Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer that has been found in women most of the time. The main reason behind this cancer is when the cancerous cells in one’ breast start to multiply and form tumors. As per studies, it has been found around 80% of breast cancers are invisible, which means that this tumor spreads from one’s breast to other parts of the body.
Read Also: 9 Appetite Boosting Tips to Improve Your Kid’s Eating Habits
Mostly, this cancer has been found in women aged 50 or more, but it can also be found in younger women and sometimes in men as well. It can be divided into the following types based on its properties.
Types of Breast Cancer
IDC – Invasive (infiltrating) ductal carcinoma
IDC is the most common type of breast-related cancer. In this, cancer starts from one’s milk duct and spreads to other areas of one’s body near the breast.
Lobular breast cancer
This is the second most common type of breast-related cancer, which starts in one’s milk-producing glands and starts spreading to the nearby breast tissues.
DCIS – Ductal carcinoma in situ
It is like IDC, which starts in one’s milk duct, but the difference here is that it does not spread beyond one’s milk duct.
TNBC – Triple-negative breast cancer
TNBC is a less common type of breast cancer, but it is invasive and aggressive and spreads more quickly.
IBC – Inflammatory breast cancer
This is also one of the rarest cancers and looks like a rash in one breast, but it also spreads aggressively.
Paget’s disease of the breast
This breast-related cancer is sporadic and is around only 4% of the total cases of breast-related cancers. It looks like a rash near to one’s nipple area.
What are breast cancer symptoms?
Breast cancer symptoms might vary from one person to another person, but the most common symptoms of breast cancer include:
- When there is a change in the shape, size, and contour of one’s breast.
- If there is a lump or mass, which can be felt as small as a pea.
- If there is a thickening or lump in or near your breast area.
- When you find some change in the skin of your breast, it looks dimpled, scaly, puckered, or inflamed or looks purple, red, or darker than other parts of your breast.
- When a clear fluid or blood-stained discharge from your nipples.
What are the causes of breast cancer?
As per the experts, when the breast cells start to mutate and become cancerous and continue multiplying and resulting in the tumor, then it leads to breast cancer. It is not yet officially confirmed what is the leading cause which triggers the change in cells, but research has found several risk factors which increase the chances of breast-related cancers, and these are as follows:
- Women aged 50 or above have higher risks of this cancer.
- If any of your family, like your partner or siblings, has a history of breast-related cancer, then you are at higher risk of the same.
- If you are smoking or drinking alcohol, then you should know that it is also linked with various types of cancers, including breast.
- Obesity is also one of the leading causes of these cancers.
- If you have gone through any radiation therapy, especially to your neck, head, or chest, then you are also at risk of breast-related cancer.
Stages of breast cancer
The stages of breast cancer depend upon various factors like its type, location, and tumor size or whether the tumor has spread to other parts of your body. Here are the following stages of breast-related cancer:
Stage 0
In this stage, the cancer has not spread to any other part of your body from the milk ducts.
Stage I
When the cancerous cells start to spread to the nearby areas of your breast, it is known as Stage I.
Stage II
In this stage, cancerous cells start accumulating and form a tumor, which can be either 2 centimeters and spread to the underarm lymph nodes or larger than 5 centimeters, which has not spread to the underarm lymph nodes.
Stage III
When the cancer starts to spread in lymph nodes and nearby tissue, it’s called Stage III, and it is usually referred to as locally advanced breast cancer.
Stage IV
When cancer starts to spread to different areas of your body, like the liver, bones, lungs, or brain, it’s called Stage IV.
How to prevent breast cancer?
There are higher chances that you might not be able to prevent breast cancer, but still, there are some tips that can help you reduce the risk of developing cancer, which you should take care of.
- Get to and stay at a healthy weight.
- Get moving
- Get enough rest
- Get screened
- Manage your stress
- Eat a healthy diet.
- Do regular self-exams
- Avoid beverages containing alcohol.
So, that’s all about the cancer related to the breast. It does not matter the type of cancer, but what matters is how serious it can be. If not treated on time, it can end your life. So be careful and take care of even minor symptoms. And when needed, go for medical help. The main thing is to follow a healthy lifestyle to avoid cancer risks. Because it is a very deadly disease if not treated immediately.
To get more of our exclusive content on Health Care and Lifestyle. Follow us on YouTube and Instagram.
