Abnormal growth of cells in the breast tissue is known as breast cancer. It is the most common type of cancer in women and the second leading cause of death due to cancer in them. Women are more prone to the condition, but in rare cases, it can also affect men. There is a lifetime risk of developing invasive breast cancer in women. The exact cause of the disease is unknown, but genetics, hormonal imbalance, lifestyle, and environmental changes might increase the chances of developing it.

Breast cancer can be categorized into two types – benign and non-benign. One of its early warning symptoms is a painless lump or thickening in the breast tissues. Most lumps detected in the breast are benign, meaning they are non-cancerous. Other common signs of breast cancer include the following.

• Change in the shape and size of breast
• Discharge from nipple
• Prolonged pain in the breast
• Redness in the breast
• Swelling
• Pain in the nipples
• Skin texture around the breast area changes
• Unusual lump under the armpit
• Nipples retract inward

After the diagnosis of breast cancer, treatment options depend on factors such as the type of the condition, stage, size of the tumor, age, overall health, and the possible side effects. Common treatments for breast cancer include the following methods.

Surgery
Lumpectomy and mastectomy are the two types of surgeries and the procedure chosen depends on the diagnosis. The patient has a say in which method is chosen and may have a preference.

• Lumpectomy: In this type of surgery, only the tissues that the cancer cells have affected are removed, leaving behind the normal breast tissues. This type of procedure is usually suitable when the tumor is small in size.
• Mastectomy: In this procedure, all breast tissues, including the nipples affected with cancer cells are removed via surgery.

Radiation therapy
After the cancer cells are removed using surgical means, controlled energy rays are targeted at the affected area so as to destroy any remaining cancer cells. This procedure of removing cancer cells is known as radiation therapy and it is one of the common treatments for breast cancer.

Chemotherapy
Here, medication is used to destroy the cancer cells that are in the process of metastasizing to different parts of the body. This therapy is usually used in the advanced stages and sometimes it is performed before surgery to shrink the size of the tumor.

Hormone therapy
Common treatments for breast cancer include hormone therapy where the estrogen levels are targeted and blocked through medications as they help in producing cancer cells.

Targeted therapy
Usually used in the advanced stages, common treatments for breast cancer include targeted therapy. Using this therapy, any abnormalities found in the cancer cells are targeted without causing any harm to the healthy cells, unlike in radiation therapy where both healthy and unhealthy cells are affected.

Immunotherapy
When medications are used to boost the body’s immune system and fight the cancer-producing cells, it is known as immunotherapy.