Unless you’ve been living in isolation, you probably know at least one person who has been diagnosed with breast cancer.   Breast cancer is becoming a very prevalent disease.  More people are being diagnosed with this devastating condition.  If you or a loved one is among those people who have had a life changing breast cancer diagnosis, you may wonder just what exactly it is that you are dealing with.

Abnormal cell growth is at the root of breast cancer.   When your cells start to grow unchecked, they will form a group of cells.  This may turn up as a lump or a tumor.  Your doctor may also just discover numerous cancer cells in your breasts. 

Your next step will be testing to find out for sure if the lump discovered in your breast is cancerous.  Often it may just be a cyst.  This is a benign, non cancerous lump.   It can be full of liquid.  In this case the laboratory will investigate the liquid inside the cyst to see if it is cancerous. 

If you found a solid lump in your breast, then your doctor will want to test this tissue.  Your doctor will take a small amount of the tissue to have it tested.  Your physician may also want samples from your lymph nodes in the area of the lump. 

Once laboratory testing confirms you do in fact have cancer, you will need to think about your treatment options.  This usually means surgery to eliminate the cancerous cells.   This is called a lumpectomy. If you require a lumpectomy, you will have an operation scheduled.  This is the most non invasive type of surgery.   A lumpectomy is a common way to eliminate cancerous cells and preserve your breasts. Depending on the size of the lump, your doctor may need the aid of a mammogram, or ultrasound to pinpoint the locations of the cancerous cells. 

The surgeon will prepare you for surgery by making marks on your breasts to outline exactly where he will cut your tissue. The next step in the process is anaesthesia.  You will probably be able to choose from local or general anaesthetic.  Once the site of the surgery is numbed, or you are put under, the operation will begin.  It generally takes less than an hour for your doctor to remove the cancerous lump.   You may be left with a rubber tube sticking out of your breast or armpit to help the site of the surgery drain.  This will be removed in one or two weeks.  Unless the surgery involves your lymph nodes, you will spend time in recovery, and then be allowed to go home.   You may need to spend a night or two in the hospital if your lymph nodes are involved in the surgery.

You will be given information on care of the surgical site, exercise and pain medication.  Your doctor will suggest when he would next like to see you to follow up on the operation. Once the lump and some surrounding tissue are removed, your doctor may recommend chemotherapy to prevent the cancer from returning.   The extent of chemotherapy will depend on how aggressive the cancer is and if it is spreading.

There are three basic kinds of breast cancer.  Ductal Carcinoma In Situ is an early form of breast cancer that is present in only the milk gland.  There is a very good chance of total recovery.  About 20 per cent of women with breast cancer have this type. Invasive Ductal Carcinoma can spread into the lymph nodes or blood and invade fatty tissue.  About 80 per cent of women are diagnosed with this type of cancer.  The third form of breast cancer is Invasive Lobular Carcinoma, which affects about 10 per cent of patients.  It can spread to the blood and lymph glands. 

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