How does breast cancer appear?
Breast cancer is, in most cases, a disease that appears spontaneously, not linked to heredity. Multiple factors associated with its appearance have been described (estrogens, obesity, alcohol, hormone replacement therapy, breast density, reproductive history, age…) and protective factors against it (moderate physical exercise, breastfeeding…) but none of them clearly related to breast cancer.
A second group of patients are those with familial breast cancer, those cases with a family history not attributable to genetics and which constitute between 15 and 20% of cases. Finally, there are those cases of breast cancer that are clearly related to genetic mutations, hereditary breast cancer, which constitutes only 5 to 10% of cases.
What measures can be taken to detect breast cancer early?
For the early detection of breast cancer it is advisable to follow the recommendations established by the different breast pathology societies, which are: periodic breast self-examination (from the age of 25, generally the week after the menstrual period) and biannual mammography (between the ages of 45 and 69, as established by the National Plan for the Early Detection of Breast Cancer).
What is the treatment for breast cancer?
The treatment of breast cancer is, nowadays, variable and personalized. It is becoming increasingly clear that breast cancer requires a personalized and individualized therapeutic approach depending on the characteristics of the tumor, the extent of the disease and the age of the patient. To this end, each case of breast cancer must be studied from a multidisciplinary point of view, jointly by the different specialists involved in its treatment.
The treatment of breast cancer includes a surgical, oncological, psychological approach…
Sometimes it will be necessary to start the therapy with surgery, to then administer hormone therapy and/or chemotherapy, radiotherapy… In other cases only surgery followed by radiotherapy is necessary, or to start the treatment with chemotherapy, to continue with surgery… Each case is different, and requires a different approach.
In the case of surgical treatment, every day we tend to be less aggressive in surgery without ceasing to be effective in treatment, both at the level of the breast and in the surgical management of the armpit. We are aware of the importance of the breast in women, so we try to be effective surgically but with the least alteration of the woman’s image.
What is the current prognosis for patients?
In recent years the improvement in oncological and surgical therapies has led to a considerable improvement in the prognosis of breast cancer. Globally, in Spain, including all stages (from early to advanced), survival at 5 years is over 85%. If we refer to the initial stages, this can be over 95-98%.