“A risk factor is anything that increases your chances of getting a disease, such as breast cancer. But having a risk factor, or even many, does not mean that you are sure to get the disease.

Some risk factors for breast cancer are things you cannot change, such as getting older (Menopause) or inheriting certain gene changes. These make your risk of breast cancer higher.Women who have had more menstrual cycles because they went through menopause later (typically after age 55) have a slightly higher risk of breast cancer. The increase in risk may be because they have a longer lifetime exposure to the hormones estrogen and progesterone.

Women who were treated with radiation therapy to the chest for another cancer (such as Hodgkin or non-Hodgkin lymphoma) when they were younger have a significantly higher risk for breast cancer. This risk depends on their age when they got radiation. The risk is highest for women who had radiation as a teen or young adult, when the breasts were still developing. Radiation treatment in older women (after about age 40 to 45) does not seem to increase breast cancer risk.From the 1940s through the early 1970s some pregnant women were given an estrogen-like drug called DES because it was thought to lower their chances of losing the baby (miscarriage). These women have a slightly increased risk of developing breast cancer. Women whose mothers took DES while they were pregnant with them may also have a slightly higher risk of breast cancer.From the 1940s through the early 1970s some pregnant women were given an estrogen-like drug called DES because it was thought to lower their chances of losing the baby (miscarriage). These women have a slightly increased risk of developing breast cancer. Women whose mothers took DES while they were pregnant with them may also have a slightly higher risk of breast cancer.

From the 1940s through the early 1970s some pregnant women were given an estrogen-like drug called DES because it was thought to lower their chances of losing the baby (miscarriage). These women have a slightly increased risk of developing breast cancer. Women whose mothers took DES while they were pregnant with them may also have a slightly higher risk of breast cancer.”

American Cancer Society (https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/breast-cancer/risk-and-prevention/breast-cancer-risk-factors-you-cannot-change.html)

Cancer seems like a thunder bolt that it all of a sudden hits us from nowhere, like what happened to my Dad that was in 1999 when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer with passing on in about 6 months after diagnosed. Than the hit from nowhere makes the patient and significant others suddenly crippled and not prepared for this diagnosis (facing it with little knowledge or in some cases nothing you can do for the patient since its fatal other than support). No wonder why cancer fears society. To top that alone it is costly, debilitating, depressing, and even fatal, like in my father’s case.

Early detection can vastly improve survival figures, that is not just pertaining to breast cancers but to most diseases period. Delaying to seek advice when changes are recognized is a big mistake.

**Here are some general risk factors for cancer & try to prevent having them in your lives or abusing them (moderation – the key to many things that are not used that way in US). Abuse of anything results in disaster.

1.) Smoking (stop period) including chewing tobacco and dipping snuff. Best to stop these period.

The CDC states in 2020, an estimated 12.5% (30.8 million) of U.S. adults currently smoked cigarettes. Current cigarette smoking was defined as smoking ≥100 cigarettes during a lifetime and now smoking cigarettes either every day or some days.⁵

Lung cancer mainly occurs in older people. Most people diagnosed with lung cancer are 65 or older; a very small number of people diagnosed are younger than 45. The average age of people when diagnosed is about 70.

Lung cancer is by far the leading cause of cancer death , making up almost 25% of all cancer deaths. Each year, more people die of lung cancer than of colon, breast, and prostate cancers combined.

2.) Diets high in fat or low in fiber. Obesity as well is a risk factor for cancer, odds are high that the diet was high in fat even causing the obesity in the first place.                     

3.) Age is over 50 or too much unresolved stress in your life.

4.) Abuse of alcoholism or inadequate amount of vitamins or minerals in your diet.      Exposure to environmental or occupational cancer causing substances (air, water, radiation, disaster like 9/11, or even food).

5.) Too much radiation from various sources (ex. Sun bathing to close to radiation treatments someone is receiving on a oncology unit, simply Sun overexposure).

6.) Fair complexion (pale) or even family history of cancers in the family (highest risk is within the nuclear family having a mother or father or sibling with cancer).

**Most cancers with heredity in the nuclear family including a bad life style puts that individual at higher probability of inheriting or getting that cancer.**

How ethnic groups play a part in breast cancer or any cancer:

Look at ethnicity; take a completely different country in eating alone. Let us look at Japan and their women. They eat a completely different diet than women in the USA. Japanese women have ¼ the amount of breast cancer than American women; is this mainly genetics? When Japanese women move to the great USA they assume our diets and get the same death rates from breast cancer that American women get when diagnosed with it. My eyes see diet in America (fast food=JUNK). Moderation if not completely banded out of your diet = fast food. Americans who eat junk food on a regular basis are looking at abusing fast food as oppose to a treating themselves to junk food now and than (this is what we call moderation).

