pagets disease of the breast

Paget’s disease of the breast or paget’s disease of the nipple is real though quite rare form of cancer on the skin of nipple and areola, accounting for about one percent of all cases of breast cancer.

Paget’s disease of the breast occurs almost exclusively in women , it is rarely can affect men. Most of women diagnosed with paget’s disease of the breast in their 50s but can occur at a younger or older age.

Cause of paget’s disease of the breast is unknown exactly, more than 95% of women who have it also have underlying breast cancer maybe an invansive cancer or ductal carcinoma in situ also called intraductal carcinoma. Ductal carcinoma cells spread through the milk ducts to the surface of the nipple.

Symptoms of early paget’s disease of the breast are redness, inflamed and flaking of the niplle skin, more advanced may also be  itching, ulceration, bleeding, burning and pain.

There are several tests  to diagnose paget’s disease of the breast : biopsy, mammography, ultrasound scan, and imprint or scrape cytology.

Treatment of  paget’s disease of the breast depends on the characteristics of the underlying breast cancer, surgery is the main treatment for paget’s disease. For some people may need further treatment adjuvant therapy, hormonal therapy, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and trastuzumab.

By Salma Nurul

lobular carcinoma in situ

About 2 years ago my friend  was diagnosed with lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS), she was in shock, her head was filled with white, cold silence. Too many questions in her mind : Will have my breast removed (mastectomy)? What are my chances of getting over it?  How is my quality of life with this desease? Is any type of treatment recommended at this stage?

Perhaps when we are diagnosed with lobular carcinoma in situ or other cancer stage, we will have the same question as my friend,  i know this is very difficult having a rare condition, there may not be solid quidelines to follow, you need to be asking your specialist, the best answer is to listen to your doctor’s advice.

First, what is lobular carcinoma in situ or LCIS? LCIS is most often diagnosed between  the ages of 40 and 56. In lobular carcinoma in situ the abnormal cells start growing in the breast lobules, the milk making glands which are connected to the milk ducts, the cancer cells have not yet spread beyond the lining of the lobules of the breast.

Lobular carcinoma in situ is usually located in more than one area in the breast, it can not be felt as a breast lump or other breast change and does not show up on mammogram (x-ray of the breast). For some another reason, these conditions are usually discovered only after biopsy (removal of some tissue from the breast).

Although labolar carcinoma in situ is not really cancer and it is classified as a type of non invasive breast cancer. However, women who develop lobular carcinoma in situ have a higher future risk of developing true invasive breast cancer. So, you need treatment right away to prevent the cells become invasive.Your treatment options depend on more than the stage, working with your doctor to choose your best treatment.

In my friend’s case, the pathology report said she had  lobular carcinomas  was 5 cm in diameter, her doctor said  for the first step will be a mastectomy, followed by chemo but my friend did not plan to do those things, she searched a second opinion and she got it  from another cancer specialist. Her new doctor gave her a lumpectomy and radiation treatments. Some months later, her doctor recommended PET scan also included CAT scan, the cancer had shrunk from 5 cm to 1.1 in 15 months.  She is fine today, the cancer was totally gone.

By Salma Nurul

ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast

Have you just returned from hospital and the results of your mammogram or other imaging tests are abnormal? Your doctor said you have earliest stage of breast cancer (ductal carcinoma in situ) and you will be shocked. Let’s  make calm yourself down, take a deep breath and hold it for a count of 10 and then slowly release it.

Learn more about the disease, what you need to know? Actually, ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is not an invasive cancer, the cancer cells stay inside the milk duct of your breast without growing through into the surrounding breast tissue, to the lymph nodes and to the other organs.

How much information do you want to know about your disease? You have to know ductal carcinoma in situ usually appears in two different form, non-comedo and comedo, which describe how the cells look under a microscope on phatological examination. Between comedo type ductal carcinoma in situ  and other non-comedo types are able to easily distinguish, comedo type DCIS tends to plug the center of the breast ducts with necrosis (dead cells), but left untreated it to be more aggressive than non-comedo type.

Nearly all cancers at this stage is not harmful, DCIS does have the ability over a long period to become invasive cancer if untreated, so these tumors have to be completely removed. Although ductal carcinoma in situ should be treated to prevent, it has an indicator of increased risk for developing into an invasive breast cancer.

