Home > Health Care > Disease > Care for HOPE – Understanding Breast Cancer 1

What is Breast Cancer?

Breast cancer is the top cancer in Indonesian women and number of prevalence increased by 23 percent between 2008 and 2012, due to increase in life expectancy, increased urbanization and adoption of western lifestyles.

Although some risk reduction might be achieved with prevention, these strategies cannot eliminate the majority of breast cancers that develop in low- and middle-income people in which breast cancer is diagnosed in very late stages.

Indonesian Cancer Foundation vision’s to enable the community to provide attention, support and protection in the effort to reduce morbidity rate, mortality rate, and sufferings due to cancer is meaningful for caring and giving hope of Indonesian cancer patients

So, your understanding about what breast cancer is and early detection in order to improve breast cancer outcome and survival remains the cornerstone of breast cancer control

What is cancer?

In healthy body, natural systems control the creation, growth and death of cells. Cancer happens when these systems do not work properly and cells do not die at the normal rate. There is more cell growth than cell death. This excess growth can make a mass of tissue

What is breast cancer?

Breast cancer happens when cells in the breast divide and grow without their normal control. Tumors in the breast tend to grow slowly. By the time a lump is large enough to be felt, it may have been growing for as long as 10 years. Some tumors are aggressive and grow much faster

Between 50 and 75 percent of breast cancers begin in the milk ducts, and about 10 to 15 percent begin in the lobules and a few begin in other breast tissues

It was important to understand the differences between invasive breast cancer and non – invasive breast cancer, due to these differences affect treatment and prognosis

Non – invasive breast cancer

In medical terminology, it was called ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). When abnormal cells grow inside the milk ducts, but have not spread to nearby tissue or beyond, the condition is called DCIS.

Although the abnormal cells have not spread to tissues outside the ducts, they can develop into invasive breast cancer.

Invasive breast cancer

Invasive breast cancer occurs when abnormal cells from inside the milk ducts or lobules break out into nearby breast tissues and the cancer cells can travel from the breast to other parts of the body through the blood stream or the lymphatic system.

What is metastatic breast cancer?

In advanced stages, breast cancer cells may spread to other part of the body like liver, lungs, bones and brain, this process called metastasis. There, the breast cancer cells may again begin to divide too quickly and make new tumors.

Reference:

World Health Organization. Breast Cancer:prevention and control 2015 (Internet). Available from: http://who.int/cancer/detection/breastcancer/
Ferlay J, Soerjomataram I, Dikshit R, Eser S, Mathers C, Rebelo M, Parkin DM, Forman D, Bray F. Cancer incidence and mortality worldwide: Sources, methods and major patterns in GLOBOCAN 2012. International Journal of Cancer 2015 Mar; 136(5); E 359 – E 386. doi: 10.1002/ijc.29210
American Cancer Society. Global Cancer Facts & Figures 3rd Edition. Atlanta: American Cancer Society; 2015. Available from: http://www.cancer.org/acs/groups/content/@research/documents/document/acspc-044738.pdf