Breastcancer.org states:

“Among younger women, Black and non-Hispanic Black women have higher rates of breast cancer compared to white and non-Hispanic white women. Among older women, white and non-Hispanic white women have higher rates of breast cancer compared to Black and non-Hispanic Black women.

White women are slightly more likely to develop breast cancer than Black, Hispanic, and Asian women. But Black women are more likely to develop more aggressive, more advanced-stage breast cancer that is diagnosed at a young age.

White women are slightly more likely to develop breast cancer than Black, Hispanic, and Asian women. But Black women are more likely to develop more aggressive, more advanced-stage breast cancer that is diagnosed at a young age. Black women are also more likely to die from breast cancer. Some of these differences in outcomes may be due to less access to mammography and lower quality medical care, as well as various lifestyle patterns (eating habits and weight issues for example) that are more common in some ethnic groups than in others. These factors can be changed and improved.

Still, triple-negative breast cancer, which is more aggressive than other types, is more common in Black women. Triple-negative breast cancer is estrogen-receptor-negative, progesterone-receptor-negative, and HER2-negative. New treatments for triple-negative breast cancer are being studied in clinical trials.”

The CDC states:

“What is already known about this topic?  Breast cancer accounts for 30% of all cancers diagnosed in women.

What is added by this report? During 1999–2018, breast cancer incidence among women aged ≥20 years decreased an average of 0.3% per year, decreasing 2.1% per year during 1999–2004 and increasing 0.3% per year during 2004–2018. Incidence increased among start highlightnon-Hispanic Asian or Pacific end highlightIslander women and women aged 20–39 years but decreased among non-Hispanic White women and women aged 50–64 and ≥75 years.

What are the implications for public health practice?  The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force currently recommends biennial mammography screening for women aged 50–74 years. Women aged 20–49 years might benefit from discussing potential breast cancer risk and ways to reduce risk with their health care providers.”

So what do we do at this point America or anywhere else?

We the people of America or anywhere can make the change in controlling many factors in our diet and exercise to control diseases period we have want to make the move and if we did disease decrease in time would be outstanding. In the end it would make our economy better with our insurance overall.

Ending line, this means less disease, less expense, and meaning better coverage (less out of our pockets financially). For this to even get started we the people in the USA have to be willing to alter diets and exercise to a healthy pattern not a junk food frequently diet or sedentary lifestyle. Help make America a better country for all citizens of all ages. Our government surely hasn’t helped us in prevention tactics to lower statistics in showing less breast cancer significantly.

We do have many improvements with cancer treatment going from diagnostic tooling advancement with even drugs and drugs combined, a multitude of radiation methods and advanced surgical techniques. However, with all this due to increased cancer research, the government has yet to push the most important ingredient for cancer prevention. For every 3 dollars spent on cancer research, only one dollar goes spent in the area of prevention. When your government representative speaks of further cancer research you may want to find out is it for prevention or treatment. My vote is prevention before getting diagnosed with it. That is like the government waiting for a bomb to land on the USA before taking measures to prevent it. Why wait for the disaster when it can be prevented completely and no mess to deal with. Makes sense? Sure does to me and many.

Moderation with anything legal and not being abusive to your body, for ex. Alcohol or prescribed drugs, with the other modifiable factors you can change discussed yesterday, it simply takes someone with will power to make the change or one who already is doing the right activities with diet in their life had will power in doing this lifestyle. That is what it takes to prevent breast cancer and many other diseases simple means making changes in your life=willpower which includes a healthy diet, some regular exercising, keeping your weight ideal to your body mass index, and having the yearly physicals or addressing new symptoms by going to your doctor to have him or she evaluate what it is with the treatment for it. Obese? and can’t lose the weight on your own get a MD consult to see what surgery or other options you have to decrease weight.  All it take is WILL POWER of that individual to do the right moves in life not to get cancer!

Instead of getting it wouldn’t you rather PREVENT it. Remember our disease killers in the USA.   Our #1 killer is cardiovascular our #2 killer is cancer in America!

Ways to prevent breast cancer:

020414SMcC2244

The BEST way to go is not to ever get the cancer!!! 

