What Are The Effects Of Breast Cancer

What Are The Warning Signs Of Breast Cancer

• A lump or thickening in or near the breast or in the underarm that persists through the menstrual cycle.
• A mass or lump, which may feel as small as a pea.
• A change in the size, shape, or contour of the breast.
• A blood-stained or clear fluid discharge from the nipple.
• A change in the look or feel of the skin on the breast or nipple .
• Redness of the skin on the breast or nipple.
• An area that is distinctly different from any other area on either breast.
• A marble-like hardened area under the skin.

These changes may be found when performing monthly breast self-exams. By performing breast self-exams, you can become familiar with the normal monthly changes in your breasts.

Breast self-examination should be performed at the same time each month, three to five days after your menstrual period ends. If you have stopped menstruating, perform the exam on the same day of each month.

Nerve Damage Around The Treatment Area

Scaring from radiotherapy may cause nerve damage in the arm on the treated side. This can develop many years after your treatment. Symptoms include tingling, numbness, pain, and weakness. In some people, it may cause some loss of movement in the arm and shoulder.

Speak to your doctor if you notice any of these symptoms.

Managing Sexual Side Effects

Each type of cancer treatmentchemotherapy, radiation, surgery, and hormonal therapycan cause possible sexual side effects. Side effects may vary depending on the type of cancer, the specific mode of treatment, and the individual’s response to treatment. Talk to your healthcare team about what you should expect from treatment.

Lack of Desire

During and after cancer treatment, many women report a lack of sexual desire. Lack of desire may come from hormonal changes such as early menopause or other side effects, making sex unenjoyable.

• Rethink what sex and intimacy mean.
• Do not expect sex after cancer to be exactly the same as sex before cancer. Your body has been through a lot of changes.
• Be patient. It may take some time to discover what is comfortable and pleasurable for you.

Dryness

Pain

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Breast Cancer Causes And Health Effects

Breast cancer is perhaps the most common invasive cancer seen amongst females internationally. This form of cancer, reports show, accounts for up to twenty percent of cancer-related fatalities worldwide, and these rates are typically higher in developed nations as opposed to underdeveloped countries. While breast cancer is well-known, even having its own awareness month in October each year, the average individual still does not have sufficient knowledge surrounding it.

Cell Culture And Drug Preparation

4T1 and HEK293T cells were cultured in Dulbeccos Modified Eagle Medium and Roswell Park Memorial Institute 1640 respectively, supplemented with 10% FBS and 1% Penicillin /Streptomycin . Flasks were incubated at 37°C in CO2 incubator with a 95% humidity. Media was changed every 2days and at 85% confluency cells were passaged. After the third passage, cells were seeded in proper plates and number for further experiments .

The stock solution was made by dissolving 2mg of verbascoside powder in 100l DMSO . Then 50l of stock A was added to 950l of media to make stock B . Treatment concentrations were made from stock B, for instance, 5l stock B was added to 995l media to make 5M concentration and likewise for the higher concentrations. Since the solvent we used was DMSO, we also considered a DMSO 10% control in 3–2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide experiments.

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Breast Cancer And Your Sexuality

Having breast cancer and its treatment can affect the way you feel about your body, who you are, your relationships, the way you express yourself sexually and your sexual feelings . These changes can be very upsetting.

Your medical team should discuss these issues with you before and during your treatment. If you feel you would like to discuss things further, ask your doctor for a referral to a counsellor or speak to a cancer nurse on the Cancer Council Information and Support Service . The Cancer Council Victoria booklet called Sexuality, intimacy and cancer may also be helpful to read.

Cancer Council Victoria also provides cancer patients with a psychosexual counselling service, for those with concerns about body image, intimacy, sexual confidence or relationships after cancer. The free sessions are held with an experienced medical practitioner with a speciality in psychosexual oncology.

Treatment For Breast Cancer

Treatment options for breast cancer include surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and hormone therapy. Usually, more than one is used. Treatment for breast cancer in men is similar to the treatment for breast cancer in women.

Treatment depends on several factors, including:

• whether you have had your menopause
• the type of breast cancer you have
• the size of your breast tumour in relation to your breast
• the stage of your breast cancer
• the grade of your cancer cells
• the results of tests on your cancer cells
• your age, general health and personal preferences.

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Increasing Awareness Of Cardiac Side Effects

With an aging US population and continued advances being made in cancer care, some researchers warned that cardiotoxicities are likely to become a larger concern in the coming decades.

Yet, several speakers noted that many of their colleagues in cardiology and oncology were generally unfamiliar with the cardiac side effects of cancer treatments.

We need to engage all members of the health care team, including doctors, pharmacists, and nurses, to convey the importance of cardiovascular health in cancer survivors, said Dr. Dent

Patients and survivors need to be informed as well, added Dr. Minasian, noting that collaboration among researchers will be critical to making progress against cardiotoxicities. We need cardiologists and oncologists to work together to answer basic questions about cardiotoxicities that neither group could answer working alone, she said.

