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Cancer

Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Most cancer-causing DNA changes occur in sections of DNA called genes. These changes are also called genetic changes.

breast cancer risk factors

THE MAIN RISK FACTORS OF BREAST CANCER

THE MAIN RISK FACTORS OF BREAST CANCER Read More »

1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer (BC) in their lifetime. More than 2 million new cases of this disease are diagnosed worldwide every year. There are of course breast cancer risk factors. What do you need to know to prevent illness? Is it possible to reduce your own risk of developing breast cancer? Let’s find out. Written by Y. Timovskaya, Ph.D., doctor oncologist of the highest category, Member of ESMO. Together with @ Galishina Anna – Head of the Diagnostic Department of the Specialized Breast Center, doctor of radiation diagnostics of the highest category, member of ESR, EUSOBI. 8 major risk factors It’s possible to conditionally identify the main factors in the development of breast cancer. There are only 8 of them! Of course, in general, there are many more risks and we have already written about some little-known ones. But the most significant are the following: IN THIS ARTICLE 1 8 major risk factors 2 New risks 3 Why understand your risk factors? 4 Variable and permanent breast cancer risk factors 5 Patient stories RELATED ARTICLES 6. Hyperestrogenemia (increased concentration of estrogens in the blood), especially associated with the intake of hormonal drugs. And these are combined oral contraceptives (COCs), and hormone replacement therapy (HRT), and IVF. 7. Failure to comply with the healthy lifestyle rules, which leads to metabolic disorders. 8. Not having children or lactation or late childbirth. New risks In addition to the main risks, there are few that we are able to influence. They include: 👉 Low level of vitamin D. Research suggests that women with low levels of vitamin D have a higher risk of breast cancer. This happens because vitamin D may play a role in controlling normal breast cell growth and may be able to stop breast cancer cells from growing. 👉Exposure to Chemicals in Cosmetics So, research strongly suggests that at certain exposure levels, some of the chemicals in cosmetics may contribute to the development of cancer in people. Such substances include parabens (the most common are methylparaben, propylparaben, ethylparaben and butylparaben) and phthalates. 👉Exposure to Chemicals in Food There’s a real concern that pesticides, antibiotics, and hormones used on crops and livestock may cause health problems in people, including an increase in breast cancer risk. Now let’s talk about why we need all this information and what is the practical use of it? Why understand your risk factors? Do all factors in the breast cancer development lead to the development of breast cancer? No. Did all breast cancer patients have all these risk factors? No either. At the same time, a combination of risk factors increases the risk of developing breast cancer. However, it is not yet possible to determine exactly which of 8 women will develop the disease. Yet doctors talk about the importance of understanding risk factors. But why? There are situations when a woman has all the risk factors, and at the same time, she will never get sick with this disease. On the other hand, there are diametrically opposite situations when a woman does not have any risk factors except the first one, and she still gets breast cancer. However, such situations are marginal. They are located at the edges of the variation row for breast cancer patients. In most cases, that is in 80% of patients with breast cancer, known risk factors played a role in the disease development. Thus, women very often unconsciously provoked progressing tumor processes through their actions. And a major part of the cause of this problem was ignorance. In other words, many people have never heard of risk factors that subsequently cost them their health. Therefore, all over the world, the information war against breast cancer is recognized as one of the most effective mechanisms to reduce mortality from this disease. Variable and permanent breast cancer risk factors It should be noted that risk factors can be divided into two groups. The first one includes those that we cannot affect, such as gender, age, family history, and the presence of gene mutations. In this case, if you are aware of them, your doctor should adopt an individual preventive care program and screening diagnostics. In all the other cases, it’s up to us to influence the risk factors. Thereby we can reduce our own risk of developing breast cancer. It is important not only to know about breast cancer risk factors but also to realize that our health may depend on us. Of course, it is not possible to prevent breast cancer with 100% certainty. At the same time, we can reduce the risk of death through early diagnosis. Therefore, it is necessary to take into account the presence of risk factors and behave accordingly, considering your risk group. Patients’ stories So now, let’s get from theory to practice. We’ll go over two cases to illustrate how important it is to understand your risks. Subsequently, we will definitely devote a few future articles to this topic. 👉 Case 1. A 38-year-old woman with a family history of breast cancer. She didn’t have childbirth and lactation, but there is a record of pregnancy termination in her history at the age of 27. Since then, she has been constantly taking combined oral contraceptives (COCs) for contraception. 👉 Case 2. A 52-year-old woman with climacteric syndrome, type 2 diabetes, a history of 1 childbirth at 22, no lactation, 4 abortions, the last one at the age of 42. She has been taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT). So, patients already have risk factors for developing breast cancer, which they cannot change. But these women increased the risk of the disease by taking additional hormonal estrogen-containing drugs. Of course, in spite of the above cases, not everyone using HRT will develop breast cancer. However, when the disease is already there, oncologists always hear regrets about the lack of awareness. If they had known that they had been increasing the risk, they would have acted differently. Only 1 in 8 factors is enough to play a key role