FIGHT BREAST CANCER AND EVEN DISEASE OVERALL BY PREVENTION; that is the KEY!!!! 

“1 in 8 women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime. In 2024, an estimated 310,720 women and 2,800 men will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer. Chances are, you know at least one person who has been personally affected by breast cancer.

But there is hope. When caught in its earliest, localized stages, the 5-year relative survival rate is 99%. Advances in early detection and treatment methods have significantly increased breast cancer survival rates in recent years, and there are currently over 4 million breast cancer survivors in the United States.”

National Breast Cancer Foundation Inc (https://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/breast-cancer-facts/)

Unmodified Risk factors for Breast Cancer and those are factors we can’t change putting us at risk for breast cancer, which are:

DES Exposure

In the 1950s and 1960s, many pregnant women took a synthetic form of estrogen called diethylstilbestrol (DES) to prevent miscarriage. Many of these women’s daughters eventually developed vaginal and cervical cancer at a rate that seemed higher than normal, and studies found that DES exposure was indeed associated with an increased risk of these types of cancer.

Because of the exposure to additional estrogen, women who were exposed to DES in utero also may be at higher risk for breast cancer. A study published in October 2002 found that in women who were 40 years and older, breast cancer risk was in fact increased if a woman had been exposed to DES.

Because DES is a banned substance, people are no longer at risk for new exposures; however, if you know or suspect that your mother or grandmother took DES while pregnant, you should notify your doctor.

Age at Menstruation

A woman’s amount of exposure to estrogen and progesterone during her lifetime is believed to be a risk factor. The longer a woman is exposed, the more likely she is to develop breast cancer. Therefore, if a woman begins menstruation before age 12, she is believed to be at slightly higher risk.

Age at First Birth

It has been observed that women who have their first child after age 29, or who do not have any children, are at slightly higher risk for breast cancer than women who have their first child before age 29. It has been proposed that breast changes during pregnancy may have protective effects against cancer development because risk of breast cancer appears to decrease with each additional childbirth.

It is important to note that evidence suggests the opposite is true for women who have a family history of breast cancer. In other words, women who have a family history of breast cancer are at lower risk if they have no children or have their children at a later age.

Age at Menopause

Women who go through menopause after the age of 54 have a slightly higher risk of breast cancer than women who go through menopause at age 54 or younger. Their higher risk may be related to their higher lifetime exposure to estrogen and progesterone.

Atypical Hyperplasia or Atypia

Either atypical hyperplasia or atypia indicates the growth of abnormal cells in the breast. The diagnosis of atypical hyperplasia can be made from a core biopsy or excisional biopsy, and has been correlated with an increased risk of breast cancer.

The diagnosis of atypia can be made from nipple aspiration, ductal lavage, or fine needle aspiration (FNA), and also indicates an increased breast cancer risk. Although these cells are not yet cancerous, they do raise a woman’s risk of eventually developing breast cancer. While biopsies and FNAs are usually reserved for when there is a current indication that a woman might have breast cancer, nipple aspiration and ductal lavage are methods that may help assess a woman’s future risk of breast cancer.

Breast Density

Studies have consistently shown that higher breast density is linked with increased risk of breast cancer. Research is examining whether breast density may be modifiable by changing women’s hormones or diet. One medication that has been demonstrated to reduce breast density is tamoxifen.

Serum Estradiol Level

Estradiol is the predominant form of estrogen circulating in the body. ‘Serum estradiol’ refers to the amount of estradiol in the blood, so a woman’s level of serum estradiol may be measured with a simple blood test.

In postmenopausal women, higher hormone levels in the blood have been associated with an increased risk of breast cancer.

“A risk factor is anything that increases your chances of getting a disease, such as cancer. But having a risk factor, or even many, does not mean that you are sure to get the disease. While you can’t change some breast cancer risk factors—family history, sex, race and aging, for example—there are some risk factors that you can control like exercise, diet, and weight. Studies have shown that risk for breast cancer is due to a combination of factors. The main factors that influence risk include being a woman and getting older. Most breast cancers are found in women who are 50 years old or older. ”

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC (https://www.cdc.gov/breast-cancer/risk-factors/index.html)

Know the symptoms of breast cancer are:

CDC says this:

“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 (armpit).
• 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.”

Is there a link between birth control pills and breast cancer?

