Monday, October 3, 2011

What is breast cancer?

We hear all about it. We have loved ones who have been affected by it. We have been told to watch out for it. We have been told to support those who had, have, and will have it. But what exactly is it?

Breast cancer in the medical terms is, “Breast cancer is a malignant tumor that starts in the cells of the breast. A malignant tumor is a group of cancer cells that can grow into (invade) surrounding tissues or spread (metastasize) to distant areas of the body. The disease occurs almost entirely in women, but men can get it, too.” http://www.cancer.org/Cancer/BreastCancer/DetailedGuide/breast-cancer-what-is-breast-cancer.

In regular terms, there is a mass of cells in the breast that start to grow and spread to other cells, destroying things as it goes and making the owner very sick.
Here are couple of pictures of normal and cancerous breasts:

Healthy Breast tissue.

Cancerous Tissue

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