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Breast Cancer
Overview
Breast cancer is a type of cancer that originates in the tissues of the breast. These malignant cells usually form in the lobules or the ducts. Breast cancer can affect both men and women.
Breast cancer has become the number one cancer among women in metropolitan cities in India. The cases are rapidly rising, with 1 in 25-30 urban women likely to suffer from breast cancer during their lifetime. This is much lower than the US (1 in 8 women) or UK (1 in 12 women). However, it is much higher than that in rural India (1 in 70 women). The other disturbing fact is that it is rising in the younger age group (between 35 - 45 years).
Every woman has some chance of developing breast cancer during her lifetime. The risk of breast cancer increases with age with approximately 77% of women being over the age of 50 at the time of diagnosis. It doubles if there are first or second-degree relatives with breast cancer. However, family history contributes to only 5-10% of breast cancers.
Breast Cancer does not spell doom anymore, especially now, with modalities to detect the disease early; however, one should never disregard any lump in the breast that they come across. The earlier the disease is picked up, the better the breast lump treatment options are and the outcome.
- A lump or thickening in the breast, armpit, or around the collarbone
- Changes to the skin of the breast such as dimpling, puckering, redness or scaling
- Discharge from a nipple (not related to breastfeeding)
- Swelling in all or some part of breast (even if there is no distinct lump)
- Inverted nipples
- Nipple pain or tenderness
- Constant pain in one spot that doesn’t go away
The outcomes of breast cancer treatment improve significantly when the cancer is detected in its early stages. Please make sure to consult a doctor if you notice any physical or visual changes in the breast or underarm area.
- Female with obesity and sedentary lifestyle
- Previous history of high radiation exposure
- History of breast conditions
- History of breast cancer in family
- Lack of breastfeeding
- Early-onset of periods
- Pregnancy in older age
- History of breast surgery
- Late Menopause, i.e. at an older age
- Postmenopausal hormone therapy
After understanding the causes and symptoms of breast cancer, a multi-pronged approach is mandatory for an accurate breast cancer diagnosis:
- Screening Mammogram: Regular mammograms after the age of 40 years reduces the risk of dying from breast cancer by early detection of the disease. Low-dose X-ray of the breast is useful in evaluating palpable as well as non-palpable masses.
- Breast Self-Examination: Helps you to be breast-aware, best done every month, 4-5 days after your periods or on a fixed day if you are post-menopausal.
- Clinical Breast Examination: Yearly visit to a breast surgeon for a thorough breast examination after the age of 40 years.
- Breast Ultrasound: required sometimes
- Pathological Assessment
- Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology (FNAC): A fine needle is inserted into the lump to aspirate a few cells and spread on a glass slide and studied on the microscope to arrive at a diagnosis. FNAC is mandatory for all breast lumps irrespective of the age of the patient.
- Trucut Biopsy: If FNAC is negative in the background of a high index of suspicion. Cores of tissue give us a pathological diagnosis more reliably than an FNAC.
Now that an accurate breast cancer screening and proper staging of your disease are complete at the best cancer hospital in India, it is time for us to plan your treatment.
Treatment for breast cancer depends on the type and stage of the disease, as well as a person’s overall health. Options may include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, hormone therapy, targeted therapy or immunotherapy. In some cases, more than one type of treatment is used.
Surgery: Surgery is commonly used to remove tumors or other abnormal tissue from the breast. The most common types are lumpectomy (removal of just the tumor) and mastectomy (removal of all or part of the breast). Depending on your situation, you may also need lymph nodes removed from under your arm in an operation called axillary lymph node dissection.
Chemotherapy: Chemotherapy uses powerful drugs to attack cancer cells throughout your body. It can be given before surgery to shrink a tumor so that it can be removed with less extensive surgery; after surgery to kill any remaining cancer cells; or instead of surgery if a tumor cannot be removed safely because it has grown into surrounding tissues and organs.
Radiation Therapy: Radiation uses high-powered energy beams such as X-rays and protons to destroy cancer cells while minimizing harm to healthy tissue around them. It's usually given after lumpectomy but sometimes after mastectomy too — especially if there's evidence that cancer has spread beyond the breast tissue itself into nearby lymph nodes or elsewhere in your body.
Hormone Therapy: Hormone therapy works by blocking hormones like estrogen that fuel certain types of cancers including those known as hormone receptor positive cancers which account for about two thirds of all cases diagnosed each year in women in their 40s and older who have been through menopause already. This approach is typically combined with other treatments like chemotherapy depending upon a woman’s specific diagnosis at hand.
Targeted Therapy: Targeted therapies target certain genes mutations proteins receptors etc., which help keep certain kinds cancers growing unchecked These treatments are often prescribed alongside chemotherapy radiation therapy hormonal therapies when appropriate They're designed specifically for patients whose tumors are driven by these particular changes within their bodies eg HER2+ Breast Cancer.
Immunotherapy: Immunotherapies work by stimulating our own immune system so it better recognizes identifies then attacks foreign substances like cancerous ones Vaccines made from components found on surface molecules expressed by various types cancers have been developed theyre currently being tested clinical trials Theyre showing promise promising results particularly when combined with traditional approaches such chemo radiation targeted therapies.
Surgery: Surgery is commonly used to remove tumors or other abnormal tissue from the breast. The most common types are lumpectomy (removal of just the tumor) and mastectomy (removal of all or part of the breast). Depending on your situation, you may also need lymph nodes removed from under your arm in an operation called axillary lymph node dissection.
Chemotherapy: Chemotherapy uses powerful drugs to attack cancer cells throughout your body. It can be given before surgery to shrink a tumor so that it can be removed with less extensive surgery; after surgery to kill any remaining cancer cells; or instead of surgery if a tumor cannot be removed safely because it has grown into surrounding tissues and organs.
