Majority of breast cancers are not hereditary

Though breast cancer is known to be a more female oriented disease, there are cases where even men encounter breast cancer.

Breast cancer is not one single disease. There are several types of breast cancers diagnosed at different stages of development. In the 1^st stage, there is less than 2cm tumor which exists, and the lymph nodes are not affected. In the 2^nd stage, the tumor can be more than 2cm but it is less than 5cm, and the lymph nodes under the arm get affected, however the cancer has not spread still. In the 3^rd stage, the tumor can be any size and can also be fixed to the skin or chest wall and the lymph nodes under the arm may or may not contain cancer cells. In the 4^th stage, the tumor can be any size, the lymph nodes may or may not contain cancer cells, but the cancer has spread to other parts of the body. However if the cancer has not spread further from the lymph nodes, it won’t be considered as being stage 4 of cancer.

Dr Rashmi Pawar of Aster Medical Centre added, “The chance that breast cancer will be responsible for a woman’s death is about 1 in 36 (about 3%). So it is very crucial that all women undergo screening for the most common cancer that can be treated successfully if detected early.”

Dr Rashmi added, “There are various risk factors which can lead to breast cancer. Some factors are non-modifiable risk factors like gender, aging, genetic risk factors, race and ethnicity, dense breast tissue, certain benign breast conditions, estrogen exposure due to menstrual periods.”

“Then there are modifiable risk factors like not having children, having first child after age 30, use of oral contraceptives, hormone therapy after menopause, not breastfeeding, drinking alcohol, being overweight or obese, no physical activity.

Women who have a close relative who has had breast or ovarian cancer are more likely to develop breast cancer. But the majority of breast cancers are not hereditary.

Women between 20–49 years should undergo a clinical breast exam every three years. For those more than 50 years, clinical breast exam every year and mammography every two years is advised.

“Mammography can help in detecting the cancer even before there are any signs or symptoms shown,” she added. — news@khaleejtimes.com