Although the incidence of women suffering from breast cancer in Spain is increasing, these figures They do not have a directly negative character. One of the reasons is the increased awareness regarding the diagnosis of the disease.
There are patients who may notice a lesion in the breast and go to the doctor to see what is happening, but it is thanks to the screening campaigns carried out with increasing rigor that the greatest number of cases are detected when it is not yet possible to do so through self-exploration.
“He breast cancer It is a proliferation of tumor cells in the breast. It is an invasive lesion with locoregional and distant metastatic potential,” explain the health experts from the team at the Quirónsalud Madrid University Hospital.
Together with them, we address symptoms, diagnosis, and realistic optimism about recovery. We will also talk about the benefits of sports and active life in patients, before, during and after diagnosis and intervention.
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Symptoms and diagnosis
“The usual symptoms of a patient who may have breast cancer are discovered with self-palpation of a nodule, a lump that was not present before, although fortunately today the diagnosis is increasingly made through imaging tests because through screening tools, lesions that are not yet palpable by the patient can be diagnosed and, therefore, are discovered in the imaging studies that we do on the occasion of the check-ups”, introduces the topic Dr. Ginés Hernández, from the Gynecology Service of the Quirónsalud Madrid University Hospital
And thanks to the screening campaigns carried out where mammograms are performed, up to 80% of cancers that end up being biopsied and operated on.
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“Only 20% appear with symptoms and this “The survival of patients has greatly improved.”comments the Vicente Martínez de Vega, from the Diagnostic Imaging Service of the Quirónsalud University Hospital Madrid
How to diagnose it
To know the diagnosis of breast cancer, Dr. Lucía González-Cortijo, from the Oncology Service of the Quirónsalud Madrid University Hospital, speaks: “If the patient comes without any tests because a lesion has been noticed in the breast, the first step is to do a mammogram and an ultrasound, which are the simplest tests. If the injury is suspected, it must be completed with an MRI.
A fundamental aspect of imaging techniques is that thanks to them it is also possible to perform guided biopsies, which allows cell samples to be taken from the lesion without the need to operate. This possibility offers clinicians the possibility of obtaining a histological diagnosis which offers us information about which specific cancer affects the patient. Once we know the cellular characteristics of cancer, we can choose the most appropriate treatment.
Cancer typology
When it comes to diagnosing breast cancer, two fundamental aspects are taken into account. The first is the extent to which the tumor reaches. “He size of the tumor in the breast, if the tumor is affecting the armpit, if there is distant metastasis, that is the stage,” comments Dr. González-Cortijo.
The second is to give the tumor its last name. Here we look at its degree or aggressiveness; hormonal, estrogen, and progesterone receptors. The HER is also looked at and finally the KI67, which are the mitosis of the tumor.
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Luminal A breast cancer
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Luminal B breast cancer
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HER2-positive breast cancer
- Basaloid or triple-negative breast cancer
Breast cancer treatment
“Once the patient enters our Breast Unit circuit, we carry out the study on the patient and then present it to the breast committee that we have weekly and the therapeutic approach is agreed upon in that meeting,” they explain from Quirónsalud.
He approach to breast cancer has changed a lot in recent years. Although before the first thing that was done was to subject the patient to an operation, now treatment is given first. This approach is called “neoadjuvant treatment” and the reasons for resorting to it are several.
The approach to breast cancer has changed a lot in recent years. Previously, the patient underwent early intervention to remove the lesion. The patient is now given a first line of treatment called neoadjuvant to, first of all, reduce the size of the tumor:
“If the tumors are very large, we prefer that the treatment reduce their size before subjecting the patient to conservative surgery. Secondly, in the case of small tumors they usually belong to aggressive subtypes, so we prefer to start treatment as soon as possible. possible”.
Conservative surgery
Conservative surgical treatment consists, as its name suggests, of preserving the breast, removing the tissue where the tumor is located with a safety margin around it, and removing what we call the sentinel node, which is the first lymph node that receives drainage from the tumor.
Conservative treatment, in general, It is used in 100% of patients that preserve the breast and in mastectomy it depends on the tumor size, the number of lymph nodes affected also has an influence, although it is a very individualized issue.
Cancer follow-up and recovery
When patients are given treatment and undergo surgery, it is important to know whether or not there is tumor left in order to be able to manage a plan B in case residual disease remains.
That is why after surgery treatments are given in order to eradicate that disease micrometastatic that may exist.
Breast cancer in childbearing age
With those patients who have this disease detected and are of reproductive age, it is necessary to consider starting the treatment days later and giving the option of having an appointment with the Reproduction Unit.
The purpose of this is to be able to do ovarian stimulation and cryopreserve oocytes before receiving a treatment that may compromise fertility.
Thus, it is intended that the patient has future peace of mind in case she wants to be a mother with genetic capital collected in the best conditions.
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Psychology and physical exercise
When receiving a diagnosis of these magnitudes, it is key that you can give yourself the freedom to feel what you feel. Without falling into the tyranny of toxic positivism.
It is news that affects on a psychological level and each person takes charge of it in the way they are capable. Neither better nor worse.
For it, Support groups represent something fundamental. While the medical team can be wonderful, listening to others, walking a similar path is encouraging and even formative. This has been demonstrated:
“Social support has been shown to be very important and that there are much fewer side effects when people are not alone. And physical exercise, of course, both at the level of the disease and at the psychological level,” said Dr. Virginia Vaca. , Hospital Psycho-Oncology Service Quirónsalud Madrid University.
The three beneficial aspects of sport in breast cancer.
- The development. A person who does physical exercise has a lower risk of developing cancer
- Tolerance to treatment. Improves quality of life, reduces toxicity and allows treatment to be received at full dose
- Fewer relapses after overcoming the disease
Studies that demonstrate these benefits in patients with breast cancer and other types of tumors convince those who suffer from it that sport is just another part of their treatment, with which they must commit for optimal and successful recovery.
Within this sporting practice it is of great value highlight strength training.
Optimistic future
“The future of breast cancer is very promising. Already today it is promising compared to recent years and we are witnessing a revolution in both early diagnosis and patient treatments, both in early disease and advanced disease, Most patients are cured. And the most chronic patients have an excellent life prognosis,” encourages Dr. González-Cortijo.