HERIBERTO SEDENO, M.D. LECTURE ON BREAST CANCER

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HERIBERTO SEDENO, M.D. LECTURE ON BREAST CANCER
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Every year, almost 200,000 women in America are
diagnosed with breast cancer, making it the most
common cancer diagnosed in women aside from skin
cancer. Approximately one in every eight females
will develop breast cancer at some point in her
life. Only lung cancer claims more lives than
breast cancer in women overall, but breast cancer
serves as the leading cause of cancer-related
deaths among some populations, such as Hispanic
women. There are significant differences between
breast cancers that occur before and after
menopause. Hereditary factors figure prominently
in premenopausal breast cancers, while most
breast cancers that develop after menopause have
far less family history involvement. Without an
inherited predisposition, many women will look at
their health behaviors and lifestyle choices as
suggestive of their risks.
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Drinking alcohol, smoking, eating poorly or being
obese, and a lack of exercise may contribute to
breast cancer occurrence. Some studies have
implicated alcohol consumption and obesity for
increasing risk another found that regular
exercise can lower the incidence of breast
cancer. Still, scientists have yet to explain how
some women with virtually identical risk factors
can have such different outcomes, or why women
without any risk factors end up developing breast
cancer. Breast cancer mortality rates have
declined in recent years thanks primarily to
increased awareness and early detection.
Medicines continue to improve and treatment
options are expanding, but women still need to be
vigilant in order to increase their chances of
success should they develop breast cancer.
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Types of Breast Cancer There are a number of
different cancers that can occur in the breast,
and treatment and prognosis vary according to the
type. Generally, breast cancers are grouped
according to where they first develop. Ductal
carcinomas These types of cancer first develop
in the milk-producing ducts of the breast. These
types of breast cancer are considered the
earliest forms of breast cancer and the most
common kinds, and they can be either invasive
(invasive ductal carcinoma) or noninvasive
(ductal carcinoma in situ, or DCIS). "Invasive"
means that the cancer has spread from the
original site to nearby breast tissue and/or
lymph nodes and other parts of the body.
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Lobular carcinomas These cancers develop in the
cells lining the lobules that produce milk, are
the second most common type of breast cancer.
These are always considered invasive because they
spread to surrounding tissue. (Lobular carcinoma
in situ is sometimes referred to as cancer but
actually stays confined to the lobules or milk
glands. However, this type serves as an indicator
that you have a higher chance of developing
breast cancer in the future.)
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• Other breast cancers
• Other, rarer types of cancer include
• Breast sarcomas are cancers that start from
  connective tissues of the breast, such as muscle,
  fat, or blood vessels.
• Inflammatory breast cancer blocks the lymphatic
  vessels in the breast, causing severe
  inflammation.
• Paget's Disease of the breast is a rare form of
  breast cancer where cancer cells gather in or
  around the nipple.
• Male breast cancer is very rare, but can occur.
  When it does, it is usually ductal carcinoma.