Mammary metastasis

Metastases in the mammary gland are formed in the second and third stages of cancer. Unfortunately, cancer cells from the gland can quickly migrate to other organs and lead to serious tissue damage.

Metastases can move around the body in several ways. They can travel to other organs through the blood or through the lymph. These cells can reach vital organs such as the pancreas or liver, or they can reach the bones and bone marrow.

Therefore, it is very important to diagnose and treat breast cancer in time. Such diagnostics will not only help to save the breast, but also the life of the woman.

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Symptoms of breast metastases

In the early stages, breast cancer or metastases to the mammary gland are difficult to diagnose. Symptoms may be minor and easy to miss. However, it is important for women to know some signs and symptoms of this disease, because breast cancer is the number one cancer among women.

The first symptom is nodes or lumps in the mammary gland. They can be found by touch. You can do this yourself by feeling the gland while lying down or standing. It is better to conduct a self-examination once a month after the end of the menstrual cycle.

A malignant tumor inside the breast can metastasize to the skin of the breast. Then various symptoms appear. For example, folds and wrinkles in certain areas of the skin of the breast. The skin may lose its elasticity and not smooth out when squeezed. Ulcers may appear on the nipples or other areas of the skin of the breast.

With cancer, the nipples may be drawn inward, their shape and the shape of the breast may change. There may be discharge from the nipples, and they may become covered with a lemon peel. All these signs should alert a woman and prompt her to seek immediate medical advice.

Metastases to the mammary gland

Metastases can enter the mammary gland in several ways. In general, metastases are pathogenic or mutated cells that separate from the main malignant tumor and spread throughout the body.

These cells come in different types and sizes. Therefore, they choose different ways to move around the body. Some get into organs and tissues through the blood, and others through the lymph flow. If there are dormant metastases, which can be carried both by lymph and through the blood. But they seem to be asleep and do not grow or grow very, very slowly.

From the mammary gland, metastases most often spread to other organs through the lymph flow. Therefore, if breast cancer has been diagnosed, the woman's lymphatic system is immediately examined. Most often, the nearest axillary lymph nodes, which are located near the breast, are affected.

Breast cancer and metastases

According to statistics, breast cancer is the most common cancer among women. Metastases in the mammary gland are a serious threat to the health and even life of a woman. Therefore, it is so important for women to be fully informed about this issue. After all, knowledge can save or significantly prolong life.

Breast cancer has four stages. At the first two stages, cancerous tumors usually do not metastasize. Metastases appear at later stages of the disease. This is one of the main reasons why a woman should regularly undergo breast examination by a gynecologist and visit a mammologist at least once a year.

Self-examination skills are no less important, because in this way a woman can identify any changes or deviations in the breast tissue much faster and seek help from a doctor in a timely manner. According to statistics, cancer treatment at stage zero or stage one gives excellent results and in almost one hundred percent of cases the disease does not shorten the life of patients.

Metastases in the mammary gland are formed at the third and fourth stages of cancer. They can go from the mammary gland to almost any organ of the body. These cells "spread" in two ways: through the blood or through the lymph flow. Therefore, if breast cancer is suspected, the lymph nodes closest to the breast - the axillary ones - are necessarily examined. Often, breast cancer can quickly spread to the lymph node in the armpit and it may be necessary to remove both the breast and the node.

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Metastases after removal of breast cancer

Unfortunately, tumor removal cannot guarantee a woman's complete recovery. After all, metastases could have been released by the tumor even before its removal. This is especially true for dormant metastases, which can remain in the body for years and only then begin to grow and multiply.

However, complete removal of the tumor can significantly increase the patient's chances of survival. If metastases have not been released before the tumor is removed, then complete recovery can occur after breast cancer removal. If cancer is diagnosed early and treated correctly, it may not affect the health and life expectancy of a woman.

Whether the breast tumor has metastasized can be determined by a blood test. These tumor cells secrete a certain type of protein. If this protein is present in the blood, then there is a high probability of rapid development of cancer and metastasis of cells from the breast to other systems and organs of the body.

Distant metastases of breast cancer

Distant metastases of breast cancer are the most dangerous. The tumor may first appear in the thickness of the breast tissue itself. Then the metastases may spread to the skin, which leads to tissue adhesion and visual changes in the skin.

Usually, these processes are observed in the first two stages of breast cancer. But in the third and fourth stages, metastases can go with the blood or lymph flow to other organs. Usually, the lymph, first of all, carries cancer cells to the lymph nodes. But with the blood flow, they can affect the kidneys, brain, lungs or liver. Such metastases are called distant metastases of breast cancer.

As a rule, they are difficult to treat and can lead to death. That is why timely diagnosis of breast cancer and the appointment of adequate treatment are so important.

Diagnosis of metastases in the mammary gland

Diagnostics of metastases in the mammary gland is carried out by several methods. Firstly, it is palpation. A woman herself should be able to regularly examine her mammary glands. This can be done standing in front of a mirror or lying on her back.

The breasts may change in shape and size. You may feel lumps or nodules in them, as well as hardening. When examining the breasts, you should also examine the lymph nodes in the armpits. Both nodes and lumps may hurt, the lymph nodes may increase in size and become less mobile. All these signs should alert a woman.

The doctor can also conduct a primary diagnosis by palpating the mammary gland. In addition, he can prescribe an ultrasound or mammography. Ultrasound examination is considered less harmful, but the reliability of its results is lower than that of mammography.

Mammography is an X-ray examination of the mammary gland and the reliability of its results reaches ninety percent. It is recommended to conduct it at least once a year.

In addition, your doctor may order a number of tests, such as a blood test to look for specific proteins that are released by cancer cells.

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Treatment of metastases in the mammary gland

Treatment of metastases in the mammary gland depends on the stage of cancer. In the early stages, tumor removal may result in minimal trauma to the mammary gland tissue. But complete removal of the breast and even axillary lymph nodes affected by the tumor may be necessary.

It is also important to determine the type of cancer and the rate of its growth and metastasis during treatment. In addition to surgery, radiation therapy can be used to treat metastases in the mammary gland. This therapy destroys cancer cells without surgery.

In addition, chemotherapy is used to treat breast cancer. It kills both the cells of the tumor itself and the metastases in the mammary gland that it may have managed to spread. There are also biological and hormonal therapies that slow the growth of cancer cells in the body. They can be used together with other types of treatment.