There are several treatment for your desease, your medicians can help you to decice on treatment options. For example lumpectomy, followed by radiation,  lumpectomy followed by five years of tamoxifen, and mastectomy are the most common treatments, and survival rates are very good between 95% and 100%. So, hurry up discuss to your doctor to choose the best treatment options and fight the disease and kill it.

By Salma Nurul

Diagnosed with breast cancer? Having breast cancer is a very difficult thing to have to go through, you need  support from family and friends, the power of prayer on your side, so please go and get your checkups and tell your doctor if you have any questions or concerns, don’t wait for the tests and exams because you may be scared or nervous, if something is caught early, then you have a better chance of survival.

Breast cancer patients need a team of health professionals to help fight their cancer. Types of breast cancer you have  is important that your doctors have an accurate diagnosis so that they can begin to plan the most appropriate treatment for you.

There are different types of breast cancer :

Non-invasive Carcinomas, cancers that are confined to the ducts or lobules do not invade surrounding tissues in the breast. However, they can develop into invasive cancer.

• Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS)
• Lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS)

Paget’s disease

Invasive Carcinomas, cancers that break through the duct and lobular wall and invade the surrounding  tissues in the breast.  Invasive carcinoma can spread to the lymph nodes or other organs.

• Tubular cancers
• Medularry cancers
• Mucinous cancers

Inflammatory Carcinoma

Click on the name above if you want more info and learn signs and symptoms of each breast cancer types.

symptoms of breast cancer

Things You Should Know About Breast Cancer Symptoms

By Salma Nurul

Do you know the signs and early symptoms of  breast cancer? After lung cancer, stomach cancer, liver cancer, and colon cancer, breast cancer is one  cause of cancer death in worldwide. There is usually no pain in the first stages of breast cancer, may be no symptoms at all when the disease first develops.

Several ways to examine your breasts are breast self-exams, screening mammograms and clinical breast exams. Doing regular breast self-exams is the best way to know this, when you have any lumps or changes in your breasts you should be suspicious although most  lumps or breast changes are not cancer, to make sure tell to your doctor.  The doctor can help you to know if you have breast cancer and what type of breast cancer it is.

The kinds of changes, which can often a prelude to a woman suffering from breast cancer are :

A painless lump in an area of the breast

The most of common sign of breast cancer in both men or women is lump, but breast lumps don’t necessarily mean cancer. In most cases in the pain develops before a period many women find their breasts feel pain and lumpy.

Therefore, even though breast pain and lump  are not likely to be caused by cancer, see your doctor if you have any concerns about breast pain, lump and  your skin breast appears red and sore also thickened. In particular, see a doctor promptly if you feel any lump in a breast.

A swelling or lump in your armpit

A lump in the armpit could be many different things.  It could be a simple as an ingrown hair that has become inflamed. If the lump becomes hard or does not begin to go away in the next several days or stays more than a few weeks , you should see your doctor to know whether it is breast cancer symptoms.

Swelling, lumpiness, or increased thickness or denseness in a breast may change the size or shape of a breast.

Bloody discharge from the nipples

There are several reasons for bloody nipple discharge, most of which are benign. If this bloody discharge is spontaneous and can be in the form of either blood or pus that is clear, yellow or green ,comes out without sqeezing, and is unilateral (on one side), flaking and peeling of the nipple skin, sinks into the breast or has an irregular shape (inverted nipple/ nipple retraction), a rash on a nipple or surrounding area,  it likes breast cancer symptom and you needs further investigation.

Dimpling over the skin

The appearance of skin dimpling  could be due to an underlying breast cancer symptom.  Please see a breast specialist at an early stage should you notice any dimpling.   The best way to check your breast for the presence of dimpling is to raise your arms at the shoulder as high as you can (to stretch the breast skin) & look into a mirror.

Dimpling (like an orange peel, wrinkled, inflamed) is one character of a cancerous growth in the breast, it occurs as are result of a growth deep to the skin within the breast tissue.

Being  diagnosed with breast cancer is often confusing and frightening, in your mind have questions about treatment, money, quality of life, relationship can cause stress and worry. Give yourself  time  to  think  and understand your cancer stage, your doctor can help you to choose your breast cancer treatment and cure. Breast cancer treatment options will differ depending on individual case and often focus on relieving symptoms.