Breast cancer

lumps
 Breast infection
 Fibrocystic breast disease
 Fibroadenoma (noncancerous tumor)
 Fat necrosis (damaged tissue)

PAIN
 Stress
 Side affect of birth control
 Hormones caused by menstruation
 Bra that doesn’t fit

symptoms
 Nipple discharge or retraction of the nipple
 Enlargement of one breast
 Dimpling of the breast surface
 An “orange peel” texture to the skin
 Vaginal pain
 Unintentional weight loss
 Enlarged lymph nodes in the armpit
 Visible veins on the breast

Types of breast cancer
 Noninvasive: cancer has not spread from original tissue (stage 0)
 Invasive: cancer cells have spread to surrounding tissue (stages I-Iv)

Breast exams
 Mammogram: an x-ray of the breast to help tell between
a benign and malignant mass
 Biopsy: removal of a small amount of breast tissue for
testing
 Ultrasound: use of ultrasonic sound waves to produce an
image of the tissue
 MRI: normally used in conjunction with other tests,
magnetic resonance imaging is another noninvasive
way to examine breast tissue

treatments
 Mastectomy: surgical removal of part or the whole breast to remove
a tumor and connecting tissue
 Lumpectomy: removes the tumor while leaving the breast intact
 Chemotherapy: the most common cancer treatment,
chemotherapy uses anticancer drugs to interfere with cells’ ability to
reproduce
 Radiation: another standard in the fight against cancer, radiation
uses X-rays to directly treat cancer
 Hormone & Targeted Therapy: used when either genes or hormones
play a part in the cancer’s growth