Even though most of these lumps are usually not cancerous, if you experience any symptom of breast cancer or you observe some sudden changes in your breasts' structure or color, we strongly recommend you to see a specialized doctor.
Firstly, the most important question among women must be answered. What is breast cancer? This disease usually starts with the appearance of a tumor. Several tumors are benign and they do not affect in any way other tissues but others might be cancerous and in time they will probably spread to other parts of your body through the bloodstream or the lymphatic system. You must know that different types of breast cancer grow and spread at different rates, some of them will take years to spread beyond the breast, while others might affect other parts rapidly.
Also, men can be affected by breast cancer, but their number is insignificant – about 0.5% of all cases. Among women, breast cancer is the most common type cancer and is the second leading cause of cancer deaths - after lung cancer. Statistics show that two thirds of women with breast cancer are over 50 years, and that the remaining, most have between 40 and 50. So another fact that you should know is that risk of developing this disease will increase with your age.
Although a few years ago breast cancer was considered a very serious disease, nowadays it can be easily cured if it is detected in an early stage.In 9 out of 10 cases, the cancer patient will live at least another 5 years. Still you must understand that it is difficult to completely destroy all cancer cells, but a proper treatment can often keep the disease under control for years. Improved procedures for screening and better treatment options have significantly improved the survival rate. Another common question is “what are the main causes of breast cancer?” and as an answer we will present a few important facts about breast cancer and the risk factors you should take into consideration.
Although the precise causes of breast cancer are unclear, there are known the major risk factors for this disease. However, most women considered to have an increased risk of developing breast cancer might not suffer from the disease, while many women affected by it cannot detect the causes. Among the most significant risk factors we must mention age and family history of breast cancer.
The risk is somewhat higher for women who have benign breast lumps and it also increases significantly for women who previously had breast or ovarian cancer. Also, researchers have already identified two genes responsible for some occurrences of breast cancer in the family - called BRCA1 and BRCA2. As I was saying, age is also an important factor. Generally, women older than 50 years have a higher risk of breast cancer than younger women. Of course there are many more factors that can influence the occurrence of this disease, but I hope I have managed at least to respond a few of your questions regarding this life threatening disease.