A number of older studies suggested that birth control pills slightly increased the risk of breast cancer, especially among younger women. In these studies, however, 10 years after discontinuing birth control pills women’s risk of breast cancer returned to the same level as that of women who never used oral contraceptives. Current evidence does not support an increase in breast cancer with birth control pills.

Be vigilant about breast cancer detection. If you notice any changes in your breasts, such as a new lump or skin changes, consult your doctor. Also, ask your doctor when to begin mammograms and other screenings.

Once you’ve been diagnosed with breast cancer, your doctor works to find out the specifics of your tumor. Using a tissue sample from your breast biopsy or using your tumor if you’ve already undergone surgery, your medical team determines your breast cancer type. This information helps your doctor decide which treatment options are most appropriate for you.  The biopsy helps what’s used to determine your breast cancer type.

Is your cancer invasive or noninvasive?

Whether your cancer is invasive or noninvasive helps your doctor determine whether your cancer may have spread beyond your breast, which treatments are more appropriate for you, and your risk of developing cancer in the same breast or your other breast.

• Noninvasive (in situ) breast cancer. In situ breast cancer refers to cancer in which the cells have remained within their place of origin — they haven’t spread to breast tissue around the duct or lobule. One type of noninvasive cancer called ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is considered a precancerous lesion. This means that if it were left in the body, DCIS could eventually develop into an invasive cancer. Another type of noninvasive cancer called lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) isn’t considered precancerous because it won’t eventually evolve into invasive cancer. LCIS does, however, increase the risk of cancer in both breasts.
• Invasive breast cancer. Invasive (infiltrating) breast cancers spread outside the membrane that lines a duct or lobule, invading the surrounding tissues. The cancer cells can then travel to other parts of your body, such as the lymph nodes. If your breast cancer is stage I, II, III or IV, you have invasive breast cancer.

In what part of the breast did your cancer begin?

The type of tissue where your breast cancer arises determines how the cancer behaves and what treatments are most effective. Parts of the breast where cancer begins include:

• Milk ducts. Ductal carcinoma is the most common type of breast cancer. This type of cancer forms in the lining of a milk duct within your breast. The ducts carry breast milk from the lobules, where it’s made, to the nipple.
• Milk-producing lobules. Lobular carcinoma starts in the lobules of the breast, where breast milk is produced. The lobules are connected to the ducts, which carry breast milk to the nipple.
• Connective tissues. Rarely breast cancer can begin in the connective tissue that’s made up of muscles, fat and blood vessels. Cancer that begins in the connective tissue is called sarcoma. Examples of sarcomas that can occur in the breast include phyllodes tumor and angiosarcoma.

FYI a complication that can occur with advanced cancer that many of you may be unaware of; bone metastasis.

Bone metastasis occurs when cancer cells spread from their original site to a location in the bone. The most common types of cancer more likely to spread to bone include breast, prostate and lung cancers.

Bone metastasis can occur in any bone, but more commonly occurs in the pelvis and spine. Bone metastasis may be the first sign that you have cancer, or it may occur years after your cancer treatment is completed, ex. Hodgkins Disease.

Signs and symptoms of bone metastasis may include the following:

• Bone pain (back and pelvic pain are most common)
• Unexplained broken bones
• Loss of urine and/or bowel function
• Weakness in the legs
• High levels of calcium in the blood (hypercalcemia), which can cause nausea, vomiting and confusion

The most common problem with metastatic bone cancer is pain and fractures. Metastatic bone cancer usually can’t be cured, but instead the goal is to provide pain relief and control further spread. Treatment can make a big difference and may include the following:

• Medications to repair and build new bone — These medications are similar to those used by people with osteoporosis and can help in building and strengthening your bone.
• Chemotherapy — Given as a pill or through a vein, used to control and treat cancer that has spread to the bone.
• Traditional radiation therapy — Radiation is given as external beam therapy to treat the cancer in the bone.
• Hormone therapy — Medications are used to block hormones (for breast and prostate cancers) that help control the spread of cancer to the bone.
• Surgery — Used to fix a fracture and stabilize a break from the cancer in the bone.
• Cryoablation — A special technique that freezes the cancer cells.
• Radiofrequency ablation — A special technique that heats the cancer cells.
• Chemoradiation — A form of internal radiation that is given through the vein and travels to the site of bone metastasis and targets the cancer cells.
• Pain medications — Medications provided with the goal of relieving and controlling pain from bone metastasis.
• Physical therapy — Exercises may be prescribed to assist in strengthening muscles and providing any assistive devices that may help you (cane, walker, crutches, etc.).

