Breast Diseases and Cancer Treatment with Cost

Breast Diseases and Cancer Treatment

Breast cancer is the second most common reason for death after lung cancer. Their symptoms are mostly associated with the formation of lumps around the breast area. However, not all lumps are cancerous.

Today, we at MyMedTrip.com, shall give you a brief on various kinds of breast diseases such as cysts or hyperplasia, and provide detailed information on breast cancer .

We will also brief you on the various kinds of breast lump treatment and breast cancer staging. We will also answer any questions you may have like can breast cancer be cured completely or not.

What is covered in the above mentioned cost for surgery?

This price includes surgery cost, doctor’s fee, standard prescribed tests and all standard expenses required at the hospital.

The breast and breast diseases

The breast anatomy

The human breast consists of lobes, lobules, bulbes, and ducts. In each breast, there are 15-20 lobes arranged in a circular manner.

Each lobe is attached to smaller structures called lobules which then end in the tiny bulbs responsible for milk production. The ducts link the lobes, lobules, and bulbs together and connect it to the nipple located at the center of areola. Although muscles lie in between each breast and lungs, there are no muscles in the breast.

Types of breast diseases

Changes in the breast are experienced by most women as a result of age, hormonal imbalances, and certain kinds of medications. This sometimes leads to the formation of lumps, bumps, and breast-discharge.

But not all lumps and breast-discharge can be linked with cancer. Some of the breast conditions that produces changes in the breast include:-

• Cysts

Cysts are usually found in people with an advanced age. They are fluid-filled sacs which may become bigger just prior to one’s menstrual cycle. Growing in the breast tissue, they may either be tender or hard.

When the cysts are on the surface of the tissue, it is usually soft, but when they are enveloped in layers of breast tissue, they are hard and feel like lumps. They usually go away without any formal treatment.

• Fibroadenomas

Fibroadenomas are generally found in teens and young adults. They are painless lumps of varying sizes which can be found anywhere in the breast region. These are non-malignant tumours that go away with time.

• Hyperplasia

Hyperplasia refers to the overgrowth of cells in the ducts and mammary glands. Usually they do not require treatment but in case of atypical hyperplasia , surgery is recommended because it may lead to cancer.

• Intraductal papilloma

Intraductal papilloma are small growths inside the ducts close to the nipple area. It causes nipple discharge and is found among women aged between 30-50. Because having more than five at one time increases the chances of developing cancer, surgery is recommended for its removal.

• Fat necrosis

Sometimes, the damaged tissues of the breast can lead to the formation of lumps, Most of them are non-malignant and occur in women with large breasts. They may also be formed after a breast injury or lumpectomy/radiation therapy.

• Mastitis

Mastitis is inflammation in the breast caused by inflamed breast tissues. This occurs mostly during breastfeeding and may go away in time. Sometimes when the inflammation leads to infection, antibiotics may be required.

• Mammary duct ectasia

This is also known as periductal mastitis, it occurs mostly in women during menopausal and postmenopausal stage. Here, milk ducts are inflamed and blocked, followed by the formation of inverted nipple and nipple discharge. Mammary duct ectasia does not increase the chances of breast cancer.

• Breast cancer

Breast cancer is the uncontrolled growth of cells that leads to the formation of tumours visible via lumps. Sometimes these lumps travel and begin to affect different parts of the body. Itmostly occurs among women although they may be found in men as well. There are various kinds of breast cancer. The chances of survival increases when detected early.

Symptoms of breast diseases

Most breast diseases have similar symptoms. They include:-

• Breast pain.
• Formation of lumps.
• Nipple discharge.
• Inverted nipple, scaly, or creased nipple.
• Changes in breast size and shape.
• Scaly breasts.

Most of the breast disease symptoms go away on its own. However, one must see the doctor in cases the symptoms persist. Some situations in which a visit to the doctor may become mandatory, are:-

• The appearance of a lump that does not go away and is stuck on the surface such as the skin or the chest wall.
• The appearance of swelling that does not go away .
• Reddening, thickening, wrinkling, or denting of the breast skin.
• Normal or bloody discharge from the nipple, that may either be spontaneous or stimulated.

