Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among Malaysian women and number one cause of cancer deaths. According to the National Cancer Registry, breast cancer formed 31.1% of newly diagnosed cancer cases in women in 2003-2005. In many developed nations the disease is prevalent among older women, but in Malaysia, the first and latest survey reveals that 52.3 percent of the cases of breast cancer involve women below 50 years of age. Over one third of the cases are in the pre-menopausal group.

What is Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is made up of abnormal cells that grow without normal controls and invade normal breast tissue. In 80% of cases, it occurs when breast cells that line the ducts undergo change and become malignant (cancerous). The tumor can spread outside the breasts to other parts of the body (metastatic).

Types of Breast Cancer

• Non-invasive Breast Cancer
  Ductal Carcinoma-ln-Situ or DCIS - is a precancerous condition that is confined to the ducts. Lobular Carcinoma-ln-Situ or LCIS (lobules) - is a risk factor for invasive cancer.
• Invasive Cancer
  Condition whereby the cancer has spread beyond the ducts or lobules to the surrounding tissues. It is generally treatable in the early stages when the tumor is relatively small and has not spread to the lymph nodes.
• Metastatic Breast Cancer
  Cancer that has spread to other parts of the body. If cancer cells are detected in the lymph nodes under the arm, it may be possible that it has spread to other lymph nodes and organs such as the bones, liver or lungs.

Who are at risk?

Simply being a woman presents one of the greatest risks, although there is a one per cent risk of breast cancer developing in male.

Age – the risk of developing breast cancer does increase with age. In fact, 70 per cent of breast cancer cases occur in women aged 50 and above.

Family history – women who have a mother, sister or daughter who developed breast cancer before the age of 50 are at a higher risk. This risk is further heightened if a woman has more than one immediate family member who has breast cancer.

Personal history – women who have already been treated for cancer in one breast have an increased risk of developing cancer in the other.

Hormones – early menstruation (before the age of 12) or late menopause (after the age of 55). Never having a full-term pregnancy or giving birth after the age of 30. This is related to the prolonged exposure of breast tissues to estrogen.

Lifestyles - a diet high in fat and low in fiber, obesity, excessive alcohol consumption, smoking.

You might also be interested in the following pages.

	Cancer in General Cancer is a general term used to describe abnormal or uncontrolled growth of cells. It can be invaded to the adjacent tissue causing local symptoms like pain and loss of function.
	Screening for Cancer Screening for cancer is essentially indentifying the presence of a cancer before an individual has any symptoms relating to the cancer itself.