By Julie Staz

What Is Breast Cancer?

Breast cancer is the most widespread type of cancer in women. It is a malignant tumor found in the breast. In the United States alone, one out of every eight women has been diagnosed with this disease. The disease has been widely associated with women but men can also be diagnosed with it. There are many different types of this cancer and the probability of its spreading will differ from person to person. Although the exact causes of the disease are still not known, yet there are many things which can increase the possibility of developing it. Cancer is undoubtedly the most fatal of all diseases but it can be treated if proper attention is given and provided it is diagnosed at an earlier stage when it hasn't spread in the surrounding areas of the body. Similar is the case with breast cancer; the treatment will depend on the stage of the disease and how much it has been spread.

The causes:
There is no one specific cause of this disease although there are many risk factors which can increase the chances of someone being diagnosed with it. Age is the most important risk factor and it is something that cannot be controlled like many other risk factors. The chances of someone having this cancer get higher as the age increases. Family history can also be quite influential. The chances of having this cancer increase if there is someone in the family who has been diagnosed with it earlier such as a mother, sister or daughter. Once you have been diagnosed with this cancer, there are chances that it might spread to the other breast too later on. So people who have had been diagnosed with this are recommended to get themselves checked up after every few months. Other than these there are many small factors that can play a role in the causation of this disease such as the race. It has been seen that white women have a higher chance of developing it. Women experiencing menopause after the age of fifty five or not having any children till the age of thirty also have a higher chance of developing breast cancer. Many other factors can be avoided or precaution can be taken at times. Women who breast feed babies for around two years have a slightly lower chance of having this cancer. Obesity and laziness are two things which should be avoided and treated.

The common signs of this cancer:
Although most of the times there are absolutely no physical signs to point towards a disease such as this, but there are a few signs which have been experienced such as nipple discharge or redness around the nipple area. Pain in the breast can be another sing but this has not been experienced by everyone who has been diagnosed with this cancer. Also, if you feel any irritation or pain in the nipple and see swelling around the breast, you should definitely contact a doctor.

Treatments:
Treatments for this type of cancer vary according to the stage of the cancer. There are many options available and sometimes the doctor will use a mixed approach, combining together two or more treatments, to deal with the situation.

. The most common treatment is the breast removal surgery and many women have gone through it. There are cases when it is not important to remove the entire breast but only a part of it will be removed. This is the breast-conserving surgery. Another common treatment for this is the radiation therapy which destroys the cancerous cells through beams of radiation.

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