What everyone should know about breast cancer
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Breast cancer is the most common cancer among females and with more than 200,000 new cases detected yearly in US. The life time risk of breast cancer is 1 out of every 8 women, but here comes the good news, with detection at early stages, breast cancer is curable with the current practices of surgery, chemotherapy, radiation and hormonal therapy. According to SEER database nearly 3 million women were living with breast cancer in US by 2012. The survival data shows an increase in the 5-year survival of patients with breast cancer from 75.2% in 1975 to 91% in 2007.
Main risk factors for breast cancer are age, gender and any condition that increases the exposure to estrogen in a woman. These conditions include obesity, oral contraceptive pills and hormonal replacement therapies to relieve menopause symptoms.
Though 90 to 95% of breast cancers are sporadic meaning that these cases happen in a person with no family history, 5 to 10% of breast cancers run in the family. So, if you have two or more blood relatives diagnosed with breast or ovarian cancer, it is the best so seek a medical genetic specialist.
Most commonly the cancer is detected as a firm breast mass in touch. Self breast exam and mammograms are the two most common practices to detect breast cancer in early stages while the tumor is still limited to local tissue and has not spread through the body. Breast cancer can also present as nipple discharges, most commonly bloody nipple discharges, can be associated with skin changes making the skin appear as orange peel, result in retraction of nipple or present as an eczema like rash known as Paget’s disease of breast.
It is recommend that all women at all ages to perform self breast exam at monthly bases and take mammograms yearly after age 50. Self breast exam tutorials are available here.
After feeling a mass in the breast it is best to see a doctor as soon as possible to get a surgeons manual examination and further biopsy if necessary. Remember that yet most common breast cases are not malignant. Also seek a physician if you have an eczema around the nipple which has not responded to common treatments. Remember that bilateral green or milky nipple discharges are not a red flag to cancer but might necessitate a doctor visit.
Men also get breast cancer
Breast cancer is not specific to women, while most breast masses in females are benign, when a change is detected in breast of a man, it is more likely to be gynecomastia. Gynecomastia is a condition where male breast tissue overgrowth is commonly seen in elderly males and carries no malignancy risk, it can be unilateral and can present as either painful or painless breast mass. However, cancer should always be ruled out before making a diagnosis of gynecomastia. Thus, males of older age are also encouraged to be cautious of changes in the breast size and see if a mass in touchable. Breast cancer is more common in males of parts of Africa and Middle-East. The main risk factors are like breast cancer in females: age, family history and estrogen/androgen imbalance. Treatment options are also the same as surgery, chemotherapy and radiation remain the cornerstone of treatment.
Does your cell causes you a brain tumor?
Brain tumors are not the most common types of malignancy in general but are among the most fearsome ones. Once occurred in the brain, except for some types, the prognosis is not so good. The 5-year survival of patients with brain tumor was 35% in 2007 and even with proper treatment received, disabilities might remain lifelong. To date with the extensive use of cord less devices, Wi-Fi routers and cell phones concerns are being raised as if use of cell phones might lead to formation of brain tumors. A recent analysis of data in France and Sweden has shown that the use of cell phone is associated with greater risk of most common type of brain tumor “glioma” formation. Although the data on causality of cell phones on brain formation is controversial, studies have shown the increase risk of brain tumor formation with increasing in the years of usage. The increase in the risk of brain tumor reaches its highest after 15 years of use and is mostly seen in patients starting to use mobile devices before age 20. The International Agency for Research on Cancer has grouped radio frequency electromagnetic fields as Group 2B which means a possible human carcinogen. Children’s brain is more susceptible to radiofrequency waves as thinner and immature skull bones pass more radiofrequency waves to the brain tissue.
The main symptoms of brain tumors are headache, nausea and vomiting, seizures, fatigue, personality changes or speech problems and depends on the location of the tumor. Headache is a common condition in general population and in most cases it does not mean a brain tumor. However, an increase in frequency or change in type of a regular headache might flag some alarms.
The risk factor of brain tumors include increasing age, exposure to ionizing radiation and a family history of brain tumors. The diagnosis of brain tumor is fairly straight forward with the current imaging modalities like, magnetic resonant imaging and computerized tomography.
Currently the treatment options are mainly surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy which in some cases can lead to a cure while in other cases help to alleviate the symptoms only. The choice of surgery depends on the location and accessibility of the tumor location. More advanced surgical techniques using stereotactic devices have developed and are used more commonly to reduce injury to unaffected parts of the brain.