Mechanism Of Insecticide Action

In insects, DDT opens sodium ion channels in neurons, causing them to fire spontaneously, which leads to spasms and eventual death. Insects with certain mutations in their sodium channel gene are resistant to DDT and similar insecticides. DDT resistance is also conferred by up-regulation of genes expressing cytochrome P450 in some insect species, as greater quantities of some enzymes of this group accelerate the toxin’s metabolism into inactive metabolites. Genomic studies in the model genetic organism Drosophila melanogaster revealed that high level DDT resistance is polygenic, involving multiple resistance mechanisms.

DDT was first synthesized in 1874 by Othmar Zeidler under the supervision of Adolf von Baeyer. It was further described in 1929 in a dissertation by W. Bausch and in two subsequent publications in 1930. The insecticide properties of “multiple chlorinated aliphatic or fat-aromatic alcohols with at least one trichloromethane group” were described in a patent in 1934 by Wolfgang von Leuthold. DDT’s insecticidal properties were not, however, discovered until 1939 by the Swiss scientist Paul Hermann Müller, who was awarded the 1948 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine for his efforts.

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Isomers And Related Compounds

Commercial DDT is a mixture of several closelyrelated compounds. Due to the nature of the chemical reaction used to synthesize DDT, several combinations of ortho and paraarene substitution patterns are formed. The major component is the desired p,p’isomer. The o,p’ isomeric impurity is also present in significant amounts . Dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene and dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane make up the balance of impurities in commercial samples. DDE and DDD are also the major metabolites and environmental breakdown products. DDT, DDE and DDD are sometimes referred to collectively as DDX.

• Components of commercial DDT

Less Common Treatment Effects

Radiation therapy. In some cases it can cause pulmonary fibrosis, which scars your lung tissue. You might notice:

• Dry cough
• Chest pain

Continued

These symptoms typically show up 2-3 months after your treatment ends. It may first look like pneumonia, but antibiotics wont help. Your doctor may prescribe steroids to treat your symptoms.

Chemotherapy. Certain chemo drugs can lead to heart problems, especially if you had existing heart problems. Other possible side effects of chemo include:

• Hot flashes and irregular or missed periods
• Foggy thinking

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What Are The Risk Factors For Breast Cancer

Like many conditions, risk factors for breast cancer fall into the categories of things you can control and things that you cannot control. Risk factors affect your chances of getting a disease, but having a risk factor does not mean that you are guaranteed to get a certain disease.

Controllable risk factors for breast cancer

• Alcohol consumption. The risk of breast cancer increases with the amount of alcohol consumed. For instance, women who consume two or three alcoholic beverages daily have an approximately 20% higher risk of getting breast cancer than women who do not drink at all.
• Body weight. Being obese is a risk factor for breast cancer. It is important to eat a healthy diet and exercise regularly.
• Breast implants. Having silicone breast implants and resulting scar tissue make it harder to distinguish problems on regular mammograms. It is best to have a few more images to improve the examination. There is also a rare cancer called anaplastic large cell lymphoma that is associated with the implants.
• Choosing not to breastfeed. Not breastfeeding can raise the risk.
• Using hormone-based prescriptions. This includes using hormone replacement therapy during menopause for more than five years and taking certain types of birth control pills.

Non-controllable risk factors for breast cancer

Effects Of Breast Cancer Treatment On Body Image

Participants who had chemotherapy done, had their hair falling off which they considered a great loss because of how admirable their hair is.

I have lost my long flamboyant hair, the long hair I decided to hold and twist anyhow, hmm. People use to admire my hair a lot when I go to the salon and now my husband has been complaining about the loss of my long beautiful hair .

I have lost all my hair when I combed it two days after the chemotherapy, my hair came off so I shouted. My auntie became alarmed and reshaped it for me but later, everything came off rendering me bald .

Participants relied on wigs both human and synthetic to make up for their hair loss. Some purchased different types of human hair to change their looks.

Now this wig is what I have to live with until a miracle occurs. I have bought three types of human hair to appear attractive and be able to go to work .

My husband complains about the wig and said I should not wear the wig but I cannot live without the wig, I just dont feel comfortable at all seeing my scalp bald .

Darkening of the tongue, gum, skin, and the nails as side effects of chemotherapy became so obvious in some participants to the extent that, one participant likened herself to a smoker. She further narrated about her breast shrinking and discharging.

After the surgery, something like a boil developed in my armpit which is painful and because of that I do not wear sleeveless dresses anymore .

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Can Exercise Help Reduce My Risk Of Developing Breast Cancer

Exercise is a big part of a healthy lifestyle. It can also be a useful way to reduce your risk of developing breast cancer in your postmenopausal years. Women often gain weight and body fat during menopause. People with higher amounts of body fat can be at a higher risk of breast cancer. However, by reducing your body fat through exercise, you may be able to lower your risk of developing breast cancer.

