How is cancer pain managed?

Pain control often starts with medicine. Many drugs are used to treat pain. You and your doctor may need to adjust your medicine as your pain changes. Your doctor may suggest different drugs, combinations of drugs, or higher doses. A patient’s report concerning his/her pain should always be the primary source of information that health care providers use to assess and control pain successfully. The goals of pancreatic cancer pain management are to control pain, prevent or minimize side effects and to enhance quality of life. The goals of the health care provider are to understand the causes of the pain, perform a comprehensive assessment, select the most appropriate drug/medication and nondrug interventions, and evaluate the patient’s response to these treatments. Having cancer doesn’t mean that you’ll have pain. But if you do, you can manage most of your pain with medicine and other treatments.
This booklet will show you how to work with your doctors, nurses, and others to find the best way to control your pain. It will discuss causes of pain, medicines, how to talk to your doctor, and other topics that may help you.
Side effects from medicines can be managed or often prevented.
Patients often worry about the side effects of treatment. However, side effects can often be well managed and even prevented with medicine. Be open with your healthcare team. Tell them your concerns and ask questions. They will help you get the care and information you need.

Side effects that you should report to your doctor or health care professional as soon as possible:

•confusion, dizziness, light headedness or fainting spells
•decreased amount of urine passed
•difficulty breathing or swallowing, hoarseness, or tightening of the throat
•fast or irregular heart beat or palpitations
•swelling of your face, lips, tongue, hands, or feet
•unusual rash or hives
Side effects that usually do not require medical attention (report to your doctor or health care professional if they continue or are bothersome):
•decreased sexual function
•diarrhea
•fatigue or tiredness
•heartburn

Pregnancy and Breast Cancer

Very few pregnant women are diagnosed with breast cancer. But because more women are choosing to have children later in life, and because the risk of breast cancer increases as women age, there may be more cases in the future. Today about 1 out of 3,000 pregnant women is diagnosed with breast cancer.

Breast cancer detection during pregnancy
When a pregnant woman develops breast cancer, it is often diagnosed at a later stage than it is in women who are not pregnant. This is because during pregnancy, hormone changes cause a woman’s breasts to enlarge and become more tender and lumpy. This can make it harder for you or your doctor to find a lump in your breasts. Mammograms are also harder for doctors to read during pregnancy because the breasts become denser. The early changes caused by cancer could also be mistaken for or hidden by the normal changes that happen with pregnancy. Even during pregnancy, early detection is an important part of breast health. Talk to your doctor or nurse about breast exams and the best time for your next mammogram — especially if you are age 40 or older, or if you or your doctor notices a change in how your breasts look or feel. As always, if you find any lump or change in your breasts, tell your doctor or nurse right away. Other tests If breast cancer has been diagnosed, other tests may be needed to find out if cancer cells have spread within the breast or to other parts of the body. This process is called staging. Staging tests are very important for pregnant women with breast cancer because their cancers tend to be diagnosed at a more advanced stage. Which staging tests may be needed depends on the situation. Pregnancy does not seem to affect the survival of women who have had breast cancer in the past.
Some doctors recommend that a woman wait 2 years after treatment for breast cancer before trying to have a baby, so that any early return of the cancer would be detected. This may affect a woman’s decision to become pregnant. The fetus does not seem to be affected if the mother has previously had breast cancer.

What are the different types of breast cancer?

• The most common type begins in the lining of the ducts and is called ductal carcinoma.
• Another common type, called lobular carcinoma, occurs in the lobules (milk-producing glands).
• Paget’s disease is a rare form of breast cancer that begins in the glands in or under the skin. It is often characterized by inflamed, red patches on the skin. The patches can occur in sweat glands, in the groin, or near the anus.

When breast cancer spreads, it is called metastatic breast cancer, even though the secondary tumor is in another organ. Epidemiological risk factors for a disease can provide important clues as to the etiology, or cause, of a disease. The first work on the epidemiology and etiology of breast cancer was done by Janet Lane-Claypon, who published a comparative study in 1926 of 500 breast cancer cases and 500 control patients of the same background and lifestyle for the British Ministry of Health.