bolezn-monaxin

WHAT IS NUN’S DISEASE?

WHAT IS NUN’S DISEASE? Read More »

Do you know what nun’s disease is? In ХVII century, a European empress, having learned her diagnosis, wrote in her diary: – Doctors are mistaken about the diagnosis, I cannot have nuns’ disease. I have a husband and children. Written by Timovskaya Yu.A., MD, PHD, senior oncologist, Member of ESMO So what is this nun’s disease? The term became popular hundreds of years ago due to the fact that a large number of nuns were diagnosed with breast cancer. What was the reason for this phenomenon? Firstly, there were many more nuns before the ХХ century than in our time. Secondly – indeed, women who did not give birth or breastfeed got this disease more often. We’ve already talked about the 8 most significant risk factors for breast cancer. And today we’ll talk about little-known facts. IN THIS ARTICLE 1 So what is this nun’s disease? 2 Little-Known Facts about Breast Cancer 3 More about Early Diagnosis RELATED ARTICLES Little-Known Facts about Breast Cancer Historical facts Fact #1. In ancient times, people tried to treat breast cancer using excrement of insects, especially wasps, and bees. At that time, there was no cure for the disease. In order to alleviate the symptoms women had, it was recommended to apply a mixture of cow brains and wasp excrement to the breast affected by a tumor. This treatment was mentioned in ancient Egyptian papyri on methods of treating various diseases. The breast cancer clinic has not changed since those times. But the approaches to treatment have changed dramatically. As for the treatment, the first record of a mastectomy (those. breast removal) offered for breast cancer was over 1,500 years ago. The first record of a breast mastectomy was in 548 A.D. on Theodora, the Empress of Byzantine. Most importantly, the risk of dying from breast cancer is decreasing every year all over the world. It is gratifying that, as opposed to the second half of the twentieth century, the risk of death from breast cancer nowadays has reduced by 60% thanks to progress in early diagnostics of tumors and introduction of modern treatment methods. Facts in numbers Breast cancer (BC) affects not only people, but animals as well. For example, breast cancer is a common disease in cats and dogs. At the same time, dogs get sick more often than cats. On the other hand, the disease is more aggressive for the latter. Interestingly, dogs receive a treatment similar to that received by people. Fact # 2. Men also have breast cancer. However, if the risk of breast cancer in women is 1 in 8, then in men this risk is significantly less. Only 1 in 1000 men have breast cancer. The left breast is 5 – 10% more likely to develop cancer than the right breas. The left side is also roughly 5% more prone to melanoma. Nobody is exactly sure why this is so. Next fact is about the risk. Thus, it was found that women who work night shifts have twice as high risk of developing breast cancer. True, this only applies to cases where women have worked at night for more than 30 years. For those who have worked in such jobs for less than 30 years, individual risks remain unchanged. And let’s end this list on a positive one. 80% of patients with breast cancer will be treated successfully and announced healthy. Related Articles More about Early Diagnosis In the following articles we will talk about methods of early diagnosis, namely: 👉 Are all examination methods (examination, MMG, ultrasound) equally effective for the early detection of breast cancer?👉 How often should they be used: annually, once every six months, or are there other options?

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