Breast Cancer
Breast cancer? Well first lets start by explaining what a breast is.
Breasts constantly change from the time of puberty.
When puberty is reached girls develop lobules at the end of the ducts that sit behind the nipples. This is mainly made up of a fatty tissue, ligaments and muscle attached to the chest wall then help to support the breasts.
A single female breast has 14-21 lobes with several lobules and ducts surrounded by fatty and supportive tissue.
Each lobule has about 32 major ducts that open onto the nipple.
The usually darker circular area of skin around the nipple is called the areola. This has large glands around it which produce a fluid to help lubricate the nipple.
Lymph nodes
In each armpit of a women there are about 18-32 lymph nodes that drain fluid from the breast. All of these form part of the lymphatic system which helps the body to fight infection.
Nipples
The nipples can point in any direction but usually forward, and can quite often look very different on each breast. Nipples can be turned inwards (inverted), and although nipples are hairless, some women have a few hairs around the outer areola.
Breast tissue over time begins to lose its pirt firmness with age; the milk-producing tissuewithin the breast is replaced by fat, which makes the breasts sag.
This can be noticed more after the menopause when oestrogen levels fall and womens periods have stopped. As time goes on and you grow older your breasts may also change size.
HRT
If you take hormone replacement therapy (HRT) your breasts may feel firmer and sometimes quite tender.
Normal changes and benign breast conditions
Most breast changes are usually related to developing or ageing breast tissues. These can include lumps/lumpiness, tenderness/pain and nipple changes.
Now we understand the breast a little more what can go wrong with them?
Mastectomy
Surgery to remove the breast:
Simple mastectomy - Removal of the entire breast.
Modified radical mastectomy - Removal of the entire breast and some of the lymph nodes in the armpit. Sometimes one of the small muscles on the chest wall is also removed.
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