Aside from the aforementioned symptoms that appear all at once or individually, the formation of breast lump occurs in every breast disease. Therefore, the treatment of the lumps are central to treating breast diseases.

Breast lump treatment

Most of the breast lump formations are non-cancerous. They go away on their own except for some cases, such as atypical hyperplasia. Therefore,  the removal of lumps that do not go away, becomes mandatory, as they could lead to breast cancer. Breast lumps are treated in one of the following ways-

• Surgery– Also known as lumpectomy, this involves the removal of entire lumps.
• Antibiotics– In the cases of breast diseases such as metatitis where the infection may make one prone to cancer, antibiotics become necessary to treat the symptoms and remove the lump formation
• Fine needle aspiration– This is a method that uses a fine needle to prick the fluid filled sacs and drain the fluid, thereby removing cysts altogether.

Types of breast diseases 

Breast cancer can be of different kinds. They are:-

• Pre-invasive cancer

Pre-invasive breast cancer is the cancer in its earliest stage. It is also known as ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), non-invasive, or intraductal carcinoma. It implies that the formation of cancerous cells is confined to the duct walls and surrounding tissues, blood vessels, and lymphatic vessels are not affected.

• Invasive cancer

Invasive breast cancer is also known as infiltrative breast cancer and implies cancer in the later stages. This occurs when cancerous cells have begun to affect the surrounding breast tissue with the potential to infiltrate blood vessels, lymphatic vessels, and other parts of the body.

• Paget’s disease of the breast

This is a kind of invasive breast cancer that affects only 2% of the population. Here the cancer cells are gathered in the nipple ducts with the potential to spread into the nipple surface. It is symptomized by changes in the nipple area such as the appearance of red and scaly nipples, a burning sensation around the area, and discharges caused by inflammation.

• Inflammatory breast cancer

This is the most aggressive kind of invasive breast cancer occurring very rarely. This is often confused with mastitis and may get diagnosed when its symptoms do not go away with antibiotics.

It is found in a younger population. In this kind of cancer, lymph nodes are involved with changes in the skin appearance and swollen breasts.

• Lobular carcinoma 

This is another kind of invasive breast cancer which has its genesis in the milk producing glands or lobules of the breasts. This kind of breast cancer is common and is harder to detect as it does not form a very distinctive lump.

It is symptomized by swollen breasts (only one region) and nipple inversion and very often goes unnoticed. It is mostly diagnosed when it begins to spread in other parts of the body.

There are more different kinds of breast cancer which are mostly invasive. Examples include medullary carcinoma, mucinous carcinoma, papillary carcinoma, tubular carcinoma, and adenoid cystic carcinoma.

The treatment for these invasive breast cancers entirely depends on the stage of its advancement. In most cases surgery is recommended. In some cases other treatments are required before or after the surgery.

Breast cancer staging

In order to treat breast cancers, staging is very important which reveals the expanse of the cancer and the size of the tumours. This is conducted after or before a surgery and helps the doctor in determining the cancer stage, provide treatment, and predict the chances of recovery.

Most doctors prescribe diagnostics tests to determine the cancer stage. They resort to the TNM staging system to find out the stage that the cancer is in. The TNM staging system consists of:-

• T (tumour)– This refers to the determination of the length and size of the tumour. Questions such as how large is the primary tumour or what are its biomarkers, are answered through this.
• N (nodes)– This refers to the determination of the cancer’s spread to the lymph nodes. Questions such as where has the tumour spread into the lymph nodes and what are the sizes of them, are answered through this.
• M (metastasis)– This determines whether the cancer has spread to other parts of the body or not.

After determining these conditions, the doctor categorizes the cancer in any one of the five stages. They are:-

• Stage zero– This refers to the stage where the cancer is in its most initial phase, confined to the walls of the ducts. This is also  known as non-invasive or pre-invasive DCIS, stage zero breast cancer.

