All About Breast: Diagnosis of Breast Cancer

Physiology

A woman’s breasts are rarely balanced (symmetrical). Usually, one breast is slightly larger or smaller, higher or lower, or shaped differently than the other. The nipple can be flat, round, or cylindrical in shape. The color of the nipple is determined by the thinness and pigmentation of its skin. Read More →

Anatomy

Each breast has 15 to 20 sections, called lobes, each with many smaller lobules. The lobules end in dozens of tiny bulbs that can produce milk. Lobes, lobules and bulbs are all linked by thin tubes called ducts. These ducts lead to the nipple, which is centered in a dark area of breast skin called the areola. The areola also has oil-producing glands that secrete a lubricant to make breastfeeding easier. The spaces between the lobules and ducts are filled with fat. There are no muscles in the breast, but muscles lie under each breast and cover the ribs Read More →

Breastfeeding

For hundreds of thousands of years, humans, like all other mammals, fed their young milk. Before the twentieth century, alternatives to breastfeeding were rare. Attempts in 15th century Europe to use cow or goat milk were not very positive. In the 18th century, flour or cereal mixed with broth was introduced as substitutes for breastfeeding, but this did not have a favorable outcome, either. True commercial infant formulas appeared on the market in the mid 19th Century but their use did not become widespread until after WWII. Read More →

Diseases of Breast

Don’t panic, when your find a lump or discharge on your breast self exam (BSE), chances are it is harmless, the breast tissue changes with the release of hormones during the menstrual cycle and lumps can come and go. If at any stage a lump is found, do not try and squeeze it or interfere with it in any way. Consult with your doctor or health care providerwho will carry out a professional examination and make a referral to a specialist if necessary who will probably want to perform more detailed tests. Read More →

Diagnosis of Breast Cancer

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Overview
Your doctor or health care provider might ask you to do the following diagnosis tests, when he saw changes in your mammogram or suspicious finding of breast cancer on his clinical examination. The following testes are for diagnosis of breast cancer.

Diagnostic Mammogram
An x-ray of the breast.

Biopsy
The removal of cells or tissues so they can be viewed under a microscope by a pathologist to check for signs of cancer. If a lump in the breast is found, the doctor may need to remove a small piece of the lump. Four types of biopsies are as follows:

Excisional biopsy: The removal of an entire lump of tumor.
Incisional biopsy: The removal of part of a lump or a sample of tissue.
Core biopsy: The removal of tissue using a wide bore needle.
Fine-needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy: The removal of tissue or fluid, using a thin needle.
Estrogen and progesterone receptor test
A test to measure the amount of estrogen and progesterone (hormones) receptors in cancer tissue. If cancer is found in the breast, tissue from the tumor is checked in the laboratory to find out whether estrogen and progesterone could affect the way cancer grows. The test results show whether hormone therapy may stop the cancer from growing.

MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)
A procedure that uses a magnet, radio waves, and a computer to make a series of detailed pictures of areas inside the body. This procedure is also called nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (NMRI).