Breast Cancer Invasive And Non Invasive - 2609 Words

Task 2 Breast Cancer Invasive/Non-invasive Most breast cancers are diagnosed when a tumour has grown from within a duct or lobule into the surrounding breast tissue. Some people are diagnosed when the cancerous cells are still within a duct or lobule. These are called carcinoma in situ, as no cancer cells have grown out from their original site. By looking at a sample of breast cancer tissue under a microscope the cancer can be graded: †¢Grade 1 - cancer cells are slow-growing and less aggressive. †¢Grade 2 †¢Grade 3 - cancer cells are fast-growing and more aggressive. Some breast cancer cells have receptors which allow certain types of hormones or proteins to attach to the cancer cell: †¢Hormones - testing on a sample of breast†¦show more content†¦The treatments used depend on: †¢The cancer itself - size, stage, grade, and whether it is hormone responsive or contains HER2 receptors †¢The patient - age, if they have been through menopause, general health and personal preferences for treatment. Surgery The types of operation which may be considered are: †¢Breast-conserving surgery - a lumpectomy is one type of operation where just the tumour and some surrounding breast tissue are removed. This aims to kill any cancer cells which may have been left in the breast tissue. It is common to have radiotherapy following this operation. †¢Removal of the affected breast (mastectomy) - this may be necessary if there is a large tumour or a tumour in the middle of the breast. †¢A sentinel lymph node biopsy - this is a way of assessing if the main lymph nodes draining the breast contain cancer. This helps to stage the disease accurately and to guide the specialist as to what treatment to advise following surgery. Radiotherapy Radiotherapy is a treatment which uses high-energy beams of radiation which are focused on cancerous tissue. This kills cancer cells, or stops cancer cells from multiplying. The types available are: †¢breast radiotherapy – after breast-conserving surgery, radiation is applied to the whole of the remaining breast tissue. †¢chest wall radiotherapy – after a mastectomy, radiotherapy is applied to the chest wall. †¢breast boost – some women may be offered a boost of