What is Breast Cancer?
Breast cancer is a malignant tumor that starts from cells of the breast. A malignant tumor is a group of cancer cells that may invade surrounding tissues or spread (metastasize) to distant areas of the body. The disease occurs almost entirely in women, but men can get it, too.
The details below refer to Breast Cancer in women.
Normal Breast Structure
In order to understand breast cancer, it is helpful to have some basic knowledge about the normal structure of the breasts.
The female breast is made up mainly of lobules (milk-producing glands), ducts (tiny tubes that carry the milk from the lobules to the nipple), and stroma (fatty tissue and connective tissue surrounding the ducts and lobules, blood vessels, and lymphatic vessels).
Most breast cancers begin in the cells that line the ducts (ductal cancers); some begin in the cells that line the lobules (lobular cancers), and the rest in other tissues.
The Lymph (Lymphatic) System
The lymph system is important to understand because it is one of the ways in which breast cancers can spread. This system has several parts.
Lymph nodes are small, bean-shaped collections of immune system cells that are connected by lymphatic vessels. Lymphatic vessels are like small veins, except that they carry a clear fluid called lymph (instead of blood) away from the breast. Lymph contains tissue fluid and waste products, as well as immune system cells (cells that are important in fighting infections). Breast cancer cells can enter lymphatic vessels and begin to grow in lymph nodes. Most lymphatic vessels in the breast connect to lymph nodes under the arm (axillary nodes). Some lymphatic vessels connect to lymph nodes inside the chest (internal mammary nodes) and those either above or below the collarbone (supraclavicular or infraclavicular nodes).
Knowing if the cancer cells have spread to lymph nodes is important because if it has, there is a higher chance that the cells could have also gotten into the bloodstream and spread (metastasized) to other sites in the body
Over the coming months we will be adding more information of relevance on Breast Cancer
Breast cancer in Africa
Data obtained from the IARC (International Agency for research on Cancer) –GLOBOCAN 2002 database, shows that compared to Developed countries African women do not have a higher rate of Breast Cancer Incidence but have an alarming higher mortality rate.( Graph below) . This means that the chances for breast cancer survival are much higher in developed nations.
Further data, highlighting the cervical cancer incidence and mortality rates in Africa, is displayed below, ps click to enlarge.
Africa Age-specific Breast Cancer Incidence vs Developed countries. Ps click graph to enlarge.
Africa Breast Cancer Incidence Mortality vs Developed countries.Ps click graph to enlarge.
