Breast Cancer Essay

Introduction
a) Breast cancer can either take place in the ducts or the lobules of the breast.
b) Joining a nursing school helps a person to learn about breast cancer and its treatment.
Body
Breast cancer diagnosis

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a) There are different tests that nurses study in school on the diagnosis of breast cancer.Breast Cancer Essay
b) The tests involve breast MRI, ultrasound, and imaging tests.
Causes and risk factors of breast cancer
a) Joining a nursing school helps a person to understand various breast cancer threat factors.
b) The risk factors involve age, taking alcohol, hormone intake, and reproductive history.
Signs and symptoms of breast cancer
a) Breast cancer symptoms involve breast lumps, nipple discharge, and nipple pain.
b) Breast pain and change in breast skin texture are also other signs of breast cancer.
Breast cancer treatment and management
a) The most common treatment options involve surgery and radiation therapy.
b) Chemotherapy is also another treatment for breast cancer.
Conclusion
a) Breast cancer patients experience many challenges, and thus they need a person informed to take care of them.
b) There are preventive measures and other breast cancer interventions for breast cancer patients.
References
Bonsu, A. B., & Ncama, B. P. (2019). Integration of breast cancer prevention and early detection into cancer palliative care model. PloS one, 14(3), e0212806.
Ikhuoria, E. B., & Bach, C. (2018). Introduction to Breast Carcinogenesis–Symptoms, Risks factors, Treatment and Management. European Journal of Engineering Research and Science, 3(7), 58-66.Breast Cancer Essay

