Breast Cancer-Signs & Symptoms

Last Updated on Wednesday, 26 October 2011 11:27 Written by Natural Health Team Wednesday, 26 October 2011 11:27

Health Information about Breast Cancer-Signs & Symptoms

The best way to deal with breast cancer, both before being diagnosed and after, is to be completely knowledgeable about it. Educating yourself about its symptoms, signs and causes can help you detect it early and also avoid it. With every one woman in eight being at the risk of getting breast cancer, it is the best thing we can do for ourselves.

To understand breast cancer, it is important that you understand its signs and symptoms so you can detect it at an early stage and prevent any further harm.

The first subjective sign or first symptom of breast cancer is a lump that feels different from the rest of the breast tissue. As per the Merck Manual, more than almost 80 percent of breast cancer cases are detected by a women when she feels a lump through a breast self examination. The American Cancer Society states that the first medical sign of breast cancer is detected by the physician when he discovers it through a mammogram. Another indication of breast cancer is the detection of lumps in the lymph nodes located in the armpits, as the first area it starts spreading to is the lymph nodes there.

There are other signs or symptoms as well, like:

Change in the size of the breast, Change of the shape, The skin of the breast starts dimpling, There is nipple inversion, Spontaneous single nipple discharge, Pain in the breast (mastodynia) is not a reliable symptom, but can also be indicative of other breast problems.

When breast cancer cells spread to the dermal lymphatics, that is, the small lymph vessels present in the skin of the breast, it can resemble skin inflammation and thus is known as Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC). The symptoms of this kind of breast cancer include pain, warmth, swelling, redness throughout the breast and an orange peel texture to the skin, which is referred to as peau d’orange.

Another complex symptom of breast cancer is the Paget’s disease of the breast. In this syndrome the skin presents changes as eczematoid skin changes. It shows redness and mild flaking of the skin of the nipple. It is said that as Paget’s advances, the symptoms may change to redness, itching, tingling, burning, increased sensitivity and pain. Around half of the women diagnosed with Paget’s syndrome have also had a lump in the breast.

Sometimes breast cancer presents itself as metastatic disease, which means the cancer that has spread from its original organ, the breast. The symptoms of metastatic breast cancer depend upon the location of the metastasis. Common sites where metastasis occurs is the bone, lung, liver and the brain. Unexplained weight loss can be a sign of an occurrence of breast cancer, as can fever and chills. Pain in the joints can be manifestations of metastatic breast cancer. Jaundice and neurological symptoms, too, could point towards this. These symptoms are non-specific; that means they could be the symptoms of any other illness.

Many times the symptoms of a breast disorder do not turn out to represent breast cancer. There are benign breast diseases, like mastitis and fibrodenoma, which can be the causes of the symptoms, though any symptom should be considered seriously at all times by both patients and doctors.

Being diagnosed with breast cancer can be an unsettling experience. Useful resources to deal with this time are books. You could consider Secrets of Cancer Survivors by Elizabeth Gould. For more information, please click here: http://www.secretsofcancersurvivors.com

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Breast Cancer Awareness Sydney

Last Updated on Wednesday, 26 October 2011 09:27 Written by Natural Health Team Wednesday, 26 October 2011 09:27

Health Information about Breast Cancer Awareness Sydney

These collections of irrepressible growth of tissue are called tumors or malignant tumors. Breast Cancer Awareness SydneyHowever, not all tumors are cancerous.

Breast cancer has been diagnosed in large numbers in North America and Europe. In 2001, about 200,000 cases of breast cancer were diagnosed in the United States alone. Every woman has a 1 in 8 risk of developing breast cancer, but the risk of dying from breast cancer is much lower, barely 1 in 28.

The risk of getting breast cancer is generally higher among older women, women with a family history or previous history of breast cancer, women who had radiation therapy in the chest region, women who started their periods before 12 years old, women who had menopause after 50 years old, women who never had children or had them age 30 or older, or women with genetic mutation. In recent times genetic mutations for breast cancer have become a hot topic of research.

The breast cancer tumor has the following symptoms: lump or thickening that appears on the breast or underarm, changes in the breast’s shape, nipple turned inwards followed by colorless discharge, red or scaled skin or nipple, or ridges on the breast skin.

