What is Breast cancer

Breast cancer is cancer of breast tissue. Worldwide, it is the most common form of cancer in females, affecting approximately 10% of all women at some stage of their life in the Western world. Although significant efforts are made to achieve early detection and effective treatment, about 20% of all women with breast cancer will die from the disease, and it is the second most common cause of cancer deaths in women.

 The risk of getting breast cancer increases with age. For a woman who lives to the age of 90 the chances of getting breast cancer her entire lifetime is about 12.5% or 1 in 8. Men can also develop breast cancer, but their risk is less than 1 in 1000 (see sex and illness). This risk is modified by many different factors. In a very small ( 5%) proportion of breast cancer cases, there is a strong inherited familial risk.  Some racial groups have a higher risk of developing breast cancer - notably, women of European and African descent have been noted to have a higher rate of breast cancer than women of Asian origin. (figures from breastcancerorg) However, these apparent racial differences diminish when geography is altered, as Asian women migrating to the western world, gradually acquire risk approaching that of western women.

The probability of breast cancer rises with age but breast cancer tends to be more aggressive when it occurs in younger women. One type of breast cancer that is especially aggressive and disproportionately occurs in younger women is inflammatory breast cancer. It is initially staged as Stage IIIb or Stage IV. It also is unique because it often does not present with a lump so that it often is not detected by mammography or ultrasound. It presents with the signs and symptoms of a breast infection like mastitis.

Common symptoms of Breast Cancer

Itching in the armpit or around the breast region.

Ridges and thickened areas of the skin of nipple or breast.

Appearance of a bruise that does not go away.

Nipple getting inverted.

Breast is warm to the touch.

A discharge from the nipple.

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