What are the causes of breast cancer

Overview of breast cancer

Breast cancer is cancer that develops in the breast. It can prevail both in men and women, But it is more prevalent in women. In this article, we will try to give you general information about breast cancer.

Breast cancer!! Actually what it is?

Before getting into the details of breast cancer we have to understand the structure or anatomy of a female breast. A mature female possesses a pair of breast. Each breast is made up of 15-20 lobes of glandular tissue and each lobe is further divided into smaller lobules. Lobules help women in producing milk while they do breastfeeding.
Like other parts of  the body,  breast is also made up of billions of microscopic cells that multiply themselves under a controlled process to produce new cells, that replaces the old ones in the body. Under breast cancer, this mechanism becomes uncontrollable which results in too many cells. These cells form a tumor that can be detected in an x-ray and can be felt as a lump in the breast. 

What causes breast cancer?

The main cause of breast cancer is still not clear But there are many factors that increase the chances of developing it. Some of those risk factors are :-

Aging:-  Aging is one of the most common factors. Aging increase the chances of breast cancer. Invasive breast cancer is found in women over the age of 55.

Family History :- Inheritance plays a very important role in breast cancer development. The cancer is caused when certain defective genes are  passed from a parent.

Hormones :-   It has been assumed by most of the researchers that greater the levels of female hormones in a woman’s body, the more she is receptive to breast cancer.

Symptoms of breast cancer:-
If you observe any of the following symptoms mentioned below then you should contact your healthcare provider as soon as possible.
Change in the size of breast and shape of breast
The peeling of nipple skin
Discharge of blood from nipple
A lump in the breast.
A pain in the armpits or breast
Bone pain
Redness of skin of the  breast
Drastic weight loss.

Treatment of breast cancer :-
The treatment of breast cancer depends on certain types of factors that are :
Type of breast cancer
Stage of breast cancer
Sensitivity of cancer to certain hormones
Depending on the factors,  the treatment may include:
Chemotherapy-  In chemotherapy medicines are used to kill cancer cells.

Hormone Therapy -  Hormonal therapy is the use of hormones in the treatment of breast cancer.

Radiation therapy - In this radiation is used to kill maligned cancerous cells.

Surgery -  It is the first line of treatment for most of the people having breast cancer.  Surgery is done mainly to remove the tumor from the breast.