There are many risk factors that can lead to breast cancer. Many American women have been diagnosed with this disease, which is the most frequently encountered cancer that affects women around the world. There has been estimated that older women can easier be affected by breast cancer, than younger women. This is one risk factor that has been analyzed by specialists over the years. What we call risk factors are those two types of influences that can be either inner or controllable, or unchangeable factors which usually cannot be controlled by a single person. There are hormonal influences that can lead to breast cancer development, and there are other life behaviors or choices a woman makes along her life, that influence her health as well. All of these are called breast cancer risk factors by specialists. However, breast’s cancer causes haven’t yet been specifically determined, because this silent disease has turned out to be more controversial than estimated. Further more, there are many cases in which even if the women who underwent breast cancer evaluative risk tests and had a predisposition to breast cancer, didn’t develop breast cancer at all.
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One of these evaluative tests is called The Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Tool and has been invented by scientists from the National Cancer Institute, in order to find out which are a woman’s breast cancer risks over a 5 year period of time, or along her lifetime. These tests are then compared with general risk factors that correspond to women of the same ages with the women that undergo these evaluations. To find out more about The Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Tool you can access http://www.cancer.gov/bcrisktool . There haven’t been determined the exact results the risk factors evaluation can lead to, so that a woman’s predisposition to cancer can be changed, or to decrease the possibilities of breast cancer occurrence. Even so, knowing the risk factors and avoiding them, has been considered of high importance in many breast cancer risk decreasing cases.

To find out how exactly certain risk factors can decrease the risk of breast cancer, you should first understand what relative risk and absolute risk means. The relative risk is the average percentage with which you are told how exactly a certain preventive treatment, or other methods to prevent breast cancer, can influence and prohibit breast cancer evolution in your case. The percentage can decrease or increase; depending on how the new treatment prevented you from encountering the risk, the relative risk is estimated. The absolute risk is not related to possible influences, but with the changes that can occur while you decide to take a pill for example. The evaluation is also marked with percentage numbers. The difference between the absolute risk and the relative risk is that in the first case, the decrease of risk factors directly depends on what other risks have been previously taken into consideration.

To decide the best treatment options and steps you need to follow, the doctor will want to evaluate these two types of risk factors that can improve your health and lifestyle.

The Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM) is in the October of every year. This is the time when pink becomes the most advertised color, to help support breast cancer victims and generally make women become more aware of the risks they expose themselves to, if they don’t regularly follow breast cancer examinations. Pink ribbons are the most familiar symbol of breast cancer campaigns, meant to emphasize the hope for healing, the joy of having been cured of breast cancer, and the role the Breast Cancer Awareness Month plays for women around the world. There are also many campaigns that raise funds during this month, and help women affected by breast cancer, to undergo specific treatments, and sponsor them to cope with this disease more easily.
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The value of early detection of breast cancer is also an important subject that is spread in many corners of the world during the Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The beginnings of Breast Cancer Awareness month belong to the year 1985, when the American Academy of Family Physicians and AstraZeneca Healthcare Foundation and CancerCare and other sponsors, united to create this campaign on the basis of the desire to help stop breast cancer spread throughout the world. Nowadays, many other public service organizations, medical associations, and government agencies gathered for this awareness of breast cancer campaign.

Starting with the year 1985, the main promoted events are those concerning educational programs that guide women to self-examine themselves regularly, encourage them to undergo specialized tests to prevent breast cancer from evolving, special examinations such as mammograms, visits to the breast care doctors, and treatments. There are also displayed many materials from which women can learn more about breast cancer risks, or how to maintain the health of their breasts, and other information. The concrete ways through which the events are promoted, are the marches that take place in different towns, parties, gatherings, or simply by advertising this month’s celebration through pink ribbons distributions. There are several companies, such as Avon, that have their regular special meetings that promote breast cancer awareness. Also, there is the National Breast Cancer Foundation from Australia, which organizes Pink Ribbon Breakfasts, and another organization from Korea, Seoul, shelters the Global Breast Cancer Conference on October 8 to 10.

