How Breast Cancer Affects the Body - Term Paper Example

Number] Breast Cancer A) of the disease Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in women today (after lung cancer) and is the most common cancer among women. According to the World Health Organization, more than 1.2 million people will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year worldwide (Lynn & Charles, 4). The earliest form of breast cancer is ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), a non-invasive breast cancer which is confined to the milk ducts of the breast (Lynn & Charles, 12). Each womans breast cancer risk may be higher or lower, depending upon a several factors, including family history, genetics, age of menstruation, and other factors that have not yet been identified. Though much less common, breast cancer also occurs in men.  B) How the disease affects the individual who has it? Breast cancer patients usually experience a lot of stress and frustration due to reasons like the unpredictability of the disease, uncertainty of the future and financial difficulties (Lynn & Charles, 25). It is even more difficult for patients who have to go out of remission and face the medical complications over and over again. I know this because my mom had had cancer about 12 years ago and when she recently heard the news about her cancer’s return, she was hurt, tensed and devastated about it. Other effects of breast cancer include troubled sleep, body aches, headaches, pain, fatigue and anxiety. Moreover, many cancer patients including my mom worry about their physical appearance after extensive treatment procedures like chemotherapy, mastectomy and skin changes from radiation therapy and find it extremely difficult to make public experiences (Lynn & Charles, 25). But that certainly does not mean that patients cannot deal with it. By taking one step at a time and by the support of her friends and family, my mother is trying to deal with her situation. She prefers to keep herself still busy in work so that her mind remains occupied and tension – free. C) Is there a genetic component to the disease? Almost 200,000 women suffer from the disease each year. Although there are many external factors contributing towards the spread of breast cancer, current investigations have revealed that genetic inheritance has a major part to play in almost five to ten percent of these cases (Lynch, 91-98). This knowledge, an ingenious finding by Mary-Claire King in 1990, linked breast cancer to the long-arm of chromosome 17 (Biesecker, 22-27). Since the discovery of possible genetic linkage, doctors have been able to delineate those individuals who are most prone to the disorder, and immediately, these women begin to act in accordance with doctor’s suggestions to reduce their risk (Rosenthal et. al., 99-104).  Mary-Claire King not only determined that breast cancer was a genetic disorder, her findings also suggest that the mutation of gene BRCA1 (Breast Cancer one) is responsible for most inherited breast cancer. Further research and investigations have also pointed out the gene BRCA2 also has an important role to play in case of genetic inheritance. Unlike BRCA1 however, BRCA2 is found on chromosome 13. Researchers have found that 90% of all inherited cases of breast cancer may be due to mutations of these individual genes (Lynch et. al., 91-98).  The BRCA1 gene has the locus designation, 17q21, and is responsible for this autosomal dominant syndrome (Merajver et. al., 539-544). This tumor suppressor gene contains 23 exons, each ranging from 41 to 311 base pairs. Small insertions and deletions point mutations cause the disruption of the normal function of BRCA1, which then in turn results in the onset of breast cancer (Puget et. al., 455-461).  BRCA1 gene is responsible for the encoding of an 1865 amino acids long protein chain, which is actually "a protein that acts as a negative regulator of tumor growth, or simply a tumor suppressor" (Miki et. al., 66-71). Premature termination of the process of protein synthesis then leads to the loss of function. Since the trait of predisposition is a dominant one genetically, even a single copy of the mutated allele can result in an increase in the risks of breast tumors and thus proving that a normal breast tissue requires a functional BRCA1 (Miki et. al., 66-71). This protein is expressed in the epithelial cells of mammary glands and other tissues, and the protein acts to inhibit cell division. Because BRCA1 is a tumor suppressor gene, any mutation leads to breast tumor formation.  D) Explain how the disease affects the body provides description. While breast cancer is less common at a young age, younger women tend to have more aggressive breast cancers than older women, which may explain why survival rates are lower among younger women. All women are at risk for developing breast cancer. The older a woman is, the greater her chances of developing breast cancer. Approximately 77% of breast cancer cases occur in women over 50 years of age (Cloe).  