Stages of breast cancer

When breast cancer is discovered, additional tests will be done to find out if the cancer has spread from the breast to other parts of the body.

These include:

• Chest X-ray
• Ultrasound examination of the liver
• Bone scintigraphy
• Determination of tumor marker

In order to plan treatment, the doctor needs to know the stage of the disease.
In breast cancer, there are the following stages:
 
Stage 0 or carcinoma in situ

15-20% of breast cancers are detected in early stages, either when the wall of the duct or is exceeded just Brustläppchens minimally or not yet. The latter is known as carcinoma in situ. There are two types of breast cancer in situ: a the carcinoma in situ of the duct (also called intraductales carcinoma), and the other type is the lobular carcinoma in situ. Patients with a diagnosis of carcinoma in situ (stage 0 breast cancer) develop a 25% probability within the next 25 years, a breast cancer.
 
Stage I

The tumor is not greater than 2 cm, and has not spread outside the breast.
 
Stage II

A distinction is a stage II A and B. Stage II Stage II A is defined by one of the following:

• The tumor is not greater than 2 cm, but has spread to lymph nodes in the armpits
• The tumor is between 2 - and 5 inches, but it has not affected lymph nodes in the armpit

Stage II B is defined by one of the following:

• The tumor is between 2 and 5 cm in size and it has spread to lymph nodes in the armpit
• The tumor is larger than 5 cm, but he has not yet spread to the lymph nodes in the armpits.

Stage III
Stage III is also divided into a stage III A and a stage III B.

Stage III A is defined by one of the following:

• The tumor is smaller than 5 cm, has spread to the lymph nodes in the armpits, and the lymph nodes are fused with each other or to other structures
• The tumor is larger than 5 centimeters and has spread to the lymph nodes in the armpits

Stage III B is defined by one of the following:

• The tumor has spread to the tissue around the breast (skin edge of the thorax, including ribs and muscles in the chest)
• The cancer has spread to lymph nodes inside the chest wall along the breast bone

Stage IV

The cancer has spread to other organs of the body (metastasis), usually the bones, lungs, liver, or brain, or the tumor has spread locally in the skin and the cervical lymph nodes near the collarbone.
 
A sub-group or a special group of stage IV is the so-called inflammatory breast cancer, the inflammatory breast cancer:

Inflammatory breast cancer is a special class of breast cancer, which is rare. The chest will appear because of the reddish appearance and heat ignited like. The skin may surveys (plateau difference) and furrows (orange peel - phenomenon) show altered or appear pitted. Inflammatory breast cancer tends to spread quickly.
 
Recurrence

Recurrent disease means that the cancer has come back after treatment (relapse). It can in the chest, in the soft tissues of the chest or other parts of the body (liver, lung, bone, brain) occur again.

Breast Cancer – Problem Faced By Women

There was a time when Breast Cancer was termed to be as a dreaded disease. But things have changed now. If detected earlier, this could be easily treated. Removal of your breast during the treatment of breast cancer can be one of the painful things you would have to go through. It may not be the same case for all patients. With the increasing knowledge about the cures and treatment breast cancer can be treated very easily.

Breast cancer occurs when cell in our breasts known as tumor grow out of control causing damage to the nearby tissues and spreads throughout. These tumors which are cancerous are known as malignant tumors and cause lot of damage to your body. As it takes lot of time for a tumor to grow, it may not be easy to detect the tumor during self exam. But these can be detected with mammograms.

Breast cancers best treatment - early detection. Once, cancer is detected it becomes easier for the doctors and yourself to fight it out. By the age of 20 all women should start doing Breast Self Examination (BSE) it is one of most easiest and earliest ways of detecting cancer. These check ups should be done few days after your periods. You should do this check up at least once a month. A clinical breast exam should be done at least once a year.

Some of the signs to look for, while doing BSE

-A lump found in and around the nipple or underarm
-Change in size or shape
-Nipple discharge or nipple turning inward
-Redness of skin or warmth
-Formation of dimple or change in skin texture

Some of the causes of having breast cancer

Gender: Being a woman is one of the common reasons for suffering from breast cancer. Event though men suffer from this disease too, just being a woman puts you in lot of danger.

Age: As you grow older your chances of having breast cancer increases.

Family history: If somebody in the family has suffered from breast cancer your chances of having breast cancer increases.

Being overweight or obese: If you are an overweight women your chances of breast cancer increases after menopause.

Lack of exercise: Being lethargic and lack of any physical activity leads you towards increasing weight and chances of breast cancer

Alcohol: Drinking alcohol becomes very risky as it increases your chances of breast cancer

Methods to Prevent Breast Cancer

-Turn into a vegetarian
-Have plenty of organic food and vegetables
-Avoid red meat and any processed foods
-Avoid alcohol and colas
-You can have something sweet by having Stevia, an herb which is a substitute to any other toxic artificial sweetener
-Having whole grains is very good such as Oatmeal, Kamut and Psyllium, which are a good source of fiber and enters directly into your bloodstream
-Your diet must include wheat, bran and Cabbage as they are very nutritious food which helps to prevent breast cancer
-Garlic, Ginger, carrots, celery, cilantro, parsley and parsnip has some of the highest cancer fighting nutrients. Include them in your daily diet.