Breast Cancer

Breast cancer affects one in eight women during their lives. No one knows why some women get breast cancer, but there are many risk factors. Risks that you cannot change include

Age - the risk rises as you get older

Genes - two genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2, greatly increase the risk. Women who have family members with breast or ovarian cancer may wish to be tested for the genes.

Personal factors - beginning periods before age 12 or going through menopause after age 55

Other risks include obesity, using hormone replacement therapy (also called menopausal hormone therapy), taking birth control pills, drinking alcohol, not having children or having your first child after age 35, and having dense breasts.

Symptoms of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in size or shape of the breast, and discharge from a nipple. Breast self-exams and mammography can help find breast cancer early, when it is most treatable. One possible treatment is surgery. It could be a lumpectomy or a mastectomy. Other treatments include radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and targeted therapy. Targeted therapy uses substances that attack cancer cells without harming normal cells.

Symptoms

The first symptoms of breast cancer are usually an area of thickened tissue in the breast, or a lump in the breast or in an armpit.

Other symptoms include:

  • Pain in the armpits or breast that does not change with the monthly cycle
  • Pitting or redness of the skin of the breast, like the skin of an orange
  • A rash around or on one of the nipples
  • A discharge from a nipple, possibly containing blood
  • A sunken or inverted nipple
  • A change in the size or shape of the breast
  • Peeling, flaking, or scaling of the skin on the breast or nipple

Most lumps are not cancerous, but women should have them checked by a health care professional.