Beginning in the mid-1990s, a number of studies suggested an increased risk of breast cancer in both active smokers and those exposed to secondhand smoke compared to women who reported no exposure to secondhand smoke. The likely reason that the older studies of active smoking did not detect risks associated with smoking was that they compared active smokers to all nonsmokers (which includes many passive smokers). The newer studies, which exclude passive smokers from the control group, generally show elevated risks associated with active as well as passive smoking.

Most patients can choose a treatment based on other factors, such as convenience (for example, how far you must travel to receive radiation therapy) or personal preference (feeling safer if you undergo a mastectomy or being very worried about the possible side effects from radiation therapy). Most women prefer to keep their breast if this is possible to do safely, but there is no right answer for everyone. However, this decision is not one the physician can make for you.

Some patients may elect to have mastectomy, or sometimes the nature of the tumor may require a mastectomy. The surgery usually also involve exploration and removal of lymph nodes from the armpit area. In stage I breast cancer, radiation therapy is done only if the surgery was lumpectomy or the edge of the surgical resection was involved with cancer. Breast reconstruction can be done during the initial surgery or may be delayed until a later date.

Their are different types of treatment in a cancer patient

Different types of treatment are available for patients with breast cancer. Some treatments are standard (the currently used treatment), and some are being tested in clinical trials. A treatment clinical trial is a research study meant to help improve current treatments or obtain information on new treatments for patients with cancer.
Different major treatments in breast Cancer are:
• Surgery
• Radiation therapy
• Chemotherapy
• Hormone therapy

In recent years, there’s been an explosion of life-saving treatment advances against breast cancer, bringing new hope and excitement. Instead of only one or two options, today there’s an overwhelming menu of treatment choices that fight the complex mix of cells in each individual cancer. The decisions — surgery, then perhaps radiation, hormonal (anti-estrogen) therapy, and/or chemotherapy — can feel overwhelming. Women who do not have children are slightly more likely to develop breast cancer then women who have children. Women who start their periods early (early puberty) or have a late menopause have a slightly higher risk of breast cancer. Women who have never breastfed are slightly more likely to develop breast cancer than women who have breastfed for more than a year. You may have any of these treatments, or all of them, depending on your situation. It is impossible to generalize about breast cancer treatment because there are so many different sets of circumstances. As with all breast cancer symptoms, any indication of IBC should not be taken lightly. Chances are in your favor that it will be benign, but in the event that you do have IBC, early detection and treatment are key to your survival. Radiation therapy uses high-energy X-rays to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors and is the standard of care following a lumpectomy for both invasive and noninvasive breast cancer

Philippine Breast Cancer

Do you believe that Philippines are one of the highest rates case in breast cancer?

Why is this happening??

These are some facts:

· More than a million women develop breast cancer without knowing it and almost 500,000 die from it every year. Approximately 70% of breast cancers occur in women with none of the known risk factors. If we are to believe medical science, Filipinos must then have a genetic predisposition for breast cancer. Despite our different dialects, we must somehow be related to one another to have a high degree of hereditary factor because breast cancer is afflicting all women from as far north as Batanes to as far south as Tawi-Tawi.

· Women who had concerns such as the attitude that mammograms are only needed in the presence of symptoms, the perceived inconvenience of taking the time, concern over cost, difficulties getting to the mammography facility, and embarrassment were more likely to never have had a mammogram. The only demographic variables positively related to ever having had a mammogram were having health insurance and longer duration of U. S. residency.

· More than a million develop the disease without knowing it, and almost 500,000 women die from it every year. In Asia, the Philippines has the highest incidence rate of breast cancer and is considered to have the ninth highest incidence rate in the world today.

