Breast Cancer at the Cellular Level
There are many different diseases that terrorize the human race every day. Of all of these sicknesses, one of the most devastating is breast cancer. Breast cancer touches all types of people all over the world each day. It is actually the second most common cancer amongst women in the United States. One in every eight women in the United States has some form of breast cancer and currently, the death rates are higher than any other cancer with the exception of lung cancer. Cancer is defined by the Merriam-Webster Online dictionary as “a malignant tumor of potentially unlimited growth that expands locally by invasion and systemically by metastasis.” Therefore, breast cancer is a disease of
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When a tumor suppressor gene is effected by a mutation, it loses its control over the cell and the cell does not stop to get inspected. When this happens, the mutation is copied, the cell divides and damage is passed down to the newly formed daughter cells. The mutation then becomes permanent and the now mutated cell will continue to divide and proliferate when it normally would not. Another factor that contributes to the development of breast cancer is actually the hormone estrogen. This seems unusual because estrogen is a hormone that is essential to the bodies of women in various ways. Estrogen is necessary for normal growth and development of breasts and reproductive organs, as well as for the maintenance of a healthy heart and bones. However, lifetime estrogen exposure may increase a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer. It does not actually produce the mutation in the DNA, nevertheless Estrogen stimulates the proliferation of breast cells that already contain a mutation. These mutated cells will continue to reproduce and have an increased chance of becoming cancerous. The breasts are essentially a milk factory. Inside the breasts there are glands called lobules that are responsible for producing the milk. These glands contain branches of little sacs that hold the milk called alveoli. The lobules are positioned around ducts that carry milk to the nipple. Also, a layer of fatty tissue surrounds
What is breast cancer? A female’s breast is made up of fibrous tissue, fatty tissue, and lobes of glandular tissue that eject milk to the exterior. However, breast cancer occurs when the normal cells in the breast begin to grow and divide at an unregulated speed. In all honesty, I want to know more about this issue because of the proven statics. Approximately forty thousand women and four hundred men die each year from breast cancer. In this article “Our Feel-Good War on Breast Cancer” by Peggy Orenstein she stresses the significance of early detection and creating mindfulness of breast cancer. Orenstein discuss how most people discover they have breast cancer by taking a mammogram conversely the real impact is somewhat different. Whereas,
“Cancer” is the name for a group of diseases that start in the body at the cellular level. Even though there are many different kinds of cancer, they all begin with abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These abnormal cells lump together to form a mass of tissue or “malignant tumor”. Malignant means that it can spread to other parts of the body or Metastasize . If the breast is the original location of the cancer growth or malignant tumor, the tumor is called breast cancer. (American Cancer Society, 2014, as cited in cbcf.org)
Mutations turn genes on and off, activating diseases; all women have a chance of developing breast cancer (Understanding; Breast). Unhealthy cells divide and form a tumor. The tumor can be benign and not dangerous. Malignant tumors can become potentially dangerous
Over the past decade breast cancer has become one of the most predominant diseases in the United States. Breast cancer starts out as a malignant tumor in the tissues of the breast which is formed from the uncontrolled growth of abnormal breast cells. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women, but it can also appear in men. (Stephan, 2010)
It is estimated that 40,030 deaths from breast cancer (39,620 women, 410 men) are will occur in 2013. Breast cancer is second only to lung cancer as the leading cause of cancer deaths in women. Breast cancer death rates have been decreasing steadily since 1989, rates decreased by 3.0% per year in women younger than 50 and by 2.0% per year in women 50 and older between 2005 and 2009. This decline is attributed to prevention, early detection, improved healthcare services and reduced use of MHT.
Generally speaking, throughout the United States, Cancer is a public health concern that has a significant impact amongst both men and women. At the same time, Breast Cancer indicates development of a tumor from cells in the breast known as a malignant tumor. Breast Cancer can begin at two different points, either the cells of the lobules, that are milk-producing glands, or the ducts, a channel draining milk from the lobule to the nipple (“What is Breast Cancer,” 2016). Specifically speaking about Breast Cancer among women, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2016), it is the most common cancer, regardless of ethnicity or race. Under those
By helping to repair DNA, the BRCA2 protein plays a critical role in maintaining the stability of a cell 's genetic information. The cancer risk caused by BRCA2 mutations is inherited in a dominant fashion, even though usually only one mutated allele is directly inherited. This is because people with the mutation are likely to acquire a second mutation, leading to the dominant expression of the cancer. A mutated BRCA gene can be inherited from either parent. Because they are inherited from the parents, they are classified as hereditary or germline mutations. Because humans have a diploid genome, each cell has two copies of the gene (one from each biological parent). Typically only one copy contains a disabling, inherited mutation, so the affected person is heterozygous for the mutation. If the functional copy is harmed, however, then the cell is forced to use alternate DNA repair mechanisms, which are more error-prone. The loss of the functional copy is called loss of heterozygosity (LOH). Any resulting errors in DNA repair may result in cell death or a cancerous transformation of the cell.
Mind benign breast malfunction can also increase the chances of having breast cancer in later stages of a woman/s life. Irradiation at early age also increases risks of getting breast cancer.
There are two important type of genes responsible for the development or cancer namely tumor suppressor because their normal function is
Breast cancer is a leading cause of death of women, secondary only to heart disease. Breast cancer will affect one of every eight women or approximately 12% of the population. In 2016 there are 246,660 new cases of invasive breast cancer that will be diagnosed as well as 46,000 cases of breast cancer in situ in women. Additionally, there are 2,600 cases of breast cancer that will be found in men. Breast cancer rates have been decreasing since the year 2000. This is thought to be partially due to increased screening measures as well as discontinuing the use of hormone replacement therapy. There was as positive link established between hormone therapy
Breast caner appears in the milk-producing glands of the breast tissue. Groups of glands in normal breast tissue are called lobules. The products of these glands are secreted into a
Introduction Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in the UK. In 2011, just under 50,000 women were diagnosed with invasive breast cancer. Most women who get it (8 out of 10) are over 50, but younger women, and in rare cases, men, can also get breast cancer. If it's treated early enough, breast cancer can be prevented from spreading to other parts of the body.
One out of eight women around the world develops the most common disease called Breast Cancer. In the United States, about 200,000 women suffer from this disease and it causes more than 40,000 death each year. Breast cancer is a cancer cell (malignant tumor) that forms in the breast. The cancerous cells grow in the breast and then invade the healthy cells and the surrounding tissues of the breast and it can also spread into other parts of the body. Breast cancer is more common in women but men can also get it too. One of the reasons that males are less likely to develop breast cancer because males have less estrogen and progesterone hormones which is a higher risk of breast cancer cell to grow. There are many risks factors that can cause
DNA can get damaged. If and when this does happen to a normal cell a new cell will repair the damage. If the cell does not repair the damaged DNA cell the damaged cell will automatically die and the new cell will replace its spot. Sometimes the DNA damage is not repaired and the cell will still live becoming an abnormal cell. Abnormal cells can keep multiplying even though the body doesn’t need more cells. Those cells still have damaged DNA therefore the uncontrollable cell growth will keep on repeating. Think of cancer starting as a party. The cells don't want to stop to turn down the music or stop joining the
A female breast consists of fatty and fibrous connective tissues. The interior of the breast is divided into about twenty different sections called lobes. Each of the lobes is further divided in to lobules, which are structures that contain small milk-producing glands. These glands place the milk into tiny ducts. These ducts take the milk through out the breast and store in a chamber located below the nipple.