Lung Cancer Secrets Revealed Click here

If a woman experiences any of these symptoms, it does not necessarily mean she has breast cancer. In such a case she should undergo a breast cancer personal check-up. It is estimated that 95% of breast cancer is detected through personal check-up. The breast cancer personal check-up includes checking for lumps in the breasts after each menstrual period, puckering the skin, and checking for nipple retraction or discharge. For consistent result, every woman should do a breast cancer personal check-up at the same time every month. Various other techniques such as mammography, thermography, ultrasonography, computerized tomography scan etc, can also help detect breast cancer.

Breast cancer treatments include surgery that removes cancerous tissues, with breast conservation therapy (BCT) being one such surgery. Other breast cancer treatments include chemotherapy, radiotherapy, hormonal therapy and biologic therapy. Radiotherapy is a common breast cancer treatment, and radiation treatment and chemotherapy may follow surgery to ensure the destruction of the stray cancer cells.

Even after undergoing many or all of these breast cancer treatment measures, unfortunately almost half the women suffer from a recurrence of the disease.

lung cancer treatment breakthroughs Click here

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How to detect and prevent cervical cancer

Last Updated on Wednesday, 26 October 2011 07:28 Written by Natural Health Team Wednesday, 26 October 2011 07:28

Health Information about How to detect and prevent cervical cancer

Thanks to widespread screening, the incidence of cervical cancer has decreased significantly.  Pre-cancer lesions can be detected and removed before they become malignant.  In 2010, approximately 12,200 patients are estimated to be diagnosed with cervical cancer in the United States.  An estimated 4,210 will die of this disease. 

Screening tests include either conventional Pap smear or liquid cytology, with or without HPV (human papilloma virus) DNA test.  The current recommendations from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists for normal-risk women are as follows: 

1)  Pap smear to start at age 21

2)  < 30 years of age:  every 2 years

3)  > 30 years of age:  every 3 years

4)  Stop screening at age 65-70, after 3 normal tests during the last 10 years.

Screening is more frequent for high risk women.  High risk conditions include previous cervical cancer, exposure to DES (diethylstilbestrol) as a fetus, and immunocompromised conditions (by organ transplantation drug, chemotherapy, steroids, or HIV).  Please keep in mind that the screening recommendations above apply to “asymptomatic” patients.  If you think that you have new symptoms, such as abnormal bleeding, unusual heavy discharge, pelvic pain, pain during urination, etc, discuss with your doctor.

With the recent development of vaccines, cervical cancer is now also a potentially preventable disease.  The American Cancer Society recommends HPV vaccination for girls starting at age 11 up to 18.  It is not yet clear whether vaccination for the age range of 19-26 is beneficial or not.  The Gardasil vaccine prevents infection of four strains of HPV.  Strains 16 and 18 cause 70% of cervical cancer cases and strains 6 and 11 cause 90% of genital warts cases. The Cervarix vaccine protects against HPV strains 16 and 18.  Neither vaccine offers absolute prevention of all types of cervical cancer-causing HPV.  Therefore, vaccinated women should still see their health care provider for routine cervical cancer screening.  It should be noted that recently the FDA also approved the use of HPV vaccination for boys and men ages 9-26 for the prevention of genital warts. 

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Pregnancy Test and Early Signs of Pregnancy

Last Updated on Wednesday, 26 October 2011 05:28 Written by Natural Health Team Wednesday, 26 October 2011 05:28

Health Information about Pregnancy Test and Early Signs of Pregnancy

The home pregnancy test enables you to do a urine test at home. The blood tests need to be done by a doctor. Most frequently, women use home pregnancy tests first to find out if they are pregnant. You can buy pregnancy tests online and at most drugstores or grocery stores over-the-counter.

Home pregnancy tests are personal, reasonably priced and simple to use. About 2 weeks after ovulation, these tests can tell if you’re pregnant. Some more sensitive tests state that they can tell if you are pregnant as early as one day after a missed period. Once a home pregnancy test shows that you are pregnant, you should make an appointment with your doctor right away. A pelvic examination can be performed by your doctor and then at the same time you can be given a test which is more sensitive to tell for certain if you’re pregnant.

There are two types of test namely Home pregnancy test and clinical test. As the name suggest the latter is done under medical supervision and the former can be done at home with the help of test kits which are easily available in the market. The results of pregnancy test are getting more accurate with the passing time. Both urine and blood test results produce 97%to 99% accuracy. The accuracy of the test depends upon how the test is performed. The best-performed test is bound to give accurate result.