In addition to the successful reduction in fertility and westernization of the Filipino lifestyle, the limited access to breast health contributes significantly to its recorded highest prevalence in Asia. Among the reasons for the limited access to breast health in the Philippines include: location of health facilities, limited income, high prices of diagnostic tests and hospital care, low levels of education, and the lack of breast cancer awareness. 26 females out of 100 females and 1 male for every
105 males may be diagnosed with breast cancer in the Philippines. Since the 1980s, breast cancer ranks 1st among the top leading cancers afflicting women in the Philippines and ranks 2nd to lung cancer if both sexes are considered. 26 females out of 100 females and 1 male for every 105 males may be diagnosed with breast cancer in the Philippines. Since the 1980s, breast cancer ranks 1st among the top leading cancers afflicting women in the Philippines and ranks 2nd to lung cancer if both sexes are considered. Almost all breast cancers start in the glandular tissue of the breast and are known as adenocarcinomas. When breast cancer is diagnosed early, the cancer cells may be very small and found only in the ducts or lobules and are called in situ cancers. If diagnosed before the cells have invaded the surrounding tissue, there is no risk of them spreading after they have been removed.

How to avoid Breast cancer??

A lot of woman in the world didn’t know how to avoid breast cancer. If you are a breast cancer victim always think positive because there are a lot of ways in order to avoid it. More than 44,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year. The numbers have increased by more than 12 per cent over the past decade – and by more than 80 per cent since 1971. On present trends, the total could reach 58,000 annually by 2024, according to Cancer Research UK, but some simple lifestyle changes could prevent one in 10 of these cases. At the start of Breast Cancer Awareness month, we suggest 10 ways to change your life. Several studies have shown that regular exercise helps a woman reduce her risk of breast cancer after menopause. The latest study, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, shows that the most physically active women cut their risk of breast cancer by 25%, but the benefit varies depending on factors such as physical activity type, timing, family history of breast cancer, and body mass index (BMI). Almost 30,000 cases of breast and colon cancer a year could be prevented by Britons spending more time in the sun to boost vitamin D levels, say researchers. A new study claims vitamin D “deficiency” may be to blame for 600,000 cancer cases worldwide each year, particularly in northern European countries where sun exposure levels are relatively low.
These are some simple tips:

1. Drink less
2. Eat fruit
3. Walk
4. Avoid HRT
5. Get screened
6. Give birth
7. Breast-feed
8. Lose weight
9. Get a stressful job (really)
10. Live somewhere clean

What are the proper foods to eat in order to avoid Breast Cancer?

Some of us doesn’t care whatever food we eat as long as it gives nutrition in our body. As a breast cancer patient must be considerate all kinds of foods especially alcohol, vegetables, tea, dairy, soda foods, meat etc. because these are the foods that should be avoided. These kinds of foods can harm you. Few people realize that just five per cent of breast cancer cases are hereditary - with over 90 per cent due to our lifestyles. There is no magic bullet or single food that will make you lose weight quickly. In fact, the safest way to lose weight is to do it slowly—about a pound a week. When you are going through breast cancer, it is an emotionally and physically trying time. Many forms of cancer treatment only add to the problem as they work toward curing the cancer. Radiation treatments, for example, can cause a great deal of fatigue and it can take up to two months for your normal levels of energy to return. Therefore, it is important to follow a few health tips for breast cancer patients in order to minimize these side effects, as well as to help you get well sooner.

Breast Cancer Awareness
Self-examine breasts

Self examination of the breasts regularly is the number one means of detecting any changes in the breast. It is advisable to examine the breast at the same time every month; this will make it easier to spot any changes in the breast. Common signs or changes to look out for include lumps, thickening or knots anywhere in the breast, unusual swelling or warmth, change in size, color or texture such as reddening or darkening of the breast, itching or scaling especially on the nipple, sudden discharge, rashes, dimpling of the skin or unusual pain. Although, most of these changes might not be a sign of impending breast cancer, however, it is beneficial to be vigilant beforehand.

What Causes Breast Cancer?
No one knows exactly what causes breast cancer, but we do know that certain risk factors – the things that increase a person’s chance of getting a disease – are linked to breast cancer. Risk factors change depending on the type of cancer.
There are a number of risk factors, both controllable and uncontrollable, which may increase the chances of developing breast cancer. For instance, the risk factors associated with diet can be controlled, but risk factors such as a person’s age or family history can’t be changed.
Does a woman’s breast size affect her breast cancer risk?
Most studies have found no association between breast size and breast cancer risk. One carefully conducted study did find an increase in the risk of breast cancer among lean women with larger breasts. In this study, two thousand women were grouped according to their bra size before childbirth. Women who were lean (chest size less than 34 inches) and had larger breasts (size B or C cups) were at significantly higher risk of postmenopausal breast cancer relative to women of the same chest size with an A or smaller cup size. Women with other chest sizes had no association between breast size and breast cancer risk. More studies are needed to confirm these result.

