We
hear the term breast cancer all the time, but for this post I thought it might
be beneficial to "break it down" and learn the basics about breast
cancer. All of this information was obtained from the American Cancer Society
website (www.cancer.org) and is a great resource for learning about any type of
cancer.
What
is breast cancer? Breast cancer is a malignant tumor that starts in the
cells of the breast. A malignant tumor is a group of cancer cells that can grow
into (invade) surrounding tissues or spread (metastasize) to distant areas of
the body. The disease occurs almost entirely in women, but men can get it, too.
Breast
Anatomy: To understand breast cancer, it helps to have some basic
knowledge about the normal structure of the breasts. The female breast is made
up mainly of lobules (milk-producing glands), ducts (tiny
tubes that carry the milk from the lobules to the nipple), and stroma (fatty
tissue and connective tissue surrounding the ducts and lobules, blood vessels,
and lymphatic vessels). Most breast cancers in females begin in the cells
that line the ducts (ductal cancers). Some begin in the cells that line
the lobules (lobular cancers), while a small number start in other
tissues.
The
lymph system of the breast: The lymph system is important to understand
because it is one way breast cancers can spread. Most lymphatic vessels in
the breast connect to lymph nodes under the arm (axillary nodes). Some
lymphatic vessels connect to lymph nodes inside the chest (internal mammary
nodes) and those either above or below the collarbone (supraclavicular or infraclavicular
nodes). If the cancer cells have spread to lymph nodes, there is a higher
chance that the cells could have also gotten into the bloodstream and spread
(metastasized) to other sites in the body. The more lymph nodes that have
breast cancer, the more likely it is that the cancer may be found in other
organs as well. Because of this, finding cancer in one or more lymph nodes
often affects the treatment plan.
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