Over The Counter Pregnancy Tests

These tests are by far the most convenient type of pregnancy examination. They are urine based and can be done by the patients themselves. The over the counter pregnancy kit contains a urine cup and a stick, which helps to find out the pregnancy.

The procedure is fairly simple. The woman has to pee in the cup, and then submerge the stick into the urine, for a specific period. The instructions are very clearly mentioned in the kit’s instruction booklet. However, if you are not comfortable with the conventional way, another, cleaner way of determination is by putting the stick in the urine pour out, while you are urinating.

When to take a pregnancy test is important, because if you test too early in your pregnancy, there may not yet be enough of the pregnancy hormone in the urine to provide a positive test result. Most of the home pregnancy tests will be 90% accurate if you wait and test yourself one day after your missed period is due. If you feel you are pregnant but the home pregnancy test is negative, repeat the test again in a week if you still have not had your period.

Home Pregnancy Tests

Most of the women go for home pregnancy test. To get the maximum accurate results you need to wait for about a week after the due date of your periods. This will have more concentration of HCG in the urine, which allow for more accurate test. The best time to perform the test is in the morning before having anything because this is the time when there will be upsurge of HCG in the urine. If you are aware of the tests that can be performed on the first day the period is due, then it is better to understand that such tests doesn’t guarantee accuracy and hence cannot be relied upon.

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Cervical Cancer Chemotherapy

Last Updated on Wednesday, 26 October 2011 03:28 Written by Natural Health Team Wednesday, 26 October 2011 03:28

Health Information about Cervical Cancer Chemotherapy

can be done with chemotherapy and of course the selection of this therapy based on cancer stage. Chemotherapy is generally not used as monotherapy and combined with other types of therapies such as surgery and radiation therapy.

What is Chemotherapy?

is a treatment method that aims to kill cancer cells. These drugs target cancer cells by damaging and inhibit cell growth factors. On some types of chemotherapy drugs that conventional chemo drug effects not only result in only cancer cells but also on healthy cells. So that the side effects often occur after administration of chemotherapy, for example, is hair loss, nausea and vomiting.

Chemotherapy drugs are usually given through an intravenous (IV) or orally. Actually there is another route that can be used but for the gift of is more common with intravenous or oral.

Some types of chemotherapy are usually used in the treatment of cervical cancer are:
Carboplatin
Cisplatin
Paclitaxel
Fluorouracil (5FU)
Cyclophosphamide
Docetaxel
Ifosfamide
Gemcitabine
Side effects are common in chemotherapy

Side effects of chemotherapy can vary, depending on the type of drug administered. There are drugs that specifically cause nausea, vomiting, there is cause baldness, there is cause a decrease in white blood cells. But in general chemotherapy drugs will cause nausea, hair loss and fatigue. Currently developing drugs that function to overcome the side effects that arise after the chemotherapy so that patients will feel more comfortable post-chemotherapy.

How many times do chemotherapy?

The frequency of chemotherapy depend on various factors. The doctor will make the appropriate treatment plan based on cancer type, stage, health factors, type of chemotherapy drugs are given and other treatment methods are used.

In cervical cancer, chemotherapy drug delivery is generally administered every week or every three weeks. If the delivery method every 3 weeks it will be given as many as 6 cycles. In some cases, chemotherapy can not be done fully as much as 6 cycles, so doctors sometimes have to choose other treatment alternatives.

Things that should be known before chemotherapy

is an intensive treatment that patients should know a few things before chemotherapy:

What chemotherapy drugs will be given
Why is this drug was chosen
How long will last and how much chemotherapy cycles
What side effects will emerge
What side effects that require medical attention
What is the success rate of treatment with this chemotherapy with another woman in the same case
Whether chemotherapy will have an impact on daily activities
Is there a drug that will be given to overcome the side effects of chemotherapy

Dr. Walden is a premier Manhattan Plastic Surgeon, and is often asked to comment, as a medical expert, on CBS, ABC, Fox News, and other media outlets. Dr. Walden has covered issues including current cosmetic surgery, breast augmentation, prevention of breast cancer, and many other topics. Watch as Dr. Walden gives some good information on Breast Cancer Awareness and the importance of regular screenings. This video is part of an Informational Podcast Episode and Blog Post on Business Bits With Jim Farrell.

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