Sample Video of Cancer Patient

It\'s NUTS that the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act</a

Breast Cancer
Some woman didn’t aware what breast cancer is. To who’s who are not, breast cancer is a serious illness and can harm you. (KAN-sir) The name for diseases in which the body’s cells become abnormal and divide without control. Cancer cells may invade nearby tissues. And they may spread through the bloodstream and lymphatic system to other parts of the body. Breast cancer is one of the most common causes of cancer fatality in women. Early detection and treatment are key to preventing breast cancer from spreading. Breast cancer is the most common cause of cancer in women and the second most common cause of cancer death in women in the U.S. While the majority of new breast cancers are diagnosed as a result of an abnormality seen on a mammogram, a lump or change in consistency of the breast tissue can also be a warning sign of the disease. Heightened awareness of breast cancer risk in the past decades has led to an increase in the number of women undergoing mammography for screening, leading to detection of cancers in earlier stages and a resultant improvement in survival rates. Still, breast cancer is the most common cause of death in women between the ages of 45 and 55. Although breast cancer in women is a common form of cancer, male breast cancer does occur and accounts for about 1% of all cancer deaths in men.

cancer

Breast Cancer symptoms vary widely — from lumps to swelling to skin changes — and many breast cancers have no obvious symptoms at all. Symptoms that are similar to those of breast cancer may be the result of non-cancerous conditions like infection or a cyst.
These are some additional symptoms in Breast Cancer:
1. A lump or a thickening in the breast or in the armpit:
2. A change in size or shape of the mature breast:
3. Fluid (not milk) leaking from the nipple:
4. Change in size or shape of the nipple:
5. Changes of color, shape or texture of the nipple or the areola:

Treatments and drugs
A diagnosis of breast cancer is one of the most difficult experiences you can face. In addition to coping with a potentially life-threatening illness, you must make complex decisions about treatment.
Talk with your health care team to learn as much as you can about your treatment options. Consider a second opinion from a breast specialist in a breast center or clinic. Talking to other women who have faced the same decision also may help.
Treatments exist for every type and stage of breast cancer. Most women will have surgery and an additional (adjuvant) therapy such as radiation, chemotherapy or hormone therapy. Experimental treatments are also available at cancer treatment centers.

Take responsibility of your own beast health by taking your life into your own hands. Early detection of cancerous breast lumps will dramatically increase your chances for full recovery. Remember, the only thing worse than finding a lump in your breast is not finding it at all.

- Have your doctor check any suspicious lumps or signs.

- Learn and practice monthly breast self-examination.

- Schedule an annual examination with your doctor.

- Starting at age 40,  have an annual mammogram.

- Educate yourself.

The Fraser Valley Branch of the CBCF provides BSE instructors, educational tools and information literature to raise awareness about breast cancer.

I am a BSE instructor. To contact me for a session CLICK HERE.

Statistics

- Breast Cancer is the leading cause of death in Canadian women between the ages of 35 and 54.

- One in nine women in BC will be diagnosed with breast cancer.

- More than 20,000 women in BC are living with a previous diagnosis of breast cancer, approximately 630 die from the disease each year.

- For the first time, BC is seeing a slight decline in mortality rates for breast cancer.

- The five-year survival rate after treatment for localized breast cancer is 93%.

- Although BC has the highest survival rate in Canada, BC also has the highest incidence of breast cancer.

- BC’s Screening Mammography Program is the largest in North America and one of the best in the world.

- Yearly mammograms for women in their forties and up can aid in early detection and treatment.

- While the cause of breast cancer is unknown, we do know one fact: early detection can increase your chances of survival.

- Breast cancer usually produces no symptoms, by the time you feel unwell, the cancer is in a critical stage.