Breast cancer, the earlier it is detected, the easier it is to treat

Breast cancer is a very familiar cancer for women and the risk increases with age. Early detection can be achieved by choosing screening programs based on your breast type! Early detection also has many treatment options.

If there is already a hard lump, then it could be breast cancer and you should get it checked right away. In addition to the items mentioned above, people who have not given birth or have benign breast diseases such as mastopathy, for example, as well as people over 40 years old are at risk for breast cancer.

Although susceptible to breast cancer, this cancer is also easier to treat

The most common cancer in women is breast cancer. It increases from the second half of the '30s, peaking in the '60s, then the '40s, and many develop it after the age of 70.

A professor said, "Although the prevalence of breast cancer is No. 1, the mortality rate is No. 5, and recovery is better compared to other cancers. However, there is a possibility of recurrence 10 years after surgery, so the observation period is longer compared to other cancers."

Breast cancer is cancer that occurs in the breast in the mammary gland. It develops mainly because of estrogen, and the risk of the disease is increased by early menarche (under 11 years old), late menopause (over 55 years old), late age at first birth, lack of childbirth, and lack of breastfeeding experience. "That means the more frequent the menstruation and the longer the estrogen exposure, the more likely you are to develop the disease." The ovaries stop producing estrogen after menopause, but fat can produce estrogen, so watch out for postmenopausal obesity. There are also reports showing that the higher the premenopausal BMI, the greater the risk of the disease.

Diet and lifestyle habits also have a relationship with the development of breast cancer. Eisuke Fukuma, chief of the breast department at Kameda General Hospital, said, "Drinking, smoking, and staying up late all increase the risk of the disease. And eating soy foods and exercising can prevent the onset of the disease."

The breast is mainly composed of breast tissue and fat. Breast tissue consists of lobules and milk ducts, which produce breast milk, and milk ducts, which transport breast milk to the nipple, and most breast cancers occur in the ducts near the lobules. Most breast cancers occur in the ducts near the lobules. The cancer cells that stay in the ducts and lobules are called "non-invasive breast cancer" and those that flow out are called "invasive breast cancer". If the cancer is invasive, it is likely to metastasize and recur.

Breast cancer is the number one cancer among women. However, the top three cancer deaths among women are colorectal cancer, lung cancer, and pancreatic cancer, and breast cancer is the fifth. Breast cancer can be detected by physical examination and is more durable than other cancers.

The number of patients with breast cancer is increasing year by year. In terms of age, the number of people in their 40s and 60s is particularly high, said Chief Minister Fukuma, "Originally, the number of patients in their 40s was higher in Asia and the number of patients in their 60s was higher in Europe and the United States. But in recent years, postmenopausal breast cancer patients are also gradually increasing."

Consult your breast density at the time of examination

Breast density can be divided into four types, and the two types with more breast fat and less breast fat are high-concentration breasts. Chief Minister Fukuma said, "High-concentration breasts are not only undetectable by mammography but also have a high risk of breast cancer." Asian women have more high-concentration breasts, "Our study looked at breast density with an automated measurement device, and roughly 80 percent of those examined had high-concentration breasts. After menopause, the mammary glands slowly turn to fat, so more than 60 percent of people in their 60s to 70s have high-concentration breasts."

The ratio of mammary glands to fat in the breast can be divided into four categories. Those who account for 80-90% of the overall breast are "very high concentration" and those who account for 50-60% are "unevenly high concentration", both of which are considered high-concentration breasts. High-concentration breasts are generally more common in young people and will gradually decrease with age, but after menopause, many people become high-concentration breasts instead.

People over the age of 40 should have regular breast cancer screening. The more common one is mammography where the breast is clamped for radiography. It can detect breast cancer early, which is not possible to feel by hand. However, if you have a "high-concentration breast" where both the breast and cancer look white like in the picture, it is difficult to distinguish the cancer cells.

