Breast cancer occurs when abnormal cells in the breast grow in an uncontrolled way and can spread to other parts of the body. There are two main types of breast tumors - benign tumors which do not spread and malignant tumors which can metastasize through the bloodstream and lymphatic system. Risk factors for breast cancer include being female, older age, family history, obesity, alcohol consumption, and genetic mutations. Symptoms may include a breast lump, skin changes, nipple discharge or retraction. Treatment options include surgery, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, radiation therapy, and targeted drug therapies. Nursing care focuses on monitoring for treatment side effects, providing psychological support, patient education, and helping manage symptoms.

1. Vaidyanath institute of nursing parali v.

2.  Cancer is a group of diseases involving
abnormal cell growth with the potential to spread to
other parts of the body.

3. 1)Benign Tumor :
Does not spread
2)Malignant Tumor :
Metastasizes via the blood-stream and the
lymphatic system.

4. Sr . No. Features Malignant Benign
1 Rate of growth Rapid Slow
2 Nature of growth Invades surrounding tissue Expands in the
same tissue
3 Spread Metastasizes via the bloodstream
and the lymphatic system
Does not spread
4 Cell
Differentiation
Usually poor Nearly normal

5. Breast cancer is defined as when cells in
the breast begin to grow out of control. These cells
usually form a tumor that can often be seen on an x-
ray or felt as a lump.

6.  Ductal Carcinoma
 Originate in duct that carry milk to nipples

7.  Lobular means that the cancer began in the
milk-producing lobules, which empty out into
the ducts that carry milk to the nipple.

8.  Breast cancer is always caused by a genetic
abnormality ( A “ mistake” in the genetic material).
However, only 5- 10 % of cancer are due to an
abnormality inherited from your mother and father.
About 90% of breast cancers are due to genetic
abnormalities that happen as result of the aging
process and the “wear and tear” of life in general.

9. Gender : female (1% males)

10.  Race: More common in whites

11. • Age: Increases as a woman gets older.
• Relative: Mother or sister
• Menstrual History : Early onset late
menopause
• Childbirth: First child after the age of 30 or
having no children at all

12.  Obesity

13.  Diet : Fat Alcohol

14.  Lack of physical Activity: Stress

15.  Radiation Exposure

16.  History of Cancer : Breast , uterus, Cervix, Ovary
 Hormones: estrogens in hormones replacement
therapy and birth control pills.
 Genetics: certain condition that are inheritated.

17. Due to etiological factor eg. Genitic factor
Breast cancer is a malignant tumor that starts in the cells
of the breast
Damage to the DNA and genetic mutations can lead to
breast cancer
The immune system normally seeks out cancer cells and
cells with damaged DNA and destroys them.

18. Breast cancer may be a result of failure of such an
effective immune defence and surveillance
These are several signalling systems of growth factors
and other mediators that interact between stromal cells
and epithelial cells
Disrupting these may lead to breast cancer as well.

19.  Here are the 7 warning signs and symptoms of cancer
"CAUTION " that you should not ignore:
C: Change in bowel or bladder habits.

20.  A: A sore that does not heal.

21.  U: Unusual bleeding or discharge.

22.  T: Thickening or lump in the breast or
elsewhere

23.  I: Indigestion or difficulty in swallowing.

24.  O: Obvious change in a wart or mole.

25.  N: Nagging cough or hoarseness.

26.  Swelling of all or part of a breast (even if no distinct
lump is felt)
 Skin irritation or dimpling (sometimes looking like an
orange peel)
 Breast or nipple pain
 Nipple retraction (turning inward)
 Redness, scaliness, or thickening of the nipple or
breast skin
 Nipple discharge (other than breast milk)

28.  Chemotherapy
 Chemotherapy uses drugs to destroy fast-
growing cells, such as cancer cells. If your
cancer has a high risk of returning or
spreading to another part of your body, your
doctor may recommend chemotherapy after
surgery to decrease the chance that the
cancer will recur.

29.  Hormone therapy — perhaps more properly
termed hormone-blocking therapy — is often
used to treat breast cancers that are
sensitive to hormones. Doctors sometimes
refer to these cancers as estrogen receptor
positive (ER positive) and progesterone
receptor positive (PR positive) cancers.
 Hormone therapy can be used before or after
surgery or other treatments to decrease the
chance of your cancer returning. If the
cancer has already spread, hormone therapy
may shrink and control it.

30.  Treatments that can be used in hormone
therapy include:
 Medications that block hormones from
attaching to cancer cells (selective estrogen
receptor modulators)
 Medications that stop the body from making
estrogen after menopause (aromatase
inhibitors)

31.  BIOPSY
 RADIATION THERAPHY
 MASTECTOMY

33.  Removing a limited number of lymph nodes
(sentinel node biopsy). To determine
whether cancer has spread to your lymph
nodes, your surgeon will discuss with you the
role of removing the lymph nodes that are
the first to receive the lymph drainage from
your tumor.
 If no cancer is found in those lymph nodes,
the chance of finding cancer in any of the
remaining lymph nodes is small and no other
nodes need to be removed.

35.  Radiation therapy uses high-powered beams
of energy, such as X-rays and protons, to kill
cancer cells. Radiation therapy is typically
done using a large machine that aims the
energy beams at your body (external beam
radiation). But radiation can also be done by
placing radioactive material inside your body
(brachytherapy).

36.  Side effects of radiation therapy include
fatigue and a red, sunburn-like rash where
the radiation is aimed. Breast tissue may also
appear swollen or more firm. Rarely, more-
serious problems may occur, such as damage
to the heart or lungs or, very rarely, second
cancers in the treated area.

37.  Total mastectomy: In total mastectomy, the
surgeon removes the whole breast. Some
lymph nodes under the arm may also be
removed

38.  Modified Radical Mastectomy
 Nursing Interventions
 Monitor for adverse effects of radiation therapy such as fatigue,
sore throat, dry cough, nausea, anorexia.
 Monitor for adverse effects of chemotherapy; bone marrow
suppression, nausea and vomiting, alopecia, weight gain or loss,
fatigue, stomatitis, anxiety, and depression.
 Realize that a diagnosis of breast cancer is a devastating emotional
shock to the woman. Provide psychological support to the patient
throughout the diagnostic and treatment process.

39.  Involve the patient in planning and treatment.
 Describe surgical procedures to alleviate fear.
 Prepare the patient for the effects of chemotherapy,
and plan ahead for alopecia, fatigue.
 Administer antiemetics prophylactically, as directed,
for patients receiving chemotherapy.
 Administer I.V. fluids and hyperalimentation as
indicated.
 Help patient identify and use support persons or
family or community.
 Suggest to the patient the psychological interventions
may be necessary for anxiety, depression, or sexual
problems.
 Teach all women the recommended cancer-screening
procedures.