breast cancer, staging takes place. Staging categorizes the spread of the cancer based on standardized guidelines, depending on tumor size, lymph node involvement and any metastasis, which means spreading to other organs....
Whether you need to learn about breast cancer treatment options or you want to understand the risk factors of the disease, it is important that you do your research using up-to-date information. As new research studies are published and new...
Several Seattle cancer programs have been nationally recognized. In its 2010 survey, "U.S. News & World Report" ranked the University of Washington as fifth best nationally for cancer care. The golden standard for cancer care is obtaining...
The breast is a complex combination of connective tissue, mammary ducts and the spherical-shaped sacs called lobules that produce milk. The pectoralis muscle is located between the breast and the ribs in the chest wall. Breast cancer, an...
Cancer is considered to be metastatic if the cancer cells have spread from the part of the body where the cancer originated to a different part (or parts) of the body. According to the National Cancer Institute, the common sites of metastasis for...
According to the Susan B. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, breast cancer occurs in about one of every 3,000 pregnancies. But since women are having babies at older ages and the risk of developing breast cancer increases as women get older, more...
Breast cancer develops from mutated breast cells. During cancer development, the mutant cells gain the ability to proliferate rapidly and indefinitely, invade neighboring tissues, evade cellular death and form tumors in distant organs. Although...
Breast cancer afflicts mainly women, and when caught early, it is treatable. However, once breast cancer progresses past type 1, treatment gets harder. Type 4 breast cancer is the most advanced form. By the time the cancer has advanced to type 4,...
Radiation therapy represents a common breast cancer treatment. During radiation therapy, doctors aim a high dose of radiation into the breast tumor, allowing the radiation to severely damage the cancer cells and promote cancer cell death. Although...
While there is no one specific cause for many cancers, there are variables that increase the risk of developing certain cancers. Hormones are risk factors for several cancers, including prostate, breast and endometrial cancer. For some cancers,...
After a diagnosis of breast cancer, the cancer is staged. Staging classifies cancer according to a standardized system, using characteristics of the tumor, lymph nodes and whether any metastases have occurred. The stage of breast cancer helps...
Breast cancer is the result of a malignant tumor arising in the cells of the breast tissue. Breast cancer can metastasize, or spread, to other parts of the body via the invasion of healthy surrounding tissues or by invading the lymphatic system...
Breast cancer arises from rapidly dividing abnormal cells within the breast tissue and can affect both women and men. According to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure organization, 85 percent of non-invasive breast cancer occurs in the mammary ducts...
When a woman receives a breast cancer diagnosis, a variety of treatment options are available to her. Surgery is typically the first treatment doctors turn to, and many types of surgery exist. The type of surgery the doctor performs depends on the...
Radiation therapy directs high-energy streams of atomic particles at diseased tissue with the aim of damaging the cell division mechanism. In the case of breast cancer, the American Cancer Society says radiation is most often used in conjunction...
There are many options available when faced with breast cancer, depending on the stage of cancer and location in the breast. Treatment often consists of more than one method, and your doctor will discuss which treatments are best for your type of...
Breast cancer is the presence of uncontrolled growths within the tissue and glands of the breast. Numerous treatments have been established that have significantly increased survival rates for this disease, according to BreastCancer.org. In the...
An estimated $8.1 billion is spent each year in America on various treatment options for breast cancer. Even more staggering is that, according to the National Cancer Institute, 12.7 percent of American women born today will be diagnosed with...
Hormone level changes throughout a woman's life lead to changes in the breasts. That being said, hormone level changes during pregnancy fortunately do not largely translate into breast cancer. In fact, according to the American Cancer Society only...
Breast cancer begins with the development of tumor-like cancer cells found in the breast, which can spread to other areas of the body. This type of cancer occurs mostly in women but occasionally happens in men. The reality is that many people do...
Depending on the stage of your breast cancer, there are various treatment options from which to choose. Other factors in treatment choices include your general health, your preferences and the kind of breast cancer you have. In many cases,...
Breast cancer is a disease in which malignant cancer cells begin to grow and spread within the tissue of the breast. Although there is no definitive cause of breast cancer, there is a direct link between family history, age, and genetic...
