Incidence and treatment of breast cancer

Early detection is cure

Introduction

Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer in women in India, accounting for 28.2% of all cancer cases. It is the biggest cancer killer of women in India and the world. It is estimated to have killed 98,337 women in India in 2022. In India, one woman is diagnosed with breast cancer every four minutes, one woman dies from it every eight minutes, and for every two women diagnosed with breast cancer, one dies.

British Columbia is growing at a rapid pace. The number of invasive breast cancer cases in India is estimated to be 310,720 in 2024. Sixteen percent (16%) of these occur in women under 50 years of age.

India has the lowest survival rate for CD and the highest number of women dying from CD in the world. Many CD deaths can be prevented through early detection. But detection is often late and therefore fatal. Lack of awareness is the main reason for late detection.

Breast cancer cannot be prevented. But its incidence can be reduced by making a few simple lifestyle changes; and survival rates can be improved through early detection.

Who is at risk for breast cancer?

Every woman is at risk of breast cancer. In India, one in twenty-eight women gets breast cancer. Certain factors increase the risk of CD:

• Age. Cancer is a disease of old age: Most cancers begin to strike at age 60 or older. But now cancer also affects, although rarely, teenagers. For example, the risk of breast cancer is about 0.25% for a 30-year-old woman, but increases to about 11% for a septuagenarian. Across countries, the risk of breast cancer in 70-year-olds is 54–154% higher than in 30-year-olds. Thus, as life expectancy increases, the incidence of cancer also increases.
• hereditary. If you have a first-degree relative (mother/father/brother/sister) who has had cancer, your risk of developing cancer increases.
• Genetics. A person may be genetically predisposed to cancer. A woman who has a family history of breast cancer is statistically more likely to develop breast cancer. However, only a small percentage, less than 0.3% of the population, are genetically predisposed to cancer. Less than 3–10% of all cancers are due to genetic predisposition. Women with BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 have a greater than 75% chance of developing breast and ovarian cancer. Mutations in some other genes (PTEN, CDH 1, TP 53, etc.) also increase the risk, although not as much.
• Obesity. Obese postmenopausal women have twice the risk of breast cancer compared to non-obese women.
• Diet. Diet is responsible for up to 80% of colon, prostate and breast cancers; and contributes to the development of cancer of the pancreas, lungs, stomach and esophagus. Alcohol, red meat, and sugar increase the risk of cancer.
• Smoking, working at night, not having children or having a child after 30 years of age, recent use of oral contraceptives (returns to normal after stopping), HRT and chemicals in the environment all increase the risk of cancer.
• Menopause. Late menopause increases the risk.

Risk Reduction

The risk of breast cancer can be reduced by:

• A healthy weight, physical activity – brisk walking, cycling, swimming – 45-60 minutes five or more days a week, breastfeeding, avoiding red meat, less sugar and less alcohol – reduce the risk.

• The debate is whether a diet rich in whole grains, fruits, vegetables and legumes and low in fat (butter, vegetable oil), high in vitamins, Omega-3 marine fatty acids (found in seafood (e.g. fish oil, and also in walnuts, seeds, flaxseed oil, etc.), and antiperspirants and bras reduce the risk of abortion and breast implants have no effect.
• Selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) are hormone therapies that control the effects of estrogen in the body. SERMs, such as tamofoxien, may reduce the risk of developing certain types of breast cancer. But they increase the risk of thromboembolism and endometrial cancer.

So, eat well and exercise and you will do your part to reduce your risk of cancer.

Early detection

Since cancer cannot be prevented, the saying “prevention is cure” has been replaced by “early detection is cure.”

Only about 10% of cancer deaths are due to the primary tumor. Most deaths occur due to metastasis—the spread of cancer to other parts of the body. Once metastases appear, they are difficult to treat. Therefore, early detection of cancer is of utmost importance.

Several early detection methods:

1. Self-examination of the mammary glands. More than 80% of cancers are detected by women who perform breast self-examination. The examination should be carried out every month, 5-7 days after menorrhea. Look for the following:

• Lumps in the breast (less than 20% are cancer) or in the lymph nodes under the arms.
• Breast thickening
• One breast becomes larger than the other
• The nipple changes position or shape or becomes inverted.
• Nipple discharge
• Constant pain in part of the chest or armpit.
• Swelling under the armpit or around the collarbone

2. Visualization methods

Mammography, sonography, MRI and computer aided diagnosis (CAD) can be used for early detection.

Limitations of Visualization

• • cannot identify small tumors.
  • I can’t say quality cancer, what is more important than it quantity. A small tumor can be more dangerous than a large one. Imaging can determine the quantity of the tumor, that is, its size, but cannot determine its quality.
  • in most cases, imaging cannot even determine whether a tumor is cancerous.

Cancer confirmation

The only reliable way to confirm cancer is through a biopsy: a small amount of tumor tissue is removed and examined microscopically for the presence of cancer.

Cancer treatment

Even small, localized tumors can metastasize and therefore require treatment. Treatment is surgical, drug (hormonal therapy and chemotherapy), radiation and immunotherapy.

Surgery offers the biggest benefit. When used in conjunction with chemotherapy and radiation therapy, local recurrence rates are reduced and overall survival may be prolonged.

Conclusion

Cancer is a disease that is 3200 years old. It is endogenous, part of the life process. Therefore, it cannot be eradicated, prevented, or cured. More.

Over the past two thousand years, survival rates for many types of cancer have improved dramatically, with life expectancy increasing by 20 to 30 years. But for some other types of cancer – metastatic pancreatic cancer, metastatic breast cancer, inoperable gallbladder cancer – the improvement was small: life was extended by only a few months.

Late detection of cancer is fatal. There are many reasons for late detection, but the main reason is lack of awareness. Other main reasons are shyness of patients, social stigma and ignorance of doctors due to which treatment is delayed. The awareness program will address all these issues.

Our current state of knowledge leads us to believe that prevention or treatment of cancer is not possible because cancer is a product of processes essential to the life process.

Will any radical discoveries in the future make it possible to prevent and treat cancer? We don’t know. But we can always hope.

Because, as Richard Clauser, director of NCI, USA, says about the future of cancer treatment: “There are many more good historians than prophets.”

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