TV Actress Hina Khan Diagnosed with Stage III Breast Cancer: What to do When a Lump or Swelling Occurs in the Breast, Who’s at Risk?
Just a few days ago, popular TV actress Hina Khan revealed that she is battling stage 3 breast cancer. Taking to social media, she wrote, “I am in the third stage of breast cancer. I am strong, determined, and fully committed to gaining control over this disease. My treatment has begun, and I am prepared to emerge stronger than ever from this.”
What is Cancer?
We often hear about cancer every day. It’s a condition where cells in our body, which normally grow in a controlled manner, start to multiply uncontrollably over time. When these multiplying cells reach a point where they break away, they form a lump.
Breast Cancer: A Common Condition
When cancer develops in the breast, it is termed as breast cancer. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), breast cancer is the most common cancer worldwide. In India, more than 200,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year.
Understanding Breast Cancer
Therefore, today we will talk about ‘Tabiyatpani’. We can discuss breast cancer. You can also learn about it.
What are the symptoms of breast cancer?
In breast cancer, symptoms typically start with the formation of lumps in the breast lobules or ducts.
What do the stages of breast cancer mean?
The stages of breast cancer denote the extent of cancer spread and its severity.
What are the biggest risk factors for breast cancer?
When cancer develops in the breast lobes, it is called breast cancer. Breast cancer usually occurs in the lobules or ducts of the breast.
Symptoms of Breast Cancer
Usually, early-stage breast cancer shows no symptoms. Sometimes, lumps start forming, but they are often too small to be felt from the outside. Regular mammograms can detect these.
According to Dr. Debashish Chaudhari, if there is a lump in the breast, it could be a sign of breast cancer. However, not all lumps indicate breast cancer.
There are many types of breast cancer, each causing various symptoms. Some symptoms are common and easy to identify. Let’s see them graphically:
Cancer Stage
Doctors consider breast cancer in many stages based on the size and spread of the lump and treat it accordingly.
The difficulty or ease of treating cancer depends on the stage at which the cancer is diagnosed. Treating breast cancer in the early stages is quite simple, but it becomes difficult in advanced stages.
Is cancer aggressive or non-aggressive?
How big is the lump?
Have lymph nodes formed?
Has cancer spread to nearby muscles or organs?
Breast cancer’s stage must be determined based on these many questions. There are a total of 5 stages: Stages 0 to 4.
Stage 0 Breast Cancer
Stage 0 means ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). In DCIS, cancer cells are limited to the breast ducts and do not spread to surrounding tissues.
Stage 1 Breast Cancer
Stage 1A: The primary lump is less than 2 cm or smaller. It does not affect lymph nodes.
Stage 1B: Nearby lymph nodes may be seen. There is no lump in the breast or the lump is smaller than 2 cm.
Stage 2 Breast Cancer
Stage 2A: The lump is smaller than 2 cm and affects 1 to 3 nearby lymph nodes. It can also happen that the lump is between 2 and 5 cm and no lymph nodes are affected.
Stage 2B: The lump is between 2 and 5 cm and has spread to 1 to 3 auxiliary (underarm) lymph nodes. It can also happen that the lump is larger than 5 cm and no lymph nodes are affected.
Stage 3 Breast Cancer
The third phase is divided into three parts.
Stage 3A: Cancer has spread to 4 to 9 auxiliary lymph nodes or internal breast lymph nodes have become larger. The primary tumor may be any size, usually 5 cm or larger.
Stage 3B: Where the chest wall or skin has been attacked. After that, it can be attacked to 9 lymph nodes.
Stage 3C: Cancer has spread to 10 or more auxiliary lymph nodes, near the lymph nodes, or internal lymph nodes.
Stage 4: Breast Cancer (Metastatic Breast Cancer)
Stage 4 breast cancer can have any size lump. Its cancer cells affect nearby and distant lymph nodes as well as distant organs.
Understanding the Risk Factors of Breast Cancer
Breast cancer poses several risk factors that can increase the likelihood of developing this disease. However, it does not necessarily mean that these factors will directly cause the onset of the condition.
There are certain risk factors that cannot be controlled, such as family history. On the other hand, many modifiable risk factors, like smoking, can be altered.
Breast cancer is a complex subject. In upcoming articles, we will explore its types, diagnosis methods, treatment options, and ways to prevent it.