However, the pink ribbon symbol is dated back from 1979, during the Iranian hostage crisis, where yellow ribbons were worn as a symbol of awareness. The pink ribbon was to be promoted later in the1990s, when the custom of ribbons wear became more and more popular. Also, the pink color that was chosen for this campaign is strongly related to purity, optimism, and implicitly to femininity. On the other hand, as we know, the breast cancer cases of men are related to the blue ribbon. The founder of the pink ribbon symbol is Evelyn Lauder, Senior Corporate Vice President at the Estee Lauder Companies, who had chosen this design in 1993 for women around the world. Even if October has been established as the month when breast cancer has a central place in people’s attention, the pink ribbons and many organizations managed to promote breast cancer awareness even further throughout the year.

It has been overrated that people who suffer from grave diseases, even if they are celebs or unknown persons, they share the same fate. More pessimistic people would say that there have been many celebrities who had died maybe too soon, from the same diseases as any other ordinary person would have had. In many cases the doctors and other specialists didn’t find any reason for those tragic events that happened any way.
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However, there are some other celebrities who even if they shared the same diseases as other people, they soon recovered and therefore became heroes and optimistic examples for us, the other people. For example, there were many celeb women who suffered from the terrible disease as breast cancer is, and managed to be just fine in the far end. These celebrities succeeded to win the battle with breast cancer, and survived such illness complications.

We all know the implications and repercussions this disease brings with it for a person. There is also known that many celebrities have gathered their forces in huge campaigns against breast cancer, to help women who suffer from it. Some of these celebrities were before that fighters with breast cancer and have managed to win the battle. This silent killer is no longer strong; it became more and more weak thanks to the many campaigns that encouraged women from all over the world to fight against it. Along the list of celebrities we mention Sheryl Crow, Melissa Etheridge, Cynthia Nixon, Christina Applegate, Edie Falco, Jaclyn Smith, Robin Roberts, Kylie Minogue, Hoda Kotb, Rue McClanahan, Carly Simon, Olivia Newton-John, Suzanne Summers, Betsey Johnson, and many others. The key to their success against breast cancer was their incredible strength to fight. Carly Simon is one of the brave women who have recovered their health completely after they had a mastectomy, as a consequence of breast cancer. She got well in 1997 and is healthy since then. How she managed to win the battle with breast cancer after this mastectomy that followed the usual chemotherapy, she says was the power to hope. Apparently she decided to accept a mastectomy after her good friend Linda McCartney had died from the same disease. She then agreed with her doctor that the lump that had been inside her breast for several years should be taken out and “put in a jar”, as her doctor wanted to see it. Carly Simon had been advised several times before not to let herself be operated. However, this decision probably saved her own life, and she also had a reconstructive surgery after that.

Carly Simon’s music was to be heard again, giving hope to people from every corner of the world, no matter what races or ages. We also agree with the fact that Carly Simon did not happen to be one of those artists who became victims of addictions: be it alcohol, drugs, or other types. She just wanted to pursue her dream, and never lose it no matter what obstacles came in her way.

Not all the lumps that can appear in breasts are cancers. There is a great possibility of eight out of ten lumps that a woman has, that these lumps did not become benign. In other words, a lump is that higher cell density caused by hyperactive breast gland cells. It might also be a cyst, which is a small sac filled with water. The best way to control the health of your breasts is to monthly make the self-exam, which is to see how the different areas of the breasts feel like. If you sense some unusual consistency of the breasts, the next step you can take is seeing a doctor who can tell you if you need to worry or not. Keep in mind that the sooner a tumor is discovered the bigger are the chances to recover your health without appealing to drastic therapies.
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The breast tissue normally doesn’t feel the same in all breast areas. There are softer or more firm areas. Between the menstrual cycles the tissue can pass through slight changes, but besides these periods, the lumps can be discovered easily. Usually there is a sensing difference between the glandular tissue which is more rope-like, and the other softer surrounding areas. If you sense a change in one of your breasts, you have to check the other breast too, to see if it doesn’t feel the same. This detail can indicate that there isn’t too mush to worry about. However, if these changes didn’t go away in a month’s time, there are reasons to see a doctor.

