ALL-UKRAINIAN CANCER DAY

All-Ukrainian Breast Cancer Day was established in Ukraine “… in order to intensify the activity on prevention of origin and spread of breast cancer, attraction of attention from society to this problem…” according to the Decree by President of Ukraine “On all-Ukrainian breast cancer day”, dd. 17, January, 2005 No 42/2005.

Doctors call the female breast as “target organ” as any hormone disruptions in female organism influence first of all on the health of this organ. Stresses, fat food and food rich in calories, breast injuries are especially dangerous for breast.

According to the statistics, the breast cancer takes the first place among oncologic diseases of female population in Ukraine and in the world.

Every year about one million of new cases of breast cancers are diagnosed all over the world, 600 thousands women die every year from this disease. According to WHO’s data, the age of 30% of women, who died from breast cancer, was under 45 years.

The most wide-spread oncologic disease at women is the breast cancer. Every year it is diagnosed at 180 000 patients in Europe, 130 000 – in the USA, 16 000 – in Ukraine. The new case of the breast cancer is found every 35-37 minutes in Ukraine and every hour a woman dies from this pathology. The disease rate for recent 40 years has increased almost by three times.

The main factors for development of the breast cancer is the unfavorable ambient ecology, heredity of oncology, number of childbirths and abortions, number of surgical interferences on the breast, hormone disruptions. We cannot forget about benign processes in the breast. The breast cancer differs due to appearance of tissue, in which the swelling process is developed, degree of its spread. The cancer cells may be formed in the gland tissue, in the mamillary ducts, adipose and connective tissues. The cancer process in different tissues of the lacteal gland progresses by a different way. Some tumors grow slowly and spread over the organism (metastasize), after they become of the large size. Other tumors are more aggressive, grow and metastasize for a short period of time. However the same kind of cancer tumor may progress at different women by a different way.

Symptoms:

·         Hardening or swelling in the area of the breast that does not disappear with menstruation.

·         Hardening or swelling that can be of a pea size

·         Change in the size, shape or contour of the breast

·         Bloody or light liquid discharges from teats

·         Change in appearance of skin on the breast or teat (swells, wrinkled skin, shelling or inflammations)

·         Reddening of skin on the breast or teat.

·         Stone-like hardening in the breast.

Treatment:

The treatment of the breast cancer starts after complete examination of woman, establishment of stage of tumor process, general state of woman, available accompanying diseases. At present moment there are the following methods for treatment of the breast cancer:

1. Surgical methods of treatment.

The methodology of operation at the breast cancer depends on many factors: stage of diseases, spread of the process, size of tumor, age of patient. There are the following methods for operations on the lacteal gland:

·         organ preserving surgery

1. Lumpectomy (wide oncotomy): a surgeon excretes the tumor with neighboring healthy tissue; hereby a part of the gland remains undamaged. The operation is possible only at 0 stage of the cancer, as a rule it is added by radiological therapy. It is applied for treatment of the cancer at young women.

2. Segmental resection of the lacteal gland (excretion of a part of the lacteal gland), hereby the lymph nodes are excreted in the underarms area. Such operation is possible at 0 and 1 stages of the cancer. The radiological therapy may also be prescribed.

·         Operations, at which the lacteal gland is excreted:

1. Simple mastectomy (the breasts are completely excreted with the part of lymph nodes but the pectoral muscle is left and some skin to close the wound).

2. Extended mastectomy (the lacteal gland is completely excreted with the lymph nodes under armpit and under clavicle).

These two operations are made mostly often.

The extended radical mastectomy (the lacteal gland is excreted, as well as lymph nodes under armpit, clavicle and a part of the pectoral muscle, breastbone, ribs). This operation is held at intergrowth of the tumor into the neighboring tissues.

1. Chemotherapy is prescribed to remove those cancer cells, which have possibly spread along the organism. Chemotherapy is usually prescribed in 2-10 weeks after operation and lasts from 3 to 6 months. The agents that are used for chemotherapy have the capability to kill cancer cells but also have a number of adverse effects. They are introduced into the organism in the form of tablets or intramuscular and intravenous injections. Spreading with the blood stream, these drugs influence on the entire organism in the whole.

2. The hormone therapy is used to stop the action of female sex hormones on the cancer cells (in particular, estrogens), under influence of which their growth is increased. Tamoxifen, which has the antiestrogenic action, is prescribed. The operation on female gonadectomy, which is the main source of estrogen hormone, is made in some cases.

3. The radiological therapy is the method of local effect on the afflicted lacteal gland and the ways for efflux of the lymph. The radiological therapy before operation is aimed to reduce the sizes of the tumor and to destroy its largest malign cells in order during operation to reduce the probability for “contamination” of the wound with the tumor cells. The radiological therapy after operation is aimed to destroy the tumor cells that may be left in the area of operation in the organism. While applying the radiological therapy there is the possible development for further complications: radioactive burn of skin, development of pulmonary fever, ribs fractures may appear.

As a rule, the treatment of the breast cancer is held by a complex way, i.e. by combining the surgical method with the radiological, hormone and chemotherapy. The prognosis of complete treatment depends on many factors:

·         Regional lymph nodes, involved into the process (armpit, subclavicular). It is defined through research of lymph nodes, excreted during operation. If no cancer cells are found in them, the prognosis is more favorable in relation to the complete recovery.

·         Size of tumor (the lesser the size of the tumor is, the better the prognosis is).

·         Histological characteristics of tumor. After excretion the tumor is compulsorily subject to histological research. The sections of infected tissue are studied using microscope and the number and character of atypical (cancer) cells is defined.

·         Receptors of hormones. The cells of the lacteal gland in norm have the receptors for female sexual hormones using which the characteristic changes occur in the gland, the levels of hormones are changed in response. The research showed that approximately 2/3 from all tumors of lacteal glands has the receptors to estrogens. Hereby the positive effect from hormone treatment is observed.

·         Tumor proliferative activity (ability of tumor cells to quick reproduction). Cancer cells, which have the high proliferative ability, divide more often and thus they are more aggressive.