What is Breast Cancer?

Cancer is a disease in which cells in the body start growing out of control. The most common cancer found in Indian women is Breast cancer specially in urban areas.

It occurs when the breast cells grow and multiply abnormally forming a tumour. It can be felt as a lump under the skin or only upon an imaging test such as a mammogram or ultrasound. Lumps found in the breast cab be cancerous or non-cancerous.

Symptoms of Breast Cancer

Lump in the breast or underarm (armpit)
Thickening or swelling of part of the breast
Irritation or dimpling of breast skin
Redness or flaky skin in the nipple area or the breast
Pulling in of the nipple or pain in the nipple area
Nipple discharge
Any change in the size, shape or contour of the breast
Pain in any area of the breast that does not alter with periods

How is breast cancer diagnosed?

Diagnostic Mammography
Mammograms uses low-dose x-rays to discover unusual signs or symptoms like lumps or abnormalities in one or both the breasts more closely. This is commonly used during an initial breast cancer screening.
Ultrasound
Breast ultrasound uses sound waves to show certain breast changes that are harder to identify on mammograms. This aids in differentiating between a solid mass and a fluid-filled cyst
MRI
This may be recommended as a screening tool for those at higher risk of breast cancer as a follow-up to a mammogram or ultrasound.
Biopsy
allows the doctor to extract a tissue sample and get it analyzed by an onco-pathologist to check if the cells are cancerous. It also reveals the type of breast cancer.

Stages of Breast Cancer

Stage 1

At this stage, tumours are very small (upto 2 cm) that either have not spread to the lymph nodes

Stage 2

These are large tumours (2 cm across) that have just started to invade to few nearby lymph nodes

Stage 3

These tumours are large (up to 5 cm across) and growing into surrounding tissues and lymph nodes

Stage 4

These tumors started in the breast but have now invaded to other parts of the body like bones, lungs, liver or brain.

Treatments for Breast cancer

Surgery to remove the cancerous part:

Breast-conserving surgery
Sentinel lymph node biopsy
Axillary lymph node dissection
Reconstruction

Other therapies include:

Chemotherapy - Neo-adjuvant
Radiation therapy
Hormone therapy
Targeted therapy

"Dr. Naresh L.Ledwani (Aastha clinic) is Sr. Consultant Surgical Oncologist in jaipur, has More than 12 years of experience Performed more than 5000 cancer surgeries with Comparable International results Performed more than 500 Laparoscopic Surgery including Radical & Conservative Cancer Surgeries. He is certified ASI (FMAS) Surgeon to perform Laparoscopic Surgeries"