Other symptoms include bloody discharge coming from the nipple, or the skin of the breasts suddenly changes its color or texture, or the nipple changed its position to inward, even if it didn’t used to be that way before. When you decided to ask a specialist, here are some steps that need to take place during an examination. The doctor or nurse can ask you about what you sense it changed about your breasts. After that, they will look at the breasts to examine their shape and size. Then, there will be a check to see if there are nipple problems, like the ones I mentioned before in the article. The last examination will be the palpation of the breasts, for checking the deeper tissues and the armpits. If he doctor finds a lump after this examination, he will proceed to determine if he lump is a tumor or not. If a cancer has been discovered, there will probably be other tests as well, meant to determine the exact cause that lead to this change. A further test can be the fine-needle aspiration, with which can be determined if the lump is solid or filled with fluid, and can be done by your doctor, or another specialist.

The ultrasound is also used in breast cancer tests, and it helps examine the affected area of the breast. Another three procedures are the mammography, the magnetic resonance imaging, and the breast biopsy. After the doctor recommended all the tests that he considers necessary for the evaluation of the lump, the diagnosis is given. If the lump was not found cancerous, he might however ask you to return in a month for another examination that ensures you there isn’t anything to worry about.

To better diagnose breast cancer, there is the possibility of making a pathology test, which will indicate whether there are or aren’t receptors for the female hormones estrogen and progesterone in the breast cells. These hormones can transmit messages to the breast cells that have receptors. The results of these messages reception will help breast cells to grow either in a normal or abnormal way. If you have been diagnosed with having a breast cancer tumor, you will have to do a test that will show whether these receptors existed in your cells, and how exactly do they influence the growth of the cells of the breast. The results should show if the tumor is or isn’t sensitive to estrogen and progesterone hormones. The ER-positive evolves in a high-estrogen environment, whereas ER-negative breast cancer is not influenced by estrogen or progesterone existing in the organism.
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The good sign about ER-positive is that these types of breast tumors react better to anti-estrogen treatments. The usually recommended treatments are based on tamoxifen, which is a drug that inhibates the breast cells receptors to be fueled with estrogen and progesterone. Other tests can further on be made in order to establish the proper treatments for each individual case. One of these tests is called HER2 status and helps in finding out the most suitable treatment for the tumor. The HER2 positive breast cancer is usually treated with Herceptin, along with other healing methods.

After the pathology tests have been made, in case there is a negative hormones result, the specialist will indicate how far the tumor evolved. To help express this Hormone Status, the doctors use numbers from 0 to 3: 0 will indicate that there have been no receptors found in the breast cells, 1+ signals a very small amount of receptors, 2+ a medium one, and 3+ signals a large number of receptors that fuel the breast cells with progesterone and estrogen. Also, a number of 100 cells will be tested to find out how many of them appeared to have hormone receptors, and this will be written with 0 % and 100 %.  The 0 % result indicates none hormone receptors in the cells and the other possibilities are marked with up to 100 %, that is all cells have hormone receptors.

The treatment is based on anti-estrogen therapy, which is destined to inhibate the hormone receptors, so that they will not be able to make cancers cells to develop any further. If you will want to hear the names of these drugs that were created to stop this cell growth from happening, there are many: Tamoxifen, Raloxifene (Evista), Arimidex, Aromasin, Femara, Faslodex. The tests that are meant to determine this type of breast cancer, is not similar to the popular blood tests for estrogen determination, I is based on a tissue examination, called biopsy. A thin layer of tissue is examined under a microscope, to determine the existence of the hormones receptors in breast cells. The drugs that have been named earlier are also prescribed for suppressing the return of breast cancer, if this evolved under estrogen or progesterone influences,

