Breast Cancer Quiz

Breast cancer is a malignancy that arises in the breasts of men or women. It can arise from ducts or lobules. Patients either find a lump or have an abnormal mammogram. Risk factors include being female, having breasts, have a genetic predisposition (eg a gene you inherit from a parent), family history of breast or ovarian cancer, getting older, personal history of breast biopsies, dense breasts on mammography, or ovarian cancer, alcohol, and obesity. Protective factors include pregnancy, especially at a younger age, weight maintenance especially after menopause, and exercise.

• Breast lump

• Lumps under the skin

• Skin depressions, holes or pockmarks

• Lymph node swelling that is persistent and increasing in size

• Skin hardening

• Swollen lymph nodes, usually small swellings at the neck, armpits, groin and behind the ears

• 2 or more family members have been diagnosed with breast cancer

• Pain when pressing on the breast

A breast biopsy must be performed to confirm the diagnosis and sometimes additional tests in addition to mammography and breast ultrasounds are performed such as MRIs or CT scans. Treatment should be managed by a multi-disciplinary treatment team including a surgeon, a medical oncologist and a radiation oncologist. Treatment will probably include some kind of surgery (lumpectomy or mastectomy and often an evaluation of the nearby lymph nodes), as well as the possibility of radiotherapy and/or hormone therapy. or chemotherapy.