Signs, Symptoms & Diagnosis of Breast cancer

Symptoms

Early breast cancer usually does not cause pain. In fact, when breast cancer first develops, there may be no symptoms at all. But as the cancer grows, it can cause changes that women should watch for:

* A lump or thickening in or near the breast or in the underarm area.
* A change in the size or shape of the breast.
* A discharge from the nipple.
* A change in the color or feel of the skin of the breast, areola, or nipple (dimpled, puckered, or scaly).



A woman should see her doctor if she notices any of these changes. Most often, they are not cancer, but only a doctor can tell for sure.

Diagnosis

An abnormal area on a mammogram, a lump, or other changes in