There have been made numerous studies about the influence of the red wine over the human body, and some of them claim that there is a connection between red wine drinking and lowering the risk of contacting breast cancer among women. However, there is another set of studies that contradicts the ones that consider moderate red wine drinking a good modality to prevent breast cancer. The latter study speaks about alcohol, including any type of wine, as of breast cancer risk factors, if not inductive factors. The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) came up with a study that shows numerous arguments that lean towards the conclusion that the risk of breast cancer can be increased by wine consuming. In the study 184.418 women older than 55 were examined and the tests have been developed over a period of seven years. The end of these research showed that 5.461 women that have had alcohol consumption habits, contacted breast cancer, in the invasive form. The scientists, including the coordinator Jasmine Lew, found out that even moderate alcohol consuming had impressive effects that generated breast cancer.
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The women that agreed to participate in the study, that used to consume one to four glasses of alcohol per day, increased their risk of breast cancer with 24 percent, whereas the women who drank more than four glasses, the risk was risen to 36 percent. Whereas if the women used to drink wine, the percentage of risk in case of one to three glasses could reach to 20 percent, and 41 percent for more than four, compared to no breast cancer risk that corresponded with women who did not drink wine at all. However, the study is not publicly available yet, due to the verification steps that have to be made by governmental organizations.

The Institut Universitaire de Recherche Clinique in Montpellier from France agreed with the recently mentioned study, that alcohol consumption increases the breast cancer risk. Even so, the study did not include some women that leave in the south of France and who use to drink small amounts of wine every day. This behavior is considered to be a traditional behavior in that part of France, and women there adapted themselves to this dietary habit, which researches believe is good to prevent breast cancer, if the amount of wine does not go beyond the limit of a glass per day. This low amount of wine is considered by the researchers at the Institut Universitaire de Recherche Clinique in Montpellier, a good factor to decrease the risk of breast cancer up to 40 percent. However, the same researchers agree with previous studies that a higher amount can have contrary effects, increasing the risk of breast cancer for women.

As a conclusion, there is enough evidence indicating that women who use to consume alcohol regularly, whether is beer, wine or liquor, they are more exposed to breast cancer risks than those who don’t have this habit of drinking. However, some studies came to the conclusion that red wine does not harm the human organisms as much as other alcoholic drinks do.

Breast cancer genetic counselors are necessary for guiding the people who have relatives affected by cancer diseases, and thus are more exposed to cancer genetic risk factors. The development of cancer genetic counselors has expanded together with the increasing popularity and efficiency of genetic tests, which highlight the family breast cancer cases. The specialist is charged with the counseling of his patients, which is making them aware of the risks they are exposed to, and educate them and inform them towards the reproducing risks, or presymptomatic risks. There are many ways to lower the risks, such as changing the harming life behavior, or becoming aware of medical and even surgical possibilities. The cancer counselors are responsible with evaluating these risk factors, and make sure the families exposed to this disease are kept away from any harmful influences, by inherited patterns analysis and educative support, or prohibitive treatments.
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These persons are referred to communities and state support services, which are able to help them and encourage them through their future steps. There are also volunteers that offer their help as cancer counselors. In the USA, cancer counselors have a Master’s degree background, and have studies in two main areas, both the psychosocial and medical, that can lead to correct and accurate cancer counseling. At the moment there are 1000 genetic counselors in this country, and 100 of them are cancer genetic counselors. To follow the Master of Science programs and become a cancer counselor, you have to obtain the American Board of Genetic Counseling (ABGC) and pass the corresponding examination first.

The actual cancer risk counseling meeting is comprised of seven parts. The starting point is that of establishing the different risk factors and comparison between them, followed by a medical and exposure evidence analysis. The third stage is comprised of the pedigree construction and documentation, according to which will be discovered possible risks and genetic influence factors. In the fifth stage, there will be assessed the preventive measures than can be taken against the disease’s evolution. The sixth step is that of reevaluating the options and benefits of certain genetic testing, followed by the last step, which is a better client-specialist interaction through questionings, support and future steps assessing, that need to be followed by the patient. A good continual communication of the patient with the specialist is consequently essential for a better understanding of the person’s needs, and in order to prevent the disease from evolving.

