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Marshalee George
Marshalee George, PhD, is Faculty and Oncology Nurse Practitioner at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Division of Surgical Oncology at Johns Hopkins Breast Center.
Articles & Books From Marshalee George
Article / Updated 11-07-2017
Radiation, or radiotherapy, involves the use of a beam of high-energy rays to kill cancer cells in your breast or lymph nodes under your armpit or chest wall. Radiation therapy is usually recommended after a lumpectomy, when the breast cancer has spread to the lymph nodes under the armpit, or after a mastectomy and the surgical margins are still positive for cancer.
Article / Updated 11-07-2017
Sometimes the option to remove both breasts is based on the disease, and sometimes it's based on the disease plus a patient's anxiety. The guidelines do state that if you have left breast cancer, you can have a lumpectomy with radiation or a mastectomy. Yet often women choose to remove both breasts to reduce the risk of getting another breast cancer.
Article / Updated 11-07-2017
Targeted therapy is also called biological therapy. It affects specific protein-receptor targets (called biomarkers) found only on cancer cells. These protein-receptor targets are responsible for the growth and spread of cancer cells. Targeted therapy medicines block the growth and spread of cancer because they interfere with processes in the cells that cause cancer to grow.
Article / Updated 11-07-2017
Breast reconstruction can be done at the same time as the breast cancer surgery (called immediate reconstruction). It can also be done in a two-stage process where tissue expander (a temporary placeholder) is placed at the time of breast cancer surgery. For the final breast reconstruction, a synthetic implant or tissue from another part of your body is used to complete the procedure at a later date.
Article / Updated 11-07-2017
There are several surgical options for treating breast cancer, but it is your stage of breast cancer that determines which surgical options are best for you. Breast reconstruction is when a surgeon rebuilds the breast using one of two main types of breast reconstruction: implant or your own tissue (tissue from belly, back, thigh, or buttock).
Article / Updated 11-07-2017
Breast aches and pains are cause by compression of the nerve endings in the breast. Basically, neurotransmitters in the nerves send messages to the brain that the breast hurts. Anything that causes the nerves to be compressed can cause breast pain, including a breast mass, breast cyst, fluid/inflammation (which can be caused by infection or trauma), and scarring.
Article / Updated 11-07-2017
You should watch for changes in your nipples. Remember that knowing your breast through regular self-examinations is the key to identifying changes that may be a sign of breast cancer.
Nipple inversion
Sometimes women may naturally have inverted nipples — in which the nipple does not protrude. That is their normal.
Article / Updated 11-07-2017
Sometimes you have to be like Sherlock Holmes when it comes to investigating changes in your breast beneath the skin. Lumps, bumps, and mass-like structures can develop in the breasts. Breast cysts and dense breasts are frequent findings on mammograms and breast ultrasounds.
Breast masses and fibroadenomas
Often when a woman feels a lump or a mass in the breast, the instinct is to panic.
Article / Updated 11-07-2017
Normally the skin on the breasts is a similar color to the skin on the rest of the body, though it may be lighter due to less sun exposure. The nipple and areola (the dark area around the nipple) are usually a darker color with some bumps and textures. Just like the rest of the skin, there may be freckles or moles on the breasts.
Article / Updated 11-07-2017
The size and shape of your breast are unique to you. Breast growth is mostly influenced by the release of estrogen and other hormones in your body, along with your genes (DNA) that you inherit from your parents. Your breast shape and how it looks are influenced by many factors:
Your age
History of childbearing
Breastfeeding
History of breast infections
When a female has passed puberty and the breasts are fully developed, that doesn't mean that the size of the breast will always be the same throughout her lifetime.