Breast cancer is a disease caused by the uncontrolled proliferation of cells in the breast tissue. Although it is the most common type of cancer in women, it can also be seen in men. Although it is more common in the postmenopausal period, it can be seen in every woman from the age of 18.
As a result of research and developments in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer, deaths due to breast cancer are decreasing in Turkey as well as in the rest of the world.
As with all types of cancer, early diagnosis is life-saving in breast cancer. Annual mammography and ultrasound scans to be made in line with the doctor’s advice lead to a full cure by being diagnosed very early and treated early.
What are the symptoms of breast cancer:
-
A lump in the breast or a random feeling of difference in one area of the breast from the other.
-
Change in the form and size of the breast
-
Breast skin recession
-
Unprecedented nipple retraction
-
Orange peel-like appearance or redness on the skin of the breast
When should you go to the doctor?
Even if the last mammogram or ultrasound is normal, if any of these symptoms occur, it is necessary to go to an experienced thoracic surgeon.
How to diagnose breast cancer
Pathological diagnosis should be made after imaging (mammography, chest and armpit ultrasonography, chest and dynamic MRI) examinations are completed.
-
Tru-cut (thick needle) biopsy: It is a method that is mostly performed with ultrasonography and rarely with mammography or MRI. If there is a palpable mass in the examination, an experienced surgeon can apply it in the outpatient clinic. It is examined by pathologists by taking a small tissue section from the mass in the chest.
-
Excisional biopsy with stereotactic marking: The nonpalpable mass or microcalcification area is marked with a wire under the guidance of ultrasonography or mammography. The marked area is excised under general anesthesia and examined pathologically.
-
Excisional biopsy and frozen section: In some cases, the palpable mass is excised under general anesthesia and examined pathologically during the operation, with the choice of the patient. If the result is cancer, the operation is continued.
How to treat breast cancer:
A treatment plan is made for a patient diagnosed with breast cancer. The treatment plan includes surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and hormone therapy. The necessity, timing, order and dimensions of these treatments are decided by the committees that include physicians from many branches.
The 2 main elements in surgical treatment are surgical treatment for the chest and surgical treatment for the armpit.
-
Surgical treatment for the breast
-
Partial breast resection (segmental mastectomy): Only part of the breast is removed with the mass.
-
Removal of the entire breast (total mastectomy): the entire diseased breast is removed
-
Oncoplastic surgery: It is performed to improve the aesthetic image of the chest after surgery applied to the chest (both after partial and total mastectomy). Today, it is quickly applied to almost every patient by experienced surgeons.
-
Surgical treatment for armpit
-
Sentinel lymph node biopsy: The guard nodes found after the dye given from the chest or the radioactive matter are removed and pathological examination is performed. The armpit cleaning process is performed for the patient as necessary. Today, only this process is applied to approximately 70% of breast cancer patients and an armpit cleaning operation is not necessary.
-
Removal of axillary lymph nodes (axillary dissection): It is performed by removing at least 8 lymph nodes from the armpit. The most valuable complication is the development of lymphedema in the arm seen in the following years.
