Statistics

The breast cancer incidence starts to decline: between 2004 and 2005, the number of new cases fell by 2.1% and 3.3% between 2005 and 2006 (Academy of Medicine, February 2008). Two breast cancers 3 appearing after menopause. 

Breast cancer occurs more and more young: 7% of affected women under 40, while the figure was 5.6% in 2002 (French Society of Senology and breast pathology, October 2010). A woman dies of breast cancer approximately every 53 minutes. Breast cancer detected early is easier to treat and less risk of sequelae. It reduces mortality by 25%.

Half of the cancers are detected even when they are less than 2 cm. Every year worldwide, about one million of breast cancers are diagnosed and 400,000 women die. The increased number of cases affects mainly postmenopausal women, but also, increasingly, younger women, that is to say aged 40 to 45 years. Breast cancer represents 52 000 new cases in 2010.

Between 2005 and 2011, 53,000 new cases a year were reported with 11,500 annual deaths. Breast cancer remains the first among cancers in terms of frequency (33.5% of all new cancer cases) and 75% of breast cancers declare after 50 years.

symptoms

The first breast cancer symptom is the presence of a ball in the breast corresponding to the tumor. It can also be accompanied by hard glands in the armpit (axillary nodes) corresponding to a spread of cancer as well as skin changes in the breast and nipple (dimpled appearance of skin and nipple between instead of going out). 

The breast can progressively deform and ulcerate, which sometimes results in nipple discharge, only one side. If the cancer is diagnosed late, the tumor can spread and trigger other symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, loss of weight, jaundice, bone pain or headaches, shortness of breath or cough.

Healing

In 2008, breast cancer has led to 11,300 deaths, while 17,000 women died of breast cancer 10 years ago. The vast majority of women recover from breast cancer. The survival rate at 10 years is now 75%.

Prevention

Recommendations of the Academy of Medicine to prevent breast cancer:

Conceive a baby before age 25 (average age of 28/29 years since 2001, when he was 24 years in 1970), reducing the risk factors such as tobacco, alcohol, obesity and sedentary lifestyle, avoid prolonged hormonal treatment of menopause, which increase the risk of breast cancer of 1.3 to 2 and identify women at high individual risk are recommendations of the Academy of medicine (2008).

Learn more about the medical academy report

mammography

Mammography is a painless and quick examination, lasting about 15 minutes. It can detect an anomaly and an accurate diagnosis. It is carried out routinely in women over 50 years as part of a monitoring to detect incipient tumour small, invisible and impalpable to quickly set up a processing to optimize the chances of recovery. 

The radiologist delivers in the day the first interpretations and the results are sent to the doctor. If an anomaly is detected, other radiological examinations can be immediately applied by the radiologist, such as ultrasound for example.

Tell the radiologist if you wear breast prostheses, if you take hormonal drugs or if you have undergone surgery.

Ultrasound

Ultrasound is not a cancer screening examination within the first line. It may be advisable after a mammogram to analyze a detected lesion or when a mass was discovered during palpation and has not been located on mammography.

Biopsy

It involves taking a fragment of suspicious tissue for examination under a microscope. The biopsy can be performed under local anesthesia, using for example a fine needle aspiration cytology in a or in the operating room under general anesthesia during surgery on the tumor. If this option is chosen, it can be performed during a biopsy, or consist of a lumpectomy. Diagnosis is achieved via microscopic examination of the tumor removed piece.

staging

This assessment determines the extent of the cancer and check for metastasis. The results depend on the events and results of the sampling of the tumor. It will usually include at least one chest X-ray, abdominal ultrasound, a blood and bone scintigraphy.