If you’re living with metastatic bone cancer, you may find help and resources from a website called Bone Health in Focus. It was established with partners including BreastCancer.org, the National Lung Cancer Partnership and Us TOO International Prostate Cancer Education & Support Network to offer resources that help patients and caregivers understand more about cancer that has spread to the bone (find the site at www.bonehealthinfocus.com).

Mayo Clinic information on cancer that has spread to the bone can be found at http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/bone-metastasis/basics/definition/con-20035450.

Are you living with cancer that has spread to the bone? Feel free to share your experiences with each other on the this blog striveforgoodhealth.com or on TheMayoclinic.org.

Make the changes in your lifestyles including diet if you want to prevent cancer, live long and have a productive life.

REFERENCE: Mayoclinic.org

Article reviewed 10/18/2022

“Breast cancer caused 670 000 deaths globally in 2022.

Roughly half of all breast cancers occur in women with no specific risk factors other than sex and age.

Breast cancer was the most common cancer in women in 157 countries out of 185 in 2022.

Breast cancer occurs in every country in the world.”

World Health Organization (https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/breast-cancer)

There are many types of breast cancer. The most common types are ductal carcinoma in situ, or invasive ductal carcinoma, and invasive lobular carcinoma.

When a biopsy is done to find out the specific type of breast cancer, the pathologist will also check if the cancer has spread into the surrounding tissues. The following terms are used to describe the extent of the cancer:

• In situ breast cancers have not spread.
• Invasive or infiltrating cancers have  spread (invaded) into the surrounding breast tissue.

The type of breast cancer is determined by the specific cells in the breast that are affected. Most breast cancers are carcinomas. Carcinomas are tumors that start in the epithelial cells that line organs and tissues throughout the body. Sometimes, an even more specific term is used. For example, most breast cancers are a type of carcinoma called adenocarcinoma, which starts in cells that make up glands (glandular tissue). Breast adenocarcinomas start in the ducts (the milk ducts) or the lobules (milk-producing glands).

There are other, less common, types of breast cancers, too, such as sarcomas, phyllodes, Paget disease, and angiosarcomas which start in the cells of the muscle, fat, or connective tissue.

Sometimes a single breast tumor can be a combination of different types. And in some very rare types of breast cancer, the cancer cells may not form a lump or tumor at all.

Common kinds of breast cancer

The most common kinds of breast cancer are carcinomas, and are named based on where they form and how far they have spread.

These general kinds of breast cancer below can be further described with the terms outlined above.

In situ cancers

Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS; also known as intraductal carcinoma) is a non-invasive or pre-invasive breast cancer.

Lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) may also be called lobular neoplasia. This breast change is not a cancer, though the name can be confusing. In LCIS, cells that look like cancer cells are growing in the lobules of the milk-producing glands of the breast, but they don’t grow through the wall of the lobules.

Invasive (infiltrating) breast cancer

Breast cancers that have spread into surrounding breast tissue are known as invasive breast cancer. There are many different kinds of invasive breast cancer, but the most common are called invasive ductal carcinoma and invasive lobular carcinoma.

Less common types of breast cancer

Inflammatory breast cancer

This is an uncommon type of invasive breast cancer. It accounts for about 1% to 5% of all breast cancers.

Paget disease of the nipple

This starts in the breast ducts and spreads to the skin of the nipple and then to the areola(the dark circle around the nipple). It is rare, accounting for only about 1-3% of all cases of breast cancer.

Phyllodes tumor

Phyllodes tumors are rare breast tumors. They develop in the connective tissue (stroma) of the breast, in contrast to carcinomas, which develop in the ducts or lobules. Most are benign, but there are others that are malignant (cancer).

Angiosarcoma

Sarcomas of the breast are rare making up less than 1% of all breast cancers. Angiosarcoma starts in cells that line blood vessels or lymph vessels. It can involve the breast tissue or the skin of the breast. Some may be related to prior radiation therapy in that area.

“Reye’s syndrome is a serious condition that causes swelling in the liver and brain. It can occur at any age but usually affects children and teenagers after a viral infection, most commonly the flu or chickenpox. Reye’s syndrome is rare. The condition also is known as Reye syndrome.

Symptoms such as confusion, seizures and loss of consciousness need emergency treatment. Early diagnosis and treatment of Reye’s syndrome can save a child’s life.”

MAYO CLINIC (https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/reyes-syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-20377255)