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Posts Tagged ‘Tumor’

21
Nov

When Triple Negative Breast Cancer Spreads To The Liver What Are The Chances Of Survival?

My friend was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer that spread to her liver, after a year of chemo (not consistent, she has low blood platelets so they had to get a grip on that first) she went for a body scan..the tumor in her liver grew 2 cm and they found two more small spots in her stomach. I am in denial I know, but what are her chances of actually beating this? I am researching, but I really can’t find ANY hopeful news. Is there any?

22
Oct

How Long Do You Normally Stay In The Hospital After You Have Breast Cancer Surgery?

How long do you normally stay in the hospital after you have breast cancer surgery? It was a small tumor, about 6mm, once you have surgery, do they leave in the hospital for a couple of days? Any experience?

11
Oct

Does A Tumor Or Breast Cancer Stop Your Boobs From Growing?

Just wondering … I think my friend who is thirteen might have it . Her boobs are like a 32A and shes really tiny, but she got her period at eleven turning twelve. She’s gorgeous, but insecure about her flatness and she wants them to grow already. So does like breast cancer or a tumor stop your boobs from growing?

30
Sep

Is It Possible To Have A Tumor In Your Breast Without It Being Breast Cancer?

My mother recently found a small tumor-like growth under the skin towards the center of her chest on her breast. I’m really worried that its cancer but she won’t go to the doctor! Is it possible for it to just being a “harmless tumor” like she says it is? Please help, I’ve never had to deal with anything that has to do with cancer and I’m really worried!

19
Aug

How Likely Is It For A Teen To Get Breast Cancer?

My name is Jessica and I am 18 years old. I felt a lump on my breast and I got it checked out. Turns out it is a tumor. The doctors aren’t sure if it is cancerous of not. I know that the chance of it being cancerous is very slim but I would like to know what the actual percentages of a person my age to actually have breast cancer. I’ll take anything I can possibly get! Thanks guys!

18
Aug

New Treatment Options for Breast Cancer

Although surgery is the most effective (and hence, the most widely used) breast cancer treatment method, there are several other ways of dealing with the disease, some are more powerful than the others. These include radiation therapy, chemotherapy or hormonal therapy, each of them with their own assets and downsides.

Most of them however are used in combination with surgery for best effects, either prior to it, in order to reduce the size of the tumor or after the operation, in order to remove any remaining cancerous cells. For a better understanding of these alternative treatment methods for breast cancer, we’ll take a closer look at each, explaining how they work and in what cases they might prove useful.

Radiation Therapy
Radiation therapy uses powerful gamma rays (x-rays) which target the specific area that needs to be treated with high precision. Usually, radiation therapy is performed after surgery, to destroy any cancer cells that have not been removed or the ones that formed up where the tumor was removed. Although it can’t be used as, a treatment on its own, radiation therapy is one of the most accepted post-surgery methods of breast conserving therapy (BCT) and has a high chance of stopping the cancer from recurring.

As with all treatments involving x-rays, there are some downsides to radiation therapy. First, in order to wipe out the cancerous cells that might have formed (or remained) in the area where the tumor was removed from, the x-rays will eventually damage some of the healthy tissue too. Although the process is highly precise, the rays cannot make a difference between cancerous and normal cells, so they “burn” them together.

Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy involves the administration of drugs that kill the cancer cells or stop them from growing. Most chemotherapy medications are given through an intravenous line, although some are administered in pill form. Chemotherapy is a harsh regime, which often makes people feel more ill than the illness they are suffering from; however, it has been proved very effective.

Chemotherapy is a great treatment method to use both prior and after surgery. With the help of this method, you can virtually contract the cancerous tumor before the actual surgery, making it easier and less complex to remove. In addition, chemotherapy is used in the same sense as radiation therapy after the surgical intervention, to stop the diseased cells to recur.

Chemotherapy is administered usually in cycles where each cycle consists of a period of intensive treatment that lasts for a few days or weeks followed by a week of recovery. Most patients with breast cancer have two to four cycles of chemotherapy to start with before tests are performed to see what effects it has had on the cancer.

Chemotherapy is different to radiation as it can treat the whole body with the potential of finding other tumor cells that have migrated from the breast and surrounding area. Many people are familiar with chemotherapy’s side effects although the side effects do depend upon drugs to treat the patient.

The most common side effects are loss of hair, loss of appetite, fatigue, vomiting and low blood cell count making the patient more susceptible to infections, feeling sick or tired. Many notice that they bleed more than usual, especially from gums, sores and small scrapes etc.

There are three different chemotherapy strategies are used in breast cancer:

Adjuvant chemotherapy this is given to patients who have undergone curative treatment for breast cancer such as radiation or surgery. In order to decrease the possibility of the breast cancer recurrence, this treatment is given.

Pre-surgical chemotherapy this is given to shrink a large tumor and/or to kill any stray cancerous cells. This will also increase the chance that the surgery will kill the cancer completely.