If you have high-concentration breasts, you should have an ultrasound in addition to the mammogram to prevent cancer. Some reports show that the detection rate is 1.5 times higher when both tests are done at the same time. The first step is to know if you have high-concentration breasts. Check it out and ask your doctor to find out.

Adjust the test to your breast density. mammograms can be done for people over 40 who do not have high-concentration breasts. If you have high-density breasts, you should also have an ultrasound or a crossover between a mammogram and an ultrasound. If you are less than 40 years old, then do not do the mammogram, it is better to do an ultrasound. However, if there is a possibility of hereditary breast cancer, then you should have regular mammograms and ultrasounds, and it is better to have another MRI.

In addition to having the test, take care to check yourself every month. The swelling of the breast is the smallest when the tenth day of menstruation starts and it is easier to check. The area most prone to cancer is above the outer side. Check each item against the items listed above from the entire breast to the underarm area. If there is an abnormality be sure to go to the mammography or breast surgery department for an examination.

If your breasts are large, lie on your back and put a thin pillow under one side of your breasts so that they do not hang down and can be stretched out evenly. Place one arm behind your head and gently press with the other hand to check for hard lumps.

Different treatment methods for different types of breast

Treatment is determined by the nature of cancer and how far it has progressed. Generally, the shape of the breast is preserved as much as possible to remove the cancerous area. After surgery, to prevent recurrence and metastasis, drug therapy is also used. Prof. Nakamura said, "We will check the cellular characteristics of each patient and then come to a decision on how to use the drugs. The most common is 'Luminal A', which has a low proliferative capacity and is more mild, and hormone therapy is most effective."

Breast cancer has a 96 percent survival rate after 10 years of early detection and a declining survival rate with late detection and treatment. Early detection and treatment are more important than anything else. If it is early, there are many options for treatment. For example, the "non-excisional treatment" that has received a lot of attention is called "freezing therapy". A 3.4mm diameter needle is inserted into the affected area to freeze the cancer cells and then destroy them.

This treatment can only be used for the Luminal A type, where the cancer is less than 1.5 cm and has not metastasized to the lymph nodes. Chief Minister Fukuma, who is a pioneer of this treatment, says, "This treatment is less taxing on the body and has almost no scars. We have operated on 304 people, and only three have experienced local recurrence in 12 years. It works as well as, if not better than, surgery to preserve the shape of the breast."

There is also "radio wave cautery", which kills cancer cells by heating them, and is a treatment that does not require removal. This method is currently in clinical trials at the National Cancer Research Center in Japan.

The survival rate for Stage I is 96% over 10 years for hard lumps less than 2 cm in size that has not metastasized to the lymph nodes. Stage II also has a survival rate of 86%. But when it comes to staging III, which is localized, it is only 59%, and stage IV, which isolates metastases, drops to 16%. Although breast cancer is more curable than other cancers, the prerequisite is early detection and early treatment.

A detailed investigation of the excised cancerous tissues is performed by case examination. There are 5 types of cancer cells according to their nature. There is the type of proliferation caused by estrogen the type with more HER2 protein associated with proliferation, and the type with the faster proliferation of cancer cells. According to the different types, postoperative drug therapy is selected. Among them, hormonal therapy accounts for 70%and is applied to the Luminal type which is positive for hormone shelter.

Local anesthesia is applied and the procedure is completed in about one hour. You can go home the same day. After treatment, radiation and hormone therapy are used to prevent recurrence and metastasis. Needles are inserted into the affected area while looking at the ultrasound image. Liquid nitrogen is injected into the inside of the needle and the cancer cells are frozen at -170°C. The affected area looks like an "ice ball" covered with ice.

The doctor looks at the ultrasound image while sticking an electrode needle into the cancerous area and emits ultrasound at the tip to kill the cancer cells with heat. The treatment is mainly for early-stage breast cancer that is less than 1.5cm in diameter and has not yet metastasized to the lymph nodes. The treatment requires hospitalization and radiation treatment after the treatment.