Breast Cancer

Breast cancer develops from the glandular cells of the pores and lobes. Rarely, however, malignancies also develop from adipose or muscle tissue, called sarcomas.
Any breast swelling is not necessarily cancer.
Benign tumors are usually normal, do not spread to other organs, and their removal prevents them from recurring.
On the contrary, breast cancer develops progressively, infiltrates the adjacent organs or tissues (skin, muscles, lymph nodes) and later can metastasize to distant organs (liver, lungs, bones, brain, etc.).
We emphasize that breast cancer is not contagious.

The Breast

The breasts are located in the chest wall and develop in women during puberty, that is, when the female hormones (estrogen, progesterone) begin to be produced by the ovaries.

In men, the breasts remain atrophic and rarely swell (gynecomastia). In this case the man should be examined. The breast consists of 15-20 lobes, which contain many small lobes, which in turn contain glands that produce milk. Drainage is done by small tubes (pores) that flow into the nipple of the breast, located in the center of a dark area of ​​skin called the areola.

There is fat between the lobes and the pores. Breasts also contain lymphatics and lymph nodes that trap germs,
cancer cells and other harmful substances, thus preventing them from reaching blood circulation.

Breasts, consequently, are organs that serve to produce milk and are composed of various tissues (glandular tissue, adipose tissue, muscle tissue), whichare composed of various cells (glandular cells that produce milk, adipose cells that support breast, muscle cells that help secrete milk).

Source: Demosthenes V. Skarlos (2008), "Learning About Breast Cancer", Above All, Woman ,
Guide to Breast Cancer, Hellenic Association of Women with Breast Cancer "Alma Zois", Dioptra Publications

Breast cancer: Numbers give the social dimension of the disease.

Globally

According to the World Health Organization, more than 2,300,000 women per year are diagnosed with breast cancer, making it the most common form of cancer in the adult population.

Europe

In Europe, more than 380,000 women develop breast cancer every year. Around 96,000 lose their lives due to the disease.

Greece

In Greece, breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women with more than 7,000 new cases per year. Breast cancer is the 3rd leading cause of death from cancer.

Prevention is the key

Fortunately, the diagnoses and treatment methods have evolved, so that a detection in an early stage is possible and the disease can be treated with success.

*Sources:

• https://www.who.int/news/item/03-02-2023-who-launches-new-roadmap-on-breast-cancer
• https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/jrc-news-and-updates/cancer-cases-and-deaths-rise-eu-2023-1002_en
• https://ecis.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pdf/Breast_cancer_2022-Oct_2023.pdf
• https://gco.iarc.fr/today/data/factsheets/populations/300-greece-fact-sheets.pdf