Sometimes a doctor will discover a lump in a woman's breast during a routine examination or a patient might come to the doctor with questions about a lump she found. In other cases, a mammogram (say: ma-muh-gram) may find a lump in the breast that can't be felt. A mammogram is a special kind of X-ray of the breast that helps doctors see what's going on inside. Sometimes, other kinds of pictures, like an MRI, can also be taken.
When a lump is found, the doctor will want to test it. The best way to do this is usually with a biopsy. In a biopsy, a small amount of breast tissue is removed with a needle or during a small operation. Then, the tissue is examined under a microscope to look for cancer cells.
The biopsy may be benign (say: bih-nine), which means the lump is not cancer. If the biopsy shows cancer cells, the lump is malignant (say: muh-lig-nunt). If a breast lump does contains cancer cells, the woman, along with her doctor and family, will decide what to do next.
Breast Cancer Treatment
Treatment for breast cancer usually depends on the type of cancer and whether the cancer has spread outside of the breast to the rest of the body.
Here are some common treatments:
* lumpectomy (say: lum-pek-tuh-mee), which removes the cancerous tumor from the breast. A woman usually has this surgery when the cancer is found early and when the lump is small and in only one part of the breast.
* mastectomy (say: ma-stek-tuh-mee), which removes the whole breast. This surgery is done when cancer cells have spread through the breast or into other parts of the body. It is a good way to remove all or most of the cancer, and it can help prevent the cancer from spreading or coming back. Sometimes, a woman who has a mastectomy may choose to have an operation to reconstruct (rebuild) the breast, so her shape will be more like it was before.
* radiation therapy and chemotherapy, which are often used after lumpectomy or mastectomy to make sure that all the cancer cells are destroyed and do not grow back. Radiation therapy (say: ray-dee-a-shun ther-uh-pee) uses high-energy X-rays to kill the cancerous cells. Chemotherapy (say: kee-mo-ther-uh-pee) is special medicine that travels throughout the entire body and kills cancer cells.
When a lump is found, the doctor will want to test it. The best way to do this is usually with a biopsy. In a biopsy, a small amount of breast tissue is removed with a needle or during a small operation. Then, the tissue is examined under a microscope to look for cancer cells.
The biopsy may be benign (say: bih-nine), which means the lump is not cancer. If the biopsy shows cancer cells, the lump is malignant (say: muh-lig-nunt). If a breast lump does contains cancer cells, the woman, along with her doctor and family, will decide what to do next.
Breast Cancer Treatment
Treatment for breast cancer usually depends on the type of cancer and whether the cancer has spread outside of the breast to the rest of the body.
Here are some common treatments:
* lumpectomy (say: lum-pek-tuh-mee), which removes the cancerous tumor from the breast. A woman usually has this surgery when the cancer is found early and when the lump is small and in only one part of the breast.
* mastectomy (say: ma-stek-tuh-mee), which removes the whole breast. This surgery is done when cancer cells have spread through the breast or into other parts of the body. It is a good way to remove all or most of the cancer, and it can help prevent the cancer from spreading or coming back. Sometimes, a woman who has a mastectomy may choose to have an operation to reconstruct (rebuild) the breast, so her shape will be more like it was before.
* radiation therapy and chemotherapy, which are often used after lumpectomy or mastectomy to make sure that all the cancer cells are destroyed and do not grow back. Radiation therapy (say: ray-dee-a-shun ther-uh-pee) uses high-energy X-rays to kill the cancerous cells. Chemotherapy (say: kee-mo-ther-uh-pee) is special medicine that travels throughout the entire body and kills cancer cells.
No comments:
Post a Comment