There are factors that could interfere with the breast counselor sessions, as well as other cancer sessions, such as cultural differences for persons that belong to different countries, other than USA for example. This is why, the previously mentioned seven steps that need to be taken into consideration by a cancer counselor, are very much under this influence of family backgrounds, or different living behaviors. Sometimes, complex psychological methods are used to determine and evaluate all the risk factors that could influence the lives of the patients in an unpleasant manner. The preventive behaviors that are to be followed by a certain patient, can produce sorts of psychological distress, if they aren’t carefully chosen. The good news concerning the breast cancer counseling methods, is that recent studies have been made, and other genetic testing have been made, which can further on make a difference in cancer counseling sessions.

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which is scheduled annually, and sustained by many breast cancer charities. By this funds raising and Cancer awareness campaigns, women can find out new information about the disease, ways of preventing it, or cures. At the moment, breast cancer has been rated the most “popular” female disease, which is nevertheless targeted by big companies, or brands that want to make a difference for breast cancer patients, and also create campaigns through which their companies would become more visible on the market. The pink color is usually associated with this illness, and you can find different women articles in stores that are colored in pink, whether is a paper wrap or an umbrella. All sorts of nice objects that are included in these campaigns have the role of underlining the breast cancer cases’ gravity.<-336x280 Large Rectangle - center->
However, there has been a marketing issue that of incorporating the pink color with the brand of a company and the usual line it delivers to costumers and the bottom line is that not everything can be wrapped in pink and make part of a breast cancer campaign. One of the main rules for a campaign to be successful is that of a good costumer versus seller communication. There has to be a clear message a campaign wants to transmit, and the customer usually wants to know exactly how much of the cost of the product he buys will be donated to the breast cancer cause that has been put into light.

Cancer has been known as a very devastating and frightfully disease to fight against. Cancer Awareness Jewelry has taken the challenge to create innovative and beautiful designs, to attract more and more people in this campaign. In fact, this jewelry can represent an innovative and wonderful way of expressing the emotional and practical support for those who suffer from breast cancer. There are many jewelry pieces that express this hope and beauty of strength, from treasures bracelets, earrings, to rings and necklaces, and so on, worn by breast cancer survivors or their friends and families.

The power of encouraging words such as hope and strength has been thus transferred to a more symbolical reminder, to express the awareness and the support. There is a great variety of jewelry and materials they are made of: silver and colored crystals, pearls and gold, or Swarovski crystals and metal, all symbolize powerful messages of hope and joy of survival. These objects can become reminders for someone who passed through this breast cancer fight and is fine now.  It is a motive for women to stand proud of themselves, and also support other women who are now suffering from the same disease that continues to claim lives.

Unfortunately nowadays, more and more persons know others who suffer from the same diagnosis, and the impacts are considered more than overwhelming. A fine jewelry breast cancer pendant can lighten up a breast cancer suffering woman’s day, and later on become a testimony that the ones around her wish her to get well and remain as hopeful as before.

By HCG we say human chorionic gonadotropin. Through HCG we name a hormone that is produced by cells that constitute the placenta, or is made by the placenta during pregnancy. Its main role is to protect the pregnancy, increasing the production of progesterone. The progesterone helps the well development of the placenta during the first stage of the pregnancy. The HCG increases during the early stage of the pregnancy, in order to slowly decrease while the placenta is able to produce enough progesterone and help the pregnancy’s evolution on its own. It is well known that a fully developed pregnancy can reduce the risk of breast cancer. Scientists experimented that the use of HCG as breast cancer inhibitor would have the evaluated effect. Furthermore, if it was taken as a diet or as an infertility treatment, it also reduces breast cancer risks, as a preventive treatment. HCG suppresses the cancer genes and inhibits cancer cells from growing. The advantages of HCG diets are that it does not have toxic effects over the body, unlike other medicine.
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Irma H. Russo, The chief of molecular endocrinology at Fox Chase Cancer Center, MD, said that the ultimate goal of the scientists is to use HCG as a breast cancer preventive. Being compared with Tamoxifen, HCG would have the advantages of non toxic results. It is believed that a higher breast density can increase the risk of breast cancer. Also, decreasing this density by using a medicine called Tamoxifen had as a result a reduction of the breast’s density and consequently a decreased breast cancer risk level. Specialists discovered that a treatment that uses HCG also reduces the cancer risks, and so, they believe that a treatment that would use Tamoxifen and HCG is able to decrease the breasts’ density even more. These studies will lead to the discovery of a new drug that combines these two elements, in order to reduce breast cancer cases.

