What is breast cancer?

It’s important to understand the basic of breast cancer in order to curb the cause and ensure better treatment. A breast is made of clusters of cells. Under normal conditions these cells grow and divide in natural methodical manner, where as under cancerous circumstances the growth of these cells happens in unrestrained manner. In other words we can say that the growth of cell in uncontrolled fashion is known as breast cancer. In the preliminary stages the cell stay in the milk producing glands (lobules) or the ducts (these are tubes that transport milk from the various connecting glands to the nipple). When these cancer cells get detain in these lobules and ducts then these are in non-invasive stages. They are curable.

But in due course of time these cancers develop the capacity to penetrate the inside layer of the ducts and plague the tissue that surrounds them. These tumors that have invaded the lining of the duct and lobules thus become invasive or infiltrating cancers. In the beginning these invasive tumors are confined to the breast. They are prospectively curable by local removal. This local removal is called as lumpectomy and radiation or it could be also removed by mastectomy.

As the tumor grows and becomes more and more invasive they also plague the neighboring lymphatic also known as the blood vessels of the breasts. Eventually they invade all the structures slowly and gradually.  They spread and metastasize to the other parts of the body, affecting the other internal organs.  In the beginning the first sight of metastasis happens at the under arm lymph nodes. This is also known as axillary nodes.  These dreadful dangerous cells can spread to other parts of the body. Among the most common parts that get affected are the bones, liver, brain and the lungs.