Regular chemotherapy this is given routinely to people who have breast cancer that has spread beyond the breast or the surrounding local area.

Hormonal therapy may also be given, as many breast cancers such as those that have ample estrogens or progesterone receptors are sensitive to changes in hormones.

Tamoxifen Breast Cancer Treatment
Those women who are genetically at high risk of developing breast cancer may benefit from tamoxifen as it has previously been seen to decrease the incidence of the disease occurring. Raloxifene, which is used to treat osteoporosis, is now being studied for treating breast cancer.

In some breast cancer cases, a woman’s natural hormones are suppressed with drugs whereas other patients find benefits by adding hormones. Tamoxifen for instance is currently the most commonly prescribed effective hormone treatment. It can be used for treating breast cancer and in the prevention of breast cancer. Tamoxifen has few side effects and can considerably improve the life span of those women who have advanced cases of breast cancer.

Fulvestrant Breast Cancer Treatment
A further treatment, Fulvestrant has recently been approved in the USA. It is planned to be used for treating hormone receptor positive metastastic breast cancer in women who have been through the menopause. It is given following antiestrogen therapy.

Monoclonal Breast Cancer Treatment
Another treatment known as monoclonal is antibodies that are antagonistic against the proteins, which are in or around cancer cells. They recognise an invader such as a cancer cell and attack it. This antibody therapy is currently being investigated holds out a lot of hope for breast cancer sufferers.

Excessive alcohol intake and obesity following menopause can increase the risk of developing breast cancer although this increase is slight. Those physically active women have a lower risk.

Preventative or Prophylactic Mastectomies
More and more women who are at a high risk of developing breast cancer are having preventative or prophylactic mastectomies to avoid them developing breast cancer.

The main risk factors for women to develop breast are age, sex and genetics. Women can do nothing about some risks so preventing death caused due to breast cancer is recommended with regular screening.

Women should undertake regular screening including self-examination, mammography and clinical breast examinations.

I hope that reading the above information was both enjoyable and educational for you. That’s how things stand right now. Keep in mind that any subject can change over time, so be sure you keep up with the latest news.

10
Aug

Prevent Yourselves From Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is the irregular increase of cells within the bosom. These cells would aggregate like a chunk, which would be called as the bosom tumor. The tumor can be felt from the exterior of the bosom still when it is yet innocuous. At this innocuous phase, it is called as a harmless tumor. Benign tumors can be surgically operable. If that is done, the danger of the progress of the bosom cancer is really minimal. But if the tumor is allowed to get on, so it would remain to the cancerous phase. During this phase the cancer would proliferate to such an extent within the surrounding tissues that it would be inconceivable to withdraw it totally. When the malignant cells participate the bloodstream, there is no manner away. The outcome is sure death.
Every woman should know their own breasts so that any changes are noticed soon and can be reported to a physician. Knowing your breasts includes having a mammogram every two years if you are between the ages of 50 and 69 and getting a clinical breast exam by a doctor or trained health professional at least every two years from the age of 40. Regardless of age, all women should do their own monthly breast self-examination a few days after her period. When doing breast self-examination, things to look for include: puckering of the skin, the appearance of what is sometimes called ‘orange peel skin’, any place in your breasts that feels lumpy or harder than the rest and bleeding from the nipples or crusting.
It is important to note that most breast problems are not breast cancer and most lumps are not cancerous. When a lump is not cancerous it is referred to as ‘benign’. A cancerous lump is called ‘malignant’. The following are the precautions that women must take to prevent the onset of breast cancer:
If you are overweight, then seriously work at reducing your weight. Science has proved a direct relation between obesity and breast cancer. At the same time, lean women have a significantly lesser chance of contracting the disease.
Do not present any supplements in your system that could alter the domestic hormonal equilibrium of the system. In women, the two principal feminine role deciding hormones are progesterone and estrogen. These hormones preserve the appropriate equilibrium of the feminine characteristics, including the form and the role of the breasts. A modification in this equilibrium could take on several feminine health related diseases, among which bosom cancer is just one of them.
All women over the age of 40 are at a risk of breast cancer. Hence they should keep their lifestyle healthy. The diet should be kept as natural as possible, and artificial spices and preservatives must be avoided. Elderly women should not lead sedentary lifestyles; they must involve themselves in some kind of physical activity or the other, depending on their lifestyles.

5
Aug

What Does It Mean When Breast Cancer (level 1 Tumor) Has Already Gone Into The Bones?

I have a dear family member who went to the doctor because of a fall – turned out she fractured her pelvis – but in the course of investigating it, the doctor discovered lesions in the bones pretty much all over her body. Turns out she has a level 1 tumor in her breast and that the lesions in her bones are also breast cancer. For some reason, the doctors are NOT giving her a death sentence, but I have always heard that when a cancer spreads to the bones or another organ, then there is pretty much no hope. So, is there actually hope now?