Breast cancer involves cancer, which occurs in the breast cells. Cancer begins when the cells start to get out of control through growth (Sarala, 2020). Breast cancer can either take place in the ducts or the lobules of the breast. Joining a nursing school helps people gain more information about cancer types that exist in people. Therefore, I joined the nursing institution to understand breast cancer information, which my mother has, and how I can care for her. Nursing courses give more details about the start of breast cancer and how nurses can control it in patients to improve their health. The paper explains breast cancer in patients and the change in signs and symptoms, and how it can be diagnosed and managed.Breast Cancer Essay
Body
Breast cancer diagnosis
Many benefits come with joining a nursing school. One of the main reasons I joined the nursing school is that I wanted to understand breast cancer diagnosis (Bonsu, 2019). Nurses have more information on a breast cancer diagnosis, which can help them detect the type of cancer a patient has to control it. There are different tests that nurses study in school on the diagnosis of breast cancer. One of the tests involves the imaging tests, which show the pictures of the inside body. The imaging tests help the nurses learn more about the suspicious parts in the screening (Wang, 2017). Ultrasound is one of the imaging tests which nurses study on how to diagnose breast cancer. Other imaging tests include the breast MRI which uses magnet and radio waves to take pictures inside the body, and diagnostic mammography, which takes pictures when the patient has more signs in the breast like nipple discharge.
Another type of diagnosis which nurses learn in a nursing school includes biopsy, where a small tissue gets removed from the breast organ for checking under a microscope. A pathologist analyzes the sample and determines if there is cancer. Surgical biopsy and core needle biopsy are examples of biopsy tests that nurses learn in nursing schools. Therefore, taking part in a nursing school is beneficial because it helps nurses detect breast cancer on time, thus controlling it. Understanding breast cancer diagnosis ensures that the nurse can determine if the cancer cells spread in other parts of the body or are just within the breast tissues.Breast Cancer Essay
Causes and risk factors of breast cancer
There is no definite cause of breast cancer in women. The people who find themselves with breast cancer cannot explain what caused it, thus making it difficult to explain the reasons for breast cancer. However, there is multiple threat factors related with breast cancer in women. Joining a nursing school helps a person to understand the threat factors linked with breast tumor. Exposing oneself to certain risk factors can make them develop breast cancer, and thus it is essential to understand the exposures to prevent people from the disease.
As a nurse, the lessons taught in school are essential in guiding people on reducing the threat aspects related with breast tumors. There are risk factors which a patient can change and others which a person cannot change. Understanding them will guide the nurse in advising people on the best ways of living to prevent themselves from breast cancer. Some of the risk factors that nurses learn about breast cancer and that can change include being physically active, taking hormones, and taking alcohol (Engmann, 2017). There are risk factors in breast cancer that cannot change and include getting old, reproductive history, history of radiotherapy treatment, etc. Nurses can use this information to educate society on the best ways of reducing the risk of breast cancer.
The risk factors expose women to different types of cancer. Nurses learn the two main categories of cancer, invasive and noninvasive, which have different types of breast cancer classified under them. The kind of risk factors a person is exposed to leads to breast cancer (Horn, 2017). Joining the nursing school will help a person understand various types of breast cancer like invasive ductal carcinoma and angiosarcoma and take against them. Breast Cancer Essay
Signs and symptoms of breast cancer
Learning nursing concepts would expand my knowledge of the signs and symptoms of breast cancer. There are different symptoms and signs of breast cancer, which implies patients experience various clinical manifestations of breast cancer. One of the breast cancer symptoms involves developing a persistent lump under the armpit near the breast. The skin might thicken in any part of an individual’s breast. However, other medical conditions may also cause breast lumps. The lump may cause thickening of a part of the breast, and in some instances, it becomes painful (Khaliq, 2019). The swelling develops due to lymph node changes and might feel tender upon touch; cancer cells that leave the breast area deposit themselves in the lymph nodes around the armpit.
Nipple discharge is another clinical manifestation of breast cancer. The nipple might begin to discharge substances other than milk, which might appear thick or thin. The areola discharge is an early sign of breast cancer that infects the milk ducts. Breast cancer causes changes in the skin cells, which result in severe breast pain in the form of a burning feeling. The nipple discharge may have different colors like bloody or clear (Winters, 2017). Another symptom of breast cancer is skin dimpling, which makes a patient’s skin to appear reddish. The skin forms dimples when a cancer patient raises or moves their arms, making the breast skin to appear pitted. The dimpling resulting from cancer infection mostly occurs in one breast where cancerous cells affect the skin and lymph vessels in any part of the breast.
Another symptom of breast cancer is a pain in any part of the breast or nipple. Cancerous cells cause changes in the nipple area, which might result in severe pain and discomfort. The problem may be due to infections of breast cells and might cause sores around the nipple. Breast pain might not indicate that a person has breast cancer, especially if breast lumps do not accompany it. Most breast cancer patients do not experience aches, but a person should not ignore breast pain. Nipple inversion is another clinical manifestation of breast cancer. The inversion occurs when a nipple pulls inwards and sometimes below the areola. Breast cancer may also cause hardness around the nipple. A change in the skin texture is another sign of breast cancer. A patient may experience a flaky skin around the nipple area, which progresses to a tender skin around the breast region. The breast skin may also irritate frequently, making a person feel uncomfortable. The skin around the areola may appear scaly and extremely dry. Patients need to consult their doctors in the event of a texture change because the change may result from other skin conditions.Breast Cancer Essay
Breast cancer treatment and management
Nursing can enable me to explore the different treatment options available for breast cancer patients. Several breast cancer treatment measures exist depending on the severity of the infection. Breast cancer has a cure only if the cancerous cells have not spread to the nearby tissues’ duct walls. Breast cancer treatment options vary from patient to patient, depending on the cancer infection (Shah, 2019). The most common treatment options involve surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation.
Healthcare professionals recommend breast cancer surgery when the cancer is in the invasive stage. Surgery is the best option because the cancer tumor is smaller and easily removable. The surgery involves the removal of cancerous cells in the breast. A medical professional may also advise a patient to remove the entire breast. The patient receives systemic medication after the surgery. Another treatment option for breast cancer is radiation treatment. The therapy entails exposure to high-power energy waves to destroy cancerous tissues. The period of radiation treatment takes several weeks for the successful elimination of cancerous tissues in the breast. Healthcare professionals administer radiation analysis depending on a patient’s situation and location of the cancer tumor.
Chemotherapy is another treatment option for breast cancer patients. The treatment is mostly used on a breast cancer patient when the cancer tumors are too big for removal through surgery. The treatment involves the prescription of anticancer-drugs either via injection or oral. The treatment is essential before and after the removal of breast cancer tumors. Doctors administer adjuvant chemotherapy to patients after surgery to kill any micro cancer tissues to prevent new cancer tumors (Ikhuoria, 2018). A breast cancer patient may also receive neoadjuvant chemotherapy to reduce cancer tissues before undergoing a surgical operation. The treatment enables doctors to analyze the response of cancer tumors to the therapy. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is also a preventive measure because it prevents the recurrence of breast cancer. Chemotherapy is a general treatment for patients whose breast cancer has spread to other parts near the breast region.Breast Cancer Essay
Conclusion
Choosing a nursing school helps a person to gain information on how to handle different kinds of diseases. Breast cancer patients experience many challenges, and thus they need a person informed to take care of them. Signs and symptoms of breast cancer keep changing from one stage to the other, and having the information can make a caregiver understand how to take care of the patient. There are preventive measures and other breast cancer interventions that only people who attend a nursing school can get to know, thus making it essential to join a nursing school.