Russo’s study presented at an annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, was also based on the effects HCG has over the possibility of the human body to develop breast cancer. Other studies had discovered that women who became pregnant at an early age could be less exposed to getting breast cancer after that. And so, what Russo tried to demonstrate was that imitating the protection that is given to the body during pregnancy can be achieved with the help of hormones. The experiment was conducted by causing pubescent rats to create breast cancer. After this stage was completed, the scientists administered the rats a treatment. The first treatment was comprised of HCG supplements, and the other of Estrogen and Progestin Hormones.

The results had shown that the rats that took homeopathic HCG underwent an inhibitor effect of the cells dividing. On the other hand, there has been an increasing amount of the tumor-suppressor genes production. All in all, the HCG therapy successfully managed to simulate the same genetic signature changes that would have happened during pregnancy. The other set of rats did not signal any genetic signature changes, or other modified effects of the induced breast cancer.

86% of women that suffer from breast cancer that didn’t metastasize survive the five-year rate of life. This indicates that after a woman has been affected by a breast cancer form, she is given a five year living chance. However, this rate is very much influenced by the stage at which the cancer has been discovered. The stages that correspond to a breast cancer disease are classified through letters and numbers: T, N, M and 0-IV. The size of the tumor is written with the sign T, while N indicates whether or not the cancer has evolved to the lymph nodes. The last letter, M, signifies distant metastasis. The metastasis word indicates whether a primary tumor has spread in other areas and formed other tumors.
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A TX diagnosis is written when a tumor cannot be evaluated, and the specialist cannot establish the way it evolved inside the body. When the specialist uses the To diagnosis, it means there hasn’t been found any cancer sign. A reason to worry usually appears when the doctor uses the Tis sign, which can indicate a DCIS (ductal carcinoma in situ), LCIS (lobular carcinoma in situ) or a Paget’s disease (the affected areas being the nipple and/or areola). When explaining the numbers, we must know that 0 signifies an early stage of breast cancer, whereas stage I indicates that the tumors didn’t reach a larger area and are smaller than 2cm sizes. Furthermore, stage II means that a tumor reached the 2-5cm size, while a 5cm size tumor is marked with the stage III sign. The last stage, the IV, indicates that the tumor is attached to the chest wall and a also affected the lymph nodes.

The good news today is that there have been many medical revolutions and the equipments and methods to detect early stages of cancer is more possible than before. The treatments also benefited from exponential power of healing. In this way, the survival rates increase more and more, and even if this disease is considered to be a very threatening one, most women who have been detected as having it, have survived more that seven years after the diagnosis and treatments. However, breast cancer is not a disease that can be ignored, or taken lightly, especially by the ones that have been affected by it. Regular mammograms are highly recommended to help prevent and early discover this disease. Amongst many possible treatments, new studies discovered that psychological treatments can improve breast cancer patients’ lives, while the chances of survival are also exponentially increased. At the Ohio State University, Dr. Barbara L. Andersen who coordinated these studies, said that those patients who effectively took part in the psychological improvement sessions, lived longer than those who didn’t follow this therapy. The patients have learned how to manage their situations, have improved their spirits and have changed their disease’s course radically.

Patients suffering from the stage IIA breast cancer were diagnosed with this disease because there was no tumor found in the breast, but cancer cells were signaled in the axillary lymph nodes which are located under the arm. The same stage IIA diagnosis is given when the tumor measures 2cm or less than that, spreading to the axillary lymph nodes, or it is bigger than 2cm but didn’t grow bigger than 5cm, without being spread to the axillary lymph node either. Stage IIB refers to invasive breast cancer, indicated by a larger than 2cm tumor, that doesn’t exceed 5cm, or a tumor that is larger than 5cm. However, in both cases the tumor has not spread to the axillary lymph nodes.