What it is, who gets it, and how do you know?

Reprinted with permission Ami Magazine

We are all made of many cells that normally grow, divide and die. Cancer is cells that grow out of control and can invade other tissues and organs.

When a malignant or cancerous tumor starts in the cells of the breast it is called breast cancer. It is most often found in women but men can get it, too.

Most breast cancers start in the glands or ducts of the breast. Cancerous cells can spread through the lymph system, small groups of cells that fight infections that carry a clear fluid away from the breast.

There are different forms of breast cancer, some that stay where it starts, some that spread to the breast, and some that spread to the rest of the body.

According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in the United States aside from skin cancer and the second cause of death from cancer in women aside from lung cancer.

Breast cancer death rates have been decreasing but one in eight women runs the risk of invasive breast cancer with one in 35 dying from it. But finding it earlier and having better treatment is helping. There are now two and a half million survivors in the U.S.

Here are some basic recommendations for diagnosing breast cancer and definitions of what they are.

Mammogram: A breast X-ray. Yearly in women from age 40.

Clinical breast exam: Doctor’s exam. Once every three years in women 20 to 30, yearly after 40.

Breast self-exam: Women starting at 20: know how you look and feel normally, notice any changes.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI): A scan using radio waves and strong magnets. For women at high risk for breast cancer, for additional testing of questions from a mammogram, to determine the size of a known cancer.

Ultrasound: Uses sound waves to form an image of the body. Used in addition to mammograms for further information.

Biopsy: Taking a tissue sample of the area in question, either with a fine or thicker needle for a larger sample, through a tube with vacuum, or taking the whole lump with additional surrounding tissue. There are various types, the only sure way to determine if tissue is benign or cancer.