The general recommendation for regular exercise is about 150 minutes each week. This would mean that you work out for about 30 minutes, five days each week. However, doubling the amount of weekly exercise to 300 minutes can greatly benefit postmenopausal women. The longer duration of exercise allows for you to burn more fat and improve your heart and lung function.

The type of exercise you do can vary the main goal is get your heart rate up as you exercise. Its recommended that your heart rate is raised about 65 to 75% of your maximum heart rate during exercise. You can figure out your maximum heart rate by subtracting your current age from 220. If you are 65, for example, your maximum heart rate is 155.

Aerobic exercise is a great way to improve your heart and lung function, as well as burn fat. Some aerobic exercises you can try include:

• Walking.
• Dancing.
• Hiking.

Remember, there are many benefits to working more exercise into your weekly routine. Some benefits of aerobic exercise can include:

Reflux Heartburn And Gerd

Heartburn, reflux, and GERD may occur during cancer treatment. Cancer treatments or medications may affect parts of your digestive tract and cause the food and liquids in your stomach to reflux into your esophagus . If you have reflux, you may have symptoms such as swallowing difficulty, a sore throat, sour taste in your mouth, heartburn and painful digestion.

Talk with your healthcare team for the best care for reflux. Here are some tips and guidelines to help control reflux:

Go small.

• Eat 5-6 small meals or snacks throughout the day. Smaller amounts of food are easier for the body to digest and absorb.
• Smaller amounts of food also mean there is less food that can travel back up the food pipe.

Choose lean.

• Avoid fried and fatty foods. These foods are hard to digest and stay in your stomach for a long time. Time increases risk for reflux.
• Choose baked, broiled, or grilled foods instead.

Dress for comfort.

• Wear loose-fitting clothes, especially clothes that are not tight around your stomach.
• Clothes that are tight around the stomach can trigger reflux.

Avoid smoking and alcohol.

• Smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol can trigger reflux.
• Instead of after-dinner drinks and cigarettes, chew sugarless non-mint gum for 30 minutes after meals. This encourages food to move through your digestive system.

Sit up.

Slow down.

Choose well.

Write it down.

Avoid eating before bed.

Ask for help.

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Does Breast Cancer Affect Women Of All Races Equally

All women, especially as they age, are at some risk for developing breast cancer. The risks for breast cancer in general arent evenly spread among ethnic groups, and the risk varies among ethnic groups for different types of breast cancer. Breast cancer mortality rates in the United States have declined by 40% since 1989, but disparities persist and are widening between non-Hispanic Black women and non-Hispanic white women.

Statistics show that, overall, non-Hispanic white women have a slightly higher chance of developing breast cancer than women of any other race/ethnicity. The incidence rate for non-Hispanic Black women is almost as high.

Non-Hispanic Black women in the U.S. have a 39% higher risk of dying from breast cancer at any age. They are twice as likely to get triple-negative breast cancer as white women. This type of cancer is especially aggressive and difficult to treat. However, it’s really among women with hormone positive disease where Black women have worse clinical outcomes despite comparable systemic therapy. Non-Hispanic Black women are less likely to receive standard treatments. Additionally, there is increasing data on discontinuation of adjuvant hormonal therapy by those who are poor and underinsured.

In women under the age of 45, breast cancer is found more often in non-Hispanic Black women than in non-Hispanic white women.

Can Cancer Form In Other Parts Of The Breast

Cancers can also form in other parts of the breast, but these types of cancer are less common. These can include:

• Angiosarcomas. This type of cancer begins in the cells that make up the lining of blood or lymph vessels. These cancers can start in breast tissue or breast skin. They are rare.
• Inflammatory breast cancer. This type of cancer is rare and different from other types of breast cancer. It is caused by obstructive cancer cells in the skins lymph vessels.
• Paget disease of the breast, also known as Paget disease of the nipple. This cancer affects the skin of the nipple and areola .
• Phyllodes tumors. These are rare, and most of these masses are not cancer. However, some are cancerous. These tumors begin in the breasts connective tissue, which is called the stroma.

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What Are The Symptoms Of Breast Cancer

Breast pain can be a symptom of cancer. If you have any symptoms that worry you, be sure to see your doctor right away.

Different people have different symptoms of breast cancer. Some people do not have any signs or symptoms at all.

Some warning signs of breast cancer are

• New lump in the breast or underarm .
• Thickening or swelling of part of the breast.
• Irritation or dimpling of breast skin.
• Redness or flaky skin in the nipple area or the breast.
• Pulling in of the nipple or pain in the nipple area.
• Nipple discharge other than breast milk, including blood.
• Any change in the size or the shape of the breast.
• Pain in any area of the breast.

Keep in mind that these symptoms can happen with other conditions that are not cancer.

If you have any signs or symptoms that worry you, be sure to see your doctor right away.