On November 7, 2009 I made a decision that I could never take back. It was a decision that I would never regret and it made my mom smile. On that day in November my mom took me to the tattoo shop and I got a breast cancer ribbon tattooed on my back just for her. My mom is a breast cancer survivor. She has had breast cancer three times in the last nine years, about every three years it comes back. She has made it through every test, surgery, and treatment she had to endure. My mom is just one of the many women diagnosed with breast cancer every day. Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women in the United States besides non-melanoma skin cancer. More than one in four cancers in women are breast cancer. Breast cancer deaths are the second highest of other cancers among women in the United States (BreastCancer.org, 2010). When a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer it not only affects her, it affects her friends and family as well. The physical pain of surgeries and treatments, the costs of medical care, and the emotional pain all take their toll on a patient and her loved ones. A cure for breast cancer would end all the suffering. The pain and agony that comes along with a breast cancer diagnosis affects more and more people every year, making it vital that we find a cure.Breast Cancer Essay

Even though there is no cure for breast cancer now there several different tests to diagnose it. An early diagnosis gives women the best chance of living. One way to help find breast cancer early is through a breast self-exam that women can do on their own. Women can do this by visually examining and feeling their breasts to detect anything abnormal. Doctors can also scan for breast cancer using mammograms. It is recommend that woman over the age of forty should have a yearly mammogram to help find cancer if there are no symptoms (Hirshaut & Pressman, 2008, p. 50-54). Biopsies, ultrasounds, CT scans, and PET scans are some other tests doctors can perform to find and diagnose breast cancer. With advances in technology there are numerous procedures doctors can perform to find cancer. Once a woman learns she has this horrible disease the next step is to start treatment.Breast Cancer Essay

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With more and more women developing breast cancer experts have discovered new ways to treat it. Doctors can treat breast cancer by preforming surgery. In most cases women need to have surgery to get rid of any lumps or tumors. A lumpectomy is the removal the tumor and some surrounding tissue only. A mastectomy is when all of the breast tissue is removed. After either of these surgeries women can have reconstruction surgery, such as an implant, to rebuild the breast. Breast cancer can also be treated with chemotherapy or radiation therapy. Chemotherapy can be given before or after surgery to destroy cancer cells. It can be given through an IV or can be taken in pill form to destroy cancer cells throughout the body. Radiation uses a special kind of high energy beam that destroys all cells in the targeted area. The beam kills both the cancer cells and normal cells. However, the cancer cells are easier to destroy then healthy cells (BreastCancer.org, 2010). All of these treatments have been proven to treat breast cancer; however they all come with side effects. From physical and emotional pain to the financial costs or treatment, patients and their families suffer.Breast Cancer Essay

According to the American Cancer society there are currently over 2.5 million breast cancer survivors in the United States alone (2010). One of those survivors is Laura Bennett, my mom. My mom was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2002 when she was only 38 years old. After having a mastectomy and chemotherapy her cancer went into remission and she then had reconstruction surgery. Unfortunately, her cancer came back in 2005 when she was 41. My mom’s cancer had gotten worse and she required more treatment. First, she had surgery to remove the lump. Then she had chemotherapy, radiation treatments, and more chemotherapy. However, after she finished her radiation treatment her doctors discovered there was too much damage in the area and had to remove her implant. After the doctors removed her implant, my mom had a second round of chemotherapy and decided not to have reconstructive surgery again. Once again my mom went into remission, and like the last time it came back again in 2008 when she was 44. My mom’s cancer was so severe her doctors told her she needed to have chemotherapy first to help shrink the tumor before she could have surgery. After several months of chemotherapy her doctors said they could perform surgery. Her surgery lasted eight hours and she spent seven days in the hospital recovering. The surgeons removed parts of three ribs, part of her lung, and most of the muscle tissue under her arm. She then needed a skin graph from her leg to cover the hole under her armpit. Now my mom is thankfully in remission, unfortunately the cancer spread to her lymph nodes. This means her cancer can spread anywhere in her body. If there was a cure for breast cancer my mom would never have to worry about getting it again. Through everything me and my family have held her hand to help her fight. Even though she has survived, the damage and pain the cancer caused is still affecting her and our whole family.Breast Cancer Essay

