What is breast cancer and what is its incidence?
Breast cancer is a malignant tumor that originates in the breast. Initially the tumor is located in the breast and the natural history is the growth of this tumor, the possibility of spreading and affecting the lymph nodes in the armpit and later, if we did not treat it, it would spread to a distance, which would be metastasis.
The incidence of breast cancer is very high, after skin cancer, breast cancer is the most frequent cancer in women and in fact it is the number one cause of death in women between 50 and 60 years of age. In general the incidence is 10 to 12%; this means that 1 in 10 women, if they live to 80 years of age, will develop breast cancer.
What signs can alert us to the presence of this disease?
The signs that should alert us are fundamentally the appearance of a lump, of a lump in the breast. Any lump that appears in a woman’s breast should be studied, as it may be breast cancer, especially if these lumps:
- Do not hurt
- Have appeared recently
- Are accompanied by retraction or an alteration in the shape of the skin or nipple. Thus, a nipple that sags, an eczema on the nipple or a retraction of the breast skin should alert us to the possibility of breast cancer.
Most breast cancers will be diagnosed by screening mammography and/or ultrasound, without forgetting to perform an annual physical examination. In this way we will discover small tumors that have not yet given warning signs and have a high cure rate.
Once the treatment has been performed, how long does it take before a woman is considered cured?
Several professionals are involved in the treatment of breast cancer:
- Surgeons: to perform excision of the primary tumor and sentinel node (or axillary nodes in case of involvement). Generally the surgery consists of a lumpectomy, preserving the breast. In case of mastectomy, the intervention is completed with a reconstruction.
- Radiotherapist: in case radiotherapy treatment is necessary.
- Oncologists: generally to offer a preventive treatment (called adjuvant), based on hormonal treatment, +/- chemotherapy and sometimes +/- monoclonal antibodies, depending on the characteristics of the tumor.
In general, treatment lasts 8-10 months after the diagnosis of breast cancer and up to 5 years if hormones are indicated. It is then, after the fifth year, when we consider that the woman is cured of her breast cancer, despite the fact that in this particular type of cancer, recurrence can appear 10, 12 and even 20 years after the initial diagnosis.