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Type 2 Diabetes – The Connection Between Female Breast Cancer and Diabetes

Type 2 Diabetes – The Connection Between Female Breast Cancer and Diabetes

Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women worldwide. In 2012 there were 1.7 million new cases diagnosed throughout the world. Developed countries have a higher rate than developing countries. Western Europe has the highest rate, followed by North America, North Europe, and Australia/New Zealand. Lowest rates are found in Eastern Africa, South-Central Asia, Eastern Asia, and Middle Africa.

The condition is curable when found early, before the tumor has a chance to spread. If it spreads to the lymph nodes under the arms and to more distant parts of the body, the chances of survival go down.

Scientists at Chung Shan Medical University and several other research institutions in Taiwan, compared rates of breast cancer in women with Type 1 diabetes, Type 2 diabetes, and without diabetes, to learn whether an association could be found.

Their study, reported on in the Journal of Cancer in June 2015, included 10,827,079 adult women, the entire female population of Taiwan. Over a period of six years it was found the breast cancer rate was no higher in women with Type 1 diabetics than in women without diabetes. Women with Type 2 diabetes had a 10 percent higher risk of developing breast cancer than did nondiabetic women.

When breast cancer is caught early, women have a 90 percent chance of survival. Some things to search for are…

a lump or hard section in the breast,
bleeding from the nipple,
a change in the size or shape of the breast,
dimpling or “peau d’orange,” an appearance similar to that of orange skin,
the nipple becoming inverted,
peeling, scaling, or flaking of the areola (pigmented area around nipple) or elsewhere on the breast.

Genetics can play a part in breast cancer in 5 to 10 percent of cases. Two genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2, put women at high risk for breast and ovarian cancer. Jewish women have an increased risk of inheriting either one, but they can occur in any ethnic group.

Other risk factors include…

obesity,
alcohol consumption,
family history,
giving birth after age 35 or never giving birth,
advancing age,
hormone therapy after menopause

Treatment for breast cancer include…

surgery,
chemotherapy,
hormonal therapy,
radiation therapy, and
biological therapy.

1. Surgery can range from a small lumpectomy through to breast removal, to breast and lymph node removal.

2. Chemotherapy consists of medications that inhibit cells that reproduce fast, including cancer cells.

3. Hormonal therapy is given so the cancer cells are not given the hormones they need to survive.

4. Radiation therapy is aimed at killing cancerous cells.

5. Biological therapy helps the immune system to fight off the cancer.

Type 2 Diabetes – The Connection Between Female Breast Cancer and Diabetes

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