We are all very grateful that she is alive and still with us. Her treatments and surgeries saved her life. However none of it came without a price. All of my mom’s treatments in total have cost about 125,000 dollars. Her eight hour long surgery and recovery alone cost 50,000 dollars. My parents had health insurance which covered most of the expenses. However, with my mom too sick to work and my dad taking time off to take her to the doctors, her medical bills put them in debt. Every woman who fights breast cancer has to go through treatment and the cost does not go down. My family was lucky that we had health insurance, but there are many people that do not have insurance. For those women the cost is even greater and some cannot afford treatment at all. This financial strain affects everyone in the family and causes a lot of stress. Finding a cure would not only save lives, it would also ease the financial burden of fighting breast cancer. The pain of breast cancer is bad enough without the worry about paying for treatment. Easing the stress of paying thousands of dollars for care would help women focus on surviving and dealing with their pain.Breast Cancer Essay

My mom was suffering everyday through her treatments both physically and emotionally. The radiation therapy left my mom with second to third degree burns. My mom told me “After I finished a radiation treatment I was in pain for the next three weeks. I felt extremely weak and so tired and it made me feel worse than chemotherapy did. I will never have radiation again” (L. Bennett, personal communication, February 6, 2011). The chemotherapy made my mom feel weak, nauseous, and tired. However my mom said one the worst parts of all was losing her hair. Every time she has had chemotherapy she has lost her hair and she said it never gets easier to handle. “After I was diagnosed the first time and had chemotherapy my hair started thinning. Then one day when I was in the shower I was washing my I realized clumps of my hair started coming out. I was so upset and I could not handle it, so I started pulling it out and when I was done I just started crying” (L. Bennett, personal communication, February 6, 2011). A few days after that my mom had a friend shave her head. The surgeries have left her with many scars. She has scars where her right breast was, under her arm, and on her leg where the doctors took the skin graph. She cannot lift anything heavier than a gallon of milk with her right arm and she has to wear a special prosthetic breast. My mom said her scars make her really self-conscious and she wears baggy shirts because she worries that people can see that her one breast is fake. My mom said her scars make it really hard for her to look in the mirror. “I don’t know if I could ever be intimate with a man anymore, I am so worried about what they would think of how I look. Sometimes I feel like less of a woman because I have only one breast” (L. Bennett, personal communication, February 6, 2011). Her emotional and physical pain affected everyone who loved her. We all felt helpless because we could not help ease her pain and we were scared to death she would die. My sisters, my dad, and I would feel so sad when we would see her crying in pain, too weak to get out of bed or eat that we would cry too. We are just one of the millions of women and their families who go through this pain. For some families the pain is even greater if their loved one loses the fight. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 40,598 women in the United States died from breast cancer (“Breast cancer statistics,” 2010). We need a cure to save the thousands of women who die from breast cancer. A cure will save lives and put an end to all the pain and suffering women.Breast Cancer Essay

Approximately 1 in 8 women in the United States will develop a form of breast cancer over the course of her lifetime (BreastCancer.org, 2010). Early detection is very important to surviving breast cancer. Many tests and procedures have been developed to diagnose breast cancer. There is a variety of treatment options giving women a high chance of surviving. Millions of dollars is being spent on research to find a cure for this disease. We need a cure to end the pain and physical trauma patients have to endure just to survive. There needs to be an end to the stress, sadness, helplessness, and worries that patients and their families struggle with day to day. The total costs of fighting breast cancer are expected to increase. Between 2010 and 2020 it is estimated that the total cost breast cancer care will increase by 32 percent. This is because of the large number of women who get breast cancer (“Projections of cancer,” 2011). The suffering needs to end to help millions of people. There are families and women all over just like my mom and our family. Too many people are affected by this disease to not do something about it. The pain and agony that comes along with a breast cancer diagnosis affects more and more people every year, making it vital that we find a cure.Breast Cancer Essay

Breast cancer occurs when a malignant (cancerous) tumor originates in the breast. As breast cancer tumors mature, they may metastasize (spread) to other parts of the body. The primary route of metastasis is the lymphatic system which, ironically enough, is also the body’s primary system for producing and transporting white blood cells and other cancer-fighting immune system cells throughout the body. Metastasized cancer cells that aren’t destroyed by the lymphatic system’s white blood cells move through the lymphatic vessels and settle in remote body locations, forming new tumors and perpetuating the disease process.
Breast cancer is fairly common. Because of its well publicized nature, and potential for lethality, breast cancer is arguably the most frightening type of cancer diagnosis someone can receive. However, it is important to keep in mind that, if identified and properly treated while still in its early stages, breast cancer can be cured.Breast Cancer Essay

Breast cancer is not just a woman’s disease. It is quite possible for men to get breast cancer, although it occurs less frequently in men than in women. Our discussion will focus primarily on breast cancer as it relates to women but it should be noted that much of the information is also applicable for men. Breast Cancer Essay