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It's no news, the fear and worry that comes with being diagnosed with Cancer.

Aside from being the numerous division of some body cells uncontrollably. It occurs when the body's control mechanism suddenly stop working. old cells grow out of control to form a mass of extra cells that may sometimes occur as a Tumor instead of dying.

CATEGORIES.

There are five main groups of cancers, the most common being breast cancer in women and prostate cancer in men. Other cancers can occur in any individual. Although research has shown that men also get breast cancer.

IN 2017, THE AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY ESTIMATES 2470 NEW CASES OF INVASIVE BREAST CANCER IN MEN.

Cancer's in general may occur;
1.As carcinoma's [ on the skin or tissues that line internal organs]
2.Leukemia [begins in the blood and bone marrow]
3.lymphoma's [start in the immune system]
4.Sarcoma's [fat muscles, cartilages, bones]
5.central nervous system develop in the brain and spinal cord.

BREAST CANCERS.

The most prominent cancer's in women is the breast cancer with nearly 1.7 million cases diagnosed in 2012 and in 2018, an estimated count of 266,120 new cases of invasive breast cancer. although the significant causes of this cancer are still unknown there are many pre-deposing factors; age being one of them, a woman who has certain kinds of lumps in the breast, a woman who has been previously diagnosed of ovarian cancer or breast cancer, and there also is the genetic factor ( women with a family history of breast cancer diagnosis ), exposure to high levels of radiation, presence of dense connective tissues in some women's breasts, excessive alcohol intake, obesity, hormonal treatment e.g the use of birth control pills have been linked with an increase with estrogen levels which is a risk of breast cancer, and also cosmetic implants.

BREAST CANCER TYPES.

There is the Ductal and lobular carcinoma. The Ductal starts in the milk ducts and the lobular in the lobules. Cancer's may break free from the infected ducts and spread into the nearby tissues. This cancer is known as an > invasive cancer.
The non-invasive cancer( the cancer that is still inside it's place of origin) eventually leads to the invasive cancer type.

STAGING OF BREAST CANCERS AND PROGNOSIS.

The stages of breast cancer's have been determined based on certain factors. The size and the degree of spreading and also the location of the cancer plays determining roles in it's diagnosis.
In diagnosis, the location may either be Local [ confined in the breast]
Regional[ has spread to the lymph nodes, commonly those in the armpit]
Distant[ found in other parts of the body].

stage 0
cancerous cells are limited within the duct.
stage 1
here the cancer is about 2cm away and is yet to affect any node.
stage 2
cancer has begun to spread to the nodes 2cm away.
stage 3
cancer has fully spread to the nodes.
stage 4
spread of cancer to distant organs of the body e.g brain and liver.
diagnosing Cancer's involve various tests and cancers carried out by doctors in order to determine the malignancy of the cancer.

BREAST EXAM

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Both breast are examined through thorough massaging in order to locate lumps on the breasts or on the lymph. This exam can be carried out by women at home too.
begin by standing in front of the mirror, shoulders straight and hands on your hips. Examine your breasts for the following signs:-
size or color distortion in the breasts.
skin buldge arround the breast or armpit areas.
inverted nipples that either point sideways.
redness,soreness,rash, or lumps.
Next raise your arms and look for the same changes. Also check for fluids on the nipples. It may yellow fluid or blood. Then feel your breasts gently,while lying down using your finger tips make sure you cover the both breast, armpits, abdomen and collar bones. You can examine while in the shower to, many women find it easier to feel their breasts while it's wet. Any abnormality should be reported with a doctor.

MAMMOGRAMS
This is an x-ray of the breast commonly used to detect breast cancers. If any abnormality is detected during a mammogram, the physician would then request for another mammogram for further detection.

ULTRASOUND
This uses sound waves to produce images of structures deep within the body. An ultra sound can determine if a breast lump is a solid mass or a fluid filled cyst.

BIOPSY
This is an imaging test. The only definite way to diagnose a breast cancer. During this procedure a needle like device guided by an x-ray is used to extract a tissue sample from the suspected area an a metal marker is inserted for easy identification during further imaging tests. the test results are sent to the lab for further determination of the aggressiveness of the cancer.

MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING.
Unlike other Imaging tests, MRI do not require Radiation to make images. Instead they make use of magnet and radio waves.

DIAGNOSED ?

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
I was five years old , when my favorite aunt was diagnosed of breast cancer . The fear, confusion and stress that comes after diagnosis with breast cancer most often times create a sense of defeat and depression in patients. The good news is early diagnosis broadens your chance of survival and with the help of a qualified oncologist or surgeon the treatment options seem more endurable.
Surgery is usually the first line of action. Unless of course the size of the tumor is huge then Radiotherapy is needed first. The surgery procedures may either involve total removal of the breasts or partial removal of the affected tissue and some normal tissue( Breasts re-construction surgery)
After both processes some lymph nodes from the armpit is usually removed to test if the cancer has spread to it's surrounding tissues. For early breast cancers sentinel lymph node tecniques is usually used. For no cancer is found in the lymph there would be no need to remove another lymph node. This is to minimize swelling in the area under surgery ( lymph edema ).

THE USE OF RADIATION AS A TREATMENT OPTION MAY NOT NECESSARILY BE IMPORTANT.
Not all breast cancer cases involve the use of radiation. This is commonly used though in several situations, some of which may include :

• After masectomy
• After breast re-constructing surgery
• Majorly if the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes and other parts of the body.
  Radiation techniques my be external beam or internal beam.
  External beam has radiation source coming from outside the body while the Internal beam has radiation source inside the body. This therapy is usually delayed until all forms of chemo treatment is completed and the site of surgery is completely healed. Preparations for the radiation therapy usually involves a long line of procedures, determining the right angles to aim for during the therapy and the doze of radiation to be administered.

SCHEDULES FOR RADIATION

3D-CONFORMAL RADIATION THERAPY
INTRA-OPERATIVE RADIATION THERAPY
HYPO-FRACTIONATED RADIATION THERAPY.

CHEMOTHERAPY
Another treatment option for breast cancer involving the use of drugs. the three goals of this therapy is cure, control, and palliation.
Chemo sometimes, may be the only form of treatment needed and most times can be used in combination with surgery and radiation therapy. It is used ;

• After surgery and radiation (adjuvant therapy)
• Before surgery and radiation (neoadjuvant therapy)
• it can also be used if cancer remission occurs.
  There are various management options to in Cancer treatments and the sole aim is to reduce both the psychological, physical and emotional stress that comes with the diagnosis of this disease.
  Natural remedies to boost energy (Naturopathic) and oncology rehabilitation to overcome stress and rebuild strength.

WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS FOR CANCER PATIENTS ?

Technology advancement today, have helped in the development of treatment procedures that target the treatment of tumors based on the genetic occurence of the tumor type. This is known as GENOMIC TUMOR ASSESSMENT.

REFERENCES AND CITATIONS

1,2,3,4,5

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context in color are links to sites for further readings.

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THIS ARTICLE IS TO CREATE AWARENESS ON CANCER IN ANTICIPATION OF THE WORLD CANCER DAY, FEBRUARY 4th
*TO BOTH THE SURVIVORS OF THE DISEASE AND THE CURRENT VICTIMS, LET'S ALL RAISE OUR HANDS AND VOICES IN UNISON AND SAY......

WE CAN, I CAN