Early detection can significantly increase chances of beating breast cancer

“You have cancer.” No three-word sentence quite carries the weight and emotional trauma as when a physician says that to you. The words would catapult anyone onto an emotional rollercoaster.

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Its goal is to educate women and men about the importance of early detection. Screening – looking for evidence of disease before symptoms appear – is the key to finding breast cancer in its earliest and most treatable stage. Education is instrumental in detecting the signs and symptoms of this disease, so learn the facts and become your own advocate.

By having a simple test or exam you may save yourself from having to hear them, and you may well be taking the first step for the rest of your life. If you’re age 40 or older, join the millions of women who get mammograms on a regular basis and who are detecting breast cancer early. If you are a man, be aware of the risk factors you face and have an annual exam. Depending on your age and risk factors, screening may include breast self-examination, examination by your doctor or nurse (clinical breast exam), mammograms or other tests.

There’s a whole world of testing that goes along with taking care of your breasts. No matter where you are on the line between healthy breasts and breast cancer, tests can be nerve-wracking. But they’re an indispensable part of:

· Finding breast cancer early, when it’s most treatable

· Helping your treatment team design the treatment that’s right for you

· Determining the effectiveness of your continuing care

Awareness is the First Step

A friend? Your mother? Your sister? Your neighbor? Many Americans can name a woman they know who has breast cancer. According to the National Cancer Institute, more than 180,000 women in America are diagnosed with breast cancer each year. Other than skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women. One of the most personal forms of cancer, it uniquely affects women in ways that reflect on their sense of self and femininity.

In a healthy body, cells grow and divide to produce more cells only when the body is in need of them. If cells are produced when they aren’t needed, a mass of tissue is formed called a tumor. There are two kinds of tumors: benign, meaning that they are not cancerous can be removed and are not likely to return; and malignant, meaning that the cells are abnormal or cancerous.

Cells in a malignant tumor divide uncontrollably, and can attack nearby tissues and organs, as well as break away from the original mass to enter the blood or lymphatic system. It is this break that allows cancer to spread to other parts of the body.

While the cause of these abnormal masses is unknown, we are becoming more aware of who might be at risk. The National Cancer Institute reports that breast cancer risk increases for a woman as she ages. It’s most common in women over the age of 60 and is likely to strike Caucasian women more than African-American or Asian women.

The Institute also reports that the following conditions increase a woman’s risk of getting breast cancer:

· Personal history of breast cancer

· Family history of breast cancer

· Certain changes in the breast

· Alterations in certain genes

· Prolonged estrogen exposure

· Initial childbearing after age 30

· Breast density

· Breast exposure to radiation therapy

· Alcohol consumption

The National Cancer Institute suggests that all women, but especially high-risk women, should be actively taking part in prevention and early detection by having annual clinical breast exams, mammograms every year if over the age of 40, as well as performing monthly self-examinations. They recommend looking for the following symptoms:

· A lump or thickening in the breast or underarm area

· A change in the size or shape of the breast

· Nipple discharge, tenderness or inversion

· Ridges or pits in the skin of the breast

· A change in the appearance of the breast, areola or nipple, such as swelling, redness, scaling or warmth

If any of these symptoms are present, talk to your physician immediately. While it may be nothing, early detection is key to breast cancer survival.

Beth Anglin, M.D., a physician specializing in surgical diseases of the breast at Trinity Medical Center, explains that if breast cancer is found, treatment typically begins a few weeks after the diagnosis. Local and systemic therapies are the two types of treatments. Local therapy involves removing the cancer from a specific area. Surgery and radiation are examples. Systemic treatment is used when cancer has spread throughout the body. It includes chemotherapy, hormonal therapy and biological therapy. It may also be used to shrink a tumor before local therapy is performed.

The method of treatment chosen is specific for each woman. Factors influencing the decision include the general health of the woman, the size and location of the tumor, the stage of the cancer, lab results and the size of the breast.

Just as treatment is different for each woman, so is rehabilitation. It depends upon the extent of the disease, the types of treatment used and other specific factors for that woman. In general, though, rehabilitation involves exercising the arm and shoulder to regain or keep mobility and strength in those areas. Regular check-ups are important to ensure that changes in the body or health of the patient are detected and treated early. With attention paid to these factors, your friend, your mother, your sister and your neighbor have a greater chance of early detection and effective treatments.

Treatment Options

The advancement of medical research never stops. That’s why it’s always worthwhile to stay informed about the latest treatments when it comes to life threatening diseases and illnesses. With recent advances and clinical trials in breast cancer treatments, doctors are looking at new ways to help women and declare victory over this menacing disease.

Naresh Gupta, M.D., an oncologist practicing at Trinity Medical Center, stresses that if a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer, there are several options for treatment, including the more traditional surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. There are also some recent additions to this family of treatments, including:

· Biological Therapy (also called Immunotherapy)

· High-dose Chemotherapy

· Hormonal Therapy

Biological Therapy, or Immunotherapy, is designed to repair, stimulate or enhance the immune system’s natural ability to fight infections and cancer. According to the National Cancer Institute, your immune system is your body’s natural defense against diseases, including cancer, and it may be strengthened and improved by new biological therapies. Medical researchers are looking at ways these biological therapies can use or boost the effectiveness of your body’s natural ability to fight cancer. Additionally, they are creating new substances that can imitate or aid your body’s immune system as it fights the infections and disease. These are being used in clinical trials with chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

High-dose chemotherapy is currently under clinical trials to learn if higher levels of chemotherapy can prevent or delay the spread or return of cancer instead of standard doses, and which type of treatment helps patients live longer. According to the National Cancer Institute, patients who receive high-dose chemotherapy are at great risk of suffering life-threatening side effects because the treatment damages their bone marrow. Bone marrow produces the blood cells your body needs to stay healthy.

Therefore, when undergoing high-dose chemotherapy, treatment must also include a way of making up for the damage done to the bone marrow, and/or a way to produce healthy blood cells. Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplantation and/or Bone Marrow Transplantation, therefore, usually accompany high-dose chemotherapy. In each instance, bone marrow and/or blood stem cells are removed from the patient before cancer treatment, frozen, and then returned to the patient after treatment in order to begin producing the blood cells the patient needs to survive.

“There are major risks involved with high-dose chemotherapy and you should talk with your physician about possible complications and severe side effects,” Dr. Gupta said.

Hormonal therapy research has shown that this treatment can extend the lifespan of a breast cancer patient who has cancer cells that depend on the patient’s hormones to grow. While hormonal therapy has been used for more than two decades for advanced stage breast cancer, it is now being used as an additional therapy for early stage patients after the cancer is removed by surgery. The hormone drug Tamoxifen is commonly used for this treatment. According to the National Cancer Institute, clinical trials taking Tamoxifen as a part of the treatment had reduced the chances of recurrence in the treated breast and of new cancer developing in the other breast.

If you decide that you are interested in pursuing one of the latest treatments for breast cancer, you will most likely be looking into a therapy, which is part of a clinical trial. Clinical trials are where physicians, researchers and patients look at new ways to fight breast cancer that are not commonly used.

All currently accepted treatments were once administered as clinical trials, and it is through the work of the researchers and the courage of the patients that so much progress has been made to date.

For more information, visit the American Cancer Society’s Web site at www.cancer.org or call the Center for Breast Health, located inside Trinity Imaging Center at 972-394-3657.