• Stage I– This refers to the stage where the cancerous tumour is less than 2cm and has not spread to the lymph nodes and blood vessels, or other parts.
• Stage II– This refers to the stage where the cancerous tumour is more than 2cm, and upto 5cm and has not spread to the lymph nodes. Sometimes the tumour may be smaller than 2cm but spread to the lymph nodes or larger than 5cm without any spread to the lymph nodes. These situations would still be categorized to the second stage specifically.
• Stage III– This stage refers to the situations in which the cancerous tumour has begun spreading to the skin, chest wall, and lymph nodes. This is a “locally advanced breast cancer stage” where the tumour, regardless of its size, has spread to the other parts of the breasts.
• Stage IV– This is the last stage where the cancerous tumour, regardless of its size, has begun to spread into the other parts of the body such as the bones, the lungs, the liver, or the brain.

The stages encapsulate the beginning of cancer confined to the duct walls to metastasis, the last stage. Here the TNM staging system, which has more subsections under T, N, and M, is the primary point of reference for all doctors in determining the stage and recommending proper treatment or the chances of recovery.

Can breast cancer be cured completely?

It is possible to treat breast cancer completely provided that it is found out in the initial stage (zero stage). In later stages as well, with the progression of research and technology, treatment is possible with higher survival rates. Research suggests that most cancer patients who receive treatment in later stages (stage I, stage II, stage III), survive for up to five years.

However, there is no treatment possible for cancer at the last stage (stage IV).Proper treatment may prolong the uncontrolled cell growth and improve quality of life.

According to research data, only 28% of people with last stage cancer survive.

In all cases of cancer treatment, there is always the chance of a return.

The treatment for cancer involves a combination of surgery, radiation therapy, and medications. A combination of chemotherapy, hormone therapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy is given to people who are in their last stages of cancer.

How can MyMedTrip.com help you?

Once you have decided to travel to India for this treatment, you may contact us on our Whatsapp number +91 9818237391 or email us at hi@mymedtrip.com. The first consultation arranged by us is free of cost!

We also provide visa invitation letters and help in facilitating the medical journey to India. Throughout the journey, you shall be provided with one of our staff members for proper guidance through linguistic barriers.

Although, most of the hospitals and doctors we feature are well versed with Arabic, Russian, and English. If you have any further queries or questions related to Breast Diseases and Cancer Treatment in India, please do not hesitate to email us at the aforementioned address.

Frequently Asked Questions about Breast Diseases and Cancer Treatment

What is the most common kind of breast disease?

The most common kind of breast disease is the formation of cysts.

What are the various treatments available for breast diseases?

Since most diseases are symptomized by the formation of a lump, the standard treatment is removal of that lump. This is done in various ways such as a surgical correction for lump removal, antibiotics to treat lumps, and fine needle-aspiration to drain out the fluids in the lumps.

What are the various kinds of breast cancer?

There are many kinds of breast cancer which are categorised as either invasive breast cancer or non-invasive breast cancer.

Which is the most common kind of breast cancer?

The most common kind of breast cancer is inflammatory breast cancer.

Can breast cancer be cured?

No, breast cancer cannot be cured. However, recent advancements in technology and research has made it possible to treat breast cancer if it is found in its early stages.

What is the survival rate of breast cancer patients?

The survival rate of breast cancer patients is over 95% and lasts upto five years.

Does smoking increase chances of breast cancer?

Smoking is the major cause for many diseases which includes cancer.

Does hair dye increase chances of breast cancer?

Permanent hair dye is linked with increased chances of breast cancer.

How will I know if I have breast cancer?

Breast cancer can only be confirmed after a biopsy. However, you may conduct a breast self-examination for lumps in the breast area. Most lumps are non-cancerous. But some of them are cancerous. This is the first step towards recognising breast cancer.

When to consult the doctor?

Consult the doctor when you find a breast lump that does not go away. Other indications include bloody discharge and inverted nipples.

How to perform a self-breast examination?

For this, you need to lie flat on your back and examine the area surrounding your breast till your armpits.