Radiation Therapy: Radiation uses high-powered energy beams such as X-rays and protons to destroy cancer cells while minimizing harm to healthy tissue around them. It's usually given after lumpectomy but sometimes after mastectomy too — especially if there's evidence that cancer has spread beyond the breast tissue itself into nearby lymph nodes or elsewhere in your body.
Hormone Therapy: Hormone therapy works by blocking hormones like estrogen that fuel certain types of cancers including those known as hormone receptor positive cancers which account for about two thirds of all cases diagnosed each year in women in their 40s and older who have been through menopause already. This approach is typically combined with other treatments like chemotherapy depending upon a woman’s specific diagnosis at hand.
Targeted Therapy: Targeted therapies target certain genes mutations proteins receptors etc., which help keep certain kinds cancers growing unchecked These treatments are often prescribed alongside chemotherapy radiation therapy hormonal therapies when appropriate They're designed specifically for patients whose tumors are driven by these particular changes within their bodies eg HER2+ Breast Cancer.
Immunotherapy: Immunotherapies work by stimulating our own immune system so it better recognizes identifies then attacks foreign substances like cancerous ones Vaccines made from components found on surface molecules expressed by various types cancers have been developed theyre currently being tested clinical trials Theyre showing promise promising results particularly when combined with traditional approaches such chemo radiation targeted therapies.
At Max Institute of Cancer Care, we are committed to recuperating our patients as soon as possible. Our dedicated team of leading oncologists provides the most advanced treatment for breast cancer using cutting edge technology, based on international standards. Cancer care requires medical professionals from different specialities to collectively execute an individualized patient care plan for the best results.
A Complete Step-to-Step Breast Cancer Treatment Guide
Tumor Board
At Max Institute of Cancer Care (MICC), a team of our experts from surgical oncology, radiation oncology, medical oncology, pathology, imaging and related disciplines come together in the Tumor Board meetings to discuss various cases and form a customized/ joint decision and a treatment plan.
We believe that each patient and his/her disease is unique, hence our team of oncology experts prepare a 'personalized treatment plan' based on the discussions in Tumor Board conferences. We constantly review and improve our protocols and encourage the participation of our patients as well as caregivers to understand the disease and its treatment process.
At Max Institute of Cancer Care, we are committed to recuperating our patients as soon as possible. We firmly believe in delivering quality care, support and reassurance to our patients. Our dedicated team of leading Breast Cancer Oncologists provides the most advanced cancer treatments using cutting edge technology, based on International Standards. Breast cancer care requires medical professionals from different specialities to execute an individualized patient care plan for best results collectively.
Problems related to the breast are many and range from benign diseases to cancer. At the Max Breast DMG Clinics in Max Institute of Cancer Care, it is a close-knit unit which has world-class care by the best specialists in breast cancer surgery, radiation oncology and medical oncology, supported efficiently by a well-equipped Nuclear Medicine and Radiology Department along with a dedicated team of pathologists.
The Breast DMG's Surgical Unit specializes in the entire range of breast surgeries including breast conservation surgeries with Type 1 and II oncoplasties, mastectomies (simple, skin-sparing, nipple-sparing), sentinel lymph node biopsies, axillary dissections, etc. The doctors make it possible to detect breast cancer with the help of MRI mammograms and X-Ray Mammograms to detect breast lumps at an early stage, and Breast Biopsy for not only detecting the type of tumour but also receptor status. They specialize in Breast-Conserving Surgeries, Whole Breast reconstruction for patients who undergo mastectomy, and Conservative Axillary Dissection to prevent lymphedema onset. They have the latest radiation techniques such as Accelerated Partial Breast Radiation (APBI), IGRT and Brachytherapy for treating breast cancer tumours.
The Breast DMG's Surgical Unit specializes in the entire range of breast surgeries including breast conservation surgeries with Type 1 and II oncoplasties, mastectomies (simple, skin-sparing, nipple-sparing), sentinel lymph node biopsies, axillary dissections, etc. The doctors make it possible to detect breast cancer with the help of MRI mammograms and X-Ray Mammograms to detect breast lumps at an early stage, and Breast Biopsy for not only detecting the type of tumour but also receptor status. They specialize in Breast-Conserving Surgeries, Whole Breast reconstruction for patients who undergo mastectomy, and Conservative Axillary Dissection to prevent lymphedema onset. They have the latest radiation techniques such as Accelerated Partial Breast Radiation (APBI), IGRT and Brachytherapy for treating breast cancer tumours.
The Max Breast Clinics provides a world of comprehensive breast care catering to the treatment of benign conditions like mastalgia, nipple discharge, infectious conditions, benign lumps on the one hand to breast cancer on the other. The clinics are under the Department of Surgical Oncology, Max Institute of Cancer Care, which has vast experience in carrying out all possible breast cancer surgical procedures.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer affecting women in India and around the world. Max Healthcare is one of the country's leading providers of world-class breast cancer treatment. The cost of breast cancer treatment in India will depend on a few factors, including:-
- The staging and spread of the cancer
- Treatment protocols (surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, gene therapy, hormone replacement therapy etc.)
- Need for hospitalization
We offer the best in breast cancer treatment technologies, state-of-the-art facilities, treatment by empathetic teams of experts that include some of the most experienced oncologists in India, backed by peerless patient care.
Other Conditions & Treatments
- Blood Cancer
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Max Healthcare is home to 2500+ eminent doctors in the world, most of whom are pioneers in their respective fields. Additionally, they are renowned for developing innovative and revolutionary clinical procedures.