Breast cancer usually starts when a few cells in the breast region start to grow in an abnormal and uncontrolled manner. Therefore, the earliest effects of this disease are generally localized masses and lumps called tumors (Cloe). Tumors are usually firmer than the normal tissue and sometimes painful as well. They also cause changes to the breast’s surface like dimpling of the skin and/or discharging from the nipples. Lack of appetite, nausea, severe weight loss and fatigue are some of the most common effects of breast cancer. The most dangerous hazard of breast cancer is metastasis that is, its spread to other body tissues. It typically spreads to the liver, lungs and bones and causes their dysfunction. The most common effects include easy fracturing, troubled breathing, pneumonia, chronic coughs, jaundice and severe abdominal pains (Cloe). E) Is there something special about this disease this disease that has not been seen with other disease? Breast cancer may be considered to be a single disease but it stands out from the rest because of its severity and complexity. Research and studies have proved that there are almost ten different kinds of cancers that have been lumped together under the name of breast cancer (Condliffe). This makes the treatment difficult and at times, unattainable. The variations in the types of breast cancers lead to different signs and symptoms and make it difficult for its type to be identified and treated successfully. F) How many individual in the population been affected provide statistics. It is estimated that 40,600 deaths will occur from breast cancer (40,200 among women, 400 among men) in the United States (Lynn & Charles, 54). The incidence rate of breast cancer (number of new breast cancers per 100,000 women) increased by approximately 4% during the 1980s but leveled off to 100.6 cases per 100,000 women in the 1990s. The number of deaths occurring from breast cancer also significantly declined between the years 1992 and 1996, especially among younger women (Lynn & Charles, 56). Medical experts attribute the decline in breast cancer deaths to earlier detection and more effective treatments.  The American Cancer Society estimates that since 2001, approximately 192,200 or more new cases of invasive breast cancer (Stages I-IV) have been diagnosed yearly among women in the United States (Lynn & Charles, 54). Another 46,400 women were diagnosed with DCIS. Last year, an estimated 1,500 cases have been diagnosed in men. F) How did this disease affect you or your family? Quite unfortunately, breast cancer has affected me and my family tremendously. My mom previously had cancer in her neck about 6 years ago due to excessive smoking but the doctor had removed the tumor and she went into remission. She has not smoked since then. However, she was diagnosed with breast cancer recently in June of this year. She is currently on chemo and so far, the doctors say that she is doing well. I come from a family that has a history of cancer, so when I found out about my mom, I had to take action. Therefore, I went to my doctor to get my breasts checked as well. I had previously been told in 2008 that I had some abnormal cells, which in the future, might or might not develop into cancer. Not willing to take any risks, I did get it removed after having a second opinion on the matter. So with a family history of breast cancer tagging along with me, I get myself medically examined every six months to make sure nothing is wrong. And as for my mom, although it did devastate me and my family, but we still hope to get through this with a strong faith and lots of prayers. Work Cited Biesecker, B. B. and Brody L.C. Genetic Susceptibility Testing for Breast and Ovarian Cancer: A Progress Report. Journal of Medical Women’s Association. Winter 1997 (52): 22-27.  Lynch, H.T., Watson, P., Tinley, S. , Snyder, C., Durham, C., Lynch, J., Kirnarsky, Y., Serova, O., Lenoir, G., Lerman, C., and Narod, S.A. An update on DNA-based BRCA1/BRCA2 genetic counseling in hereditary breast cancer. Cancer Genet. Cytogenet 1999(109): 91-98.  Merajver, S.D., Frank, T.S., Xu, J, et. al. Germline BRCA1 mutations and loss of the wild-type allele in tumors from families with early onset breast and ovarian cancer. Clin. Can. Res. May 1995 (1): 539-544.  Miki, Y., Swensen, J., Shattuck-Eidens, D., et. al. A strong candidate for the breast and ovarian cancer susceptibility gene BRCA1. Science. Oct. 1994(266): 66-71.  Puget, N., Stoppa-Lyonnet, D., Sinilnikova, OM., Pages, S., Lynch, HT., Lenoir, G.M. and Mazoyer, S. Screening for germ-line rearrangements and regulatory mutations in BRCA1 led to the identification of four new deletions. Cancer Research. Jan. 15, 1999 (59): 455-461.  Rosenthal, T.C., and Puck, Stirling M. Screening for genetic risk of breast cancer. American Family Physician. Jan 1999 (59): 99-104.  Cloe, Adam. "How does breast cancer affect the body?" LIVESTRONG.com. N.p., 08 2011. Web. 28 Nov 2012. http://www.livestrong.com/article/23300-breast-cancer-affect-body/ Condliffe, Jamie. "Breast Cancer Is Actually Ten Different Diseases." Gizmodo.com. N.p., 19 2012. Web. 28 Nov 2012. http://gizmodo.com/5903362/breast-cancer-is-actually-ten-different-diseases Hartmann, Lynn C, and Charles L. Loprinzi. The Mayo Clinic Breast Cancer Book. Intercourse, PA: Good Books, 2012. Print. Read More