About breast cancer
Breast cancer is the second most common cancer among American women, only behind skin cancer. About 250,000 women in the United States are diagnosed each year.
Breast cancer can develop from cells in either the ducts or lobes, but ductal tumors are more common. The cells acquire mutations that cause them to divide too rapidly or survive too long.
As breast cells acquire more mutations, they begin to look less normal under a microscope. They can divide quickly and are less likely to die when normal cells would. Over time, they form a mass or tumor.
Women with a family history of breast cancer are at increased risk. Having a first-degree relative diagnosed with breast cancer can increase the risk two- to four-fold.
Signs and Symptoms
Some women have signs and symptoms of breast cancer before diagnosis. Breast cancer can change how the breast or nipple feels. The most common symptom is a lump in the breast or in the armpit. Lumps in the upper, outer quadrant of the breast are most common.
Instead of a lump, women may feel swelling, tenderness, or thickening.
Cancer may also change the texture of the skin covering the breast. The pores may become enlarged. Cancer can also cause dimpling, swelling, or shrinking of the breast. Occasionally, women may notice a discharge from their nipples.
Many women may not have any of these signs or symptoms before breast cancer diagnosis, and their cancer is detected during a routine mammogram.
Types of breast cancer
There are different clinical types of breast cancer:
- Inflammatory: synchronous, metachronous,
- Morphological: ductal, lobular, metaplasic
- Immunohistochemical: triple negative, positive hormone receptors, Her 2 positive
Breast Cancer Diagnosis
Diagnostic methods include:
- Physical and exploratory exam of the breasts.
- Mammography detects structural abnormalities of the tissue to evaluate its characteristics in greater detail.
- Ultrasound uses sound waves to produce images of deep structures and evaluate whether the breast nodule is a solid mass or a benign lesion.
- Biopsy is the only definitive way to make a diagnosis of breast cancer. And it is necessary to know precisely the characteristics of the tumor.
- MRI is used for special clinical conditions and does not use radiation to create images of breast tissue.
Holistic medicine for Breast Cancer
Integrative interventions improve the body’s ability to fight this disease and manage side effects of conventional treatments.
Nutrition, proper supplementation and the use of innovative therapies such as Autologous cellular therapies, systemic perfusion hyperthermia and the use of dendritic enhancer treatments put our patients on the right path to healing.
Integrative cancer therapies are used to support and enhance the effects of primary cancer therapies in eradicating or reducing cancer’s burden on the body, and to help prevent cancer recurrence and increase survival
Some of the most common integrative treatments used when treating breast cancer patients are: