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Austin Putt
1st Period
Breast Cancer
What is Breast Cancer:
Breast cancer is not a sudden occurrence but a process that has been developing
for a period of time. When a biopsy confirms a cancerous breast tumor, you are most
often not facing a medical emergency. Most physicians will recommend surgery within
several weeks of biopsy. Women who have a family history of breast cancer may need
genetic testing prior to surgery to guide treatment decisions. Breast cancer spreads to
other parts of the body through the lymphatic system or the blood stream. The spread of
cancer can be local (in the area of the breast), regional (in the nodes or area near the
breast) or distant (in other organs of the body).
Breast cancer is a disease which some cells within the breast become abnormal
and multiply without control. Most common form of breast cancer starts within cells
lining the ducts that carry milk to the nipple. Other forms of breast cancer start within the
glands that produce milk. Early breast cancer usually doesn’t cause pain and may show
no noticeable symptoms. As the cancer continues, you will start seeing symptoms such as
a lump or thickening close to the breast. In some cases, cancerous tumors can invade the
surrounding tissue and spread to different parts of the body.
Chromosome(s) located:
Breast cancer is located on chromosome 17 and 13.
Specific Gene(s):
BRCA 1, BRCA 2, CDH 1, STK 11, TP 53 increase the development of breast cancer
AR, ATM, BARD 1, BRIP 1, CHEK 2, DIRAS 3, ERBB 2, NBN, PALB 2, RAD 50,
RAD 51, are all associated with breast cancer
Mutation within Breast Cancer:
A somatic mutation occurs within breast cancer, somatic mutations occur in non-germline
tissues, and is non-heritable.
Symptoms of Breast Cancer:
A breast lump will appear or a thickening of the breast
Change in size or shape of a breast(s)
Changes to the skin over the breast
Redness or pitting of the skin over the breast
Treatments for Breast Cancer:
Most women have surgery for breast cancer, and decide to get additional treatment,
which includes; chemotherapy, hormone therapy, or radiation. Operations for breast
cancer include; removing the breast cancer, removing the entire breast, removal of
several lymph nodes, or removal of both breast.
Stages for Breast Cancer:
Stage 0 (carcinoma in situ)
Stage 1
Stage 2
Stage 3A
Stage 3B
Stage 3C
Stage 4
What each stage does:
Stage 0- 3 types of breast carcinoma in situ are; Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is a noninvasive condition, which abnormal cells are found in the lining of a breast duct. Lobular
carcinoma in situ (LCIS) condition which abnormal cells are found in the lobules of the
breast.
Stage 1- cancer has formed, has stages 1A and 1B
Stage 1A- the tumor is 2 centimeters or smaller, cancer has not spreads throughout the
body, still found in the breast
Stage 1B- small clusters of breast cancer cells are found in the lymph nodes
Stage 2A- no tumor is found within the breast or the tumor is 2 centimeters or smaller
Stage 2B- the tumor has grown over 2 centimeters but not larger than 5 centimeters
Stage 3A- no tumor is tumor is found within the breast or the tumor is any size
Stage 3B- the tumor could be any size, cancer has began to spread to the chest wall
and/or has began to spread to the skin of the breast
Stage 3C- cancer could have spread to the skin of the breast and could cause swelling
Stage 4- cancer has spread to other organs within the body, most often to the bones,
lungs, liver, or brain. After breast cancer has been diagnosed test are done to see where
the cells have spread to the breast and/or other parts of the body.
Test(s) include:
Sentinel lymph node biopsy- blue dye and/or radioactive tracer is injected into the tumor
site at the time of surgery, and the first (sentinel) node that picks up the dye is removed
and biopsied
Chest x-ray- an x-ray of the organs and bones within the chest
CT scan- is a procedure that makes series of detailed pictures of areas within the body
from different angles
Bone scan- an imaging test that gives important information about the bones, including
the location of cancer that may have spread to the bones
PET scan- a type of imaging test that uses a form of sugar linked to a slightly radioactive
substance
Breast MRI scan- a tests that creates pictures of the breast and the tissue surrounding the
breast
Breast Biopsy- removing a sample of tissue to see whether cancer cells are present
3 ways cancer can spread throughout the body include:
Tissue: cancer can spread from where it originally began by growing into nearby areas
Lymph System- the way cancer spreads is getting into the lymph system, and traveling
through the lymph vessels
Blood- cancer can also spread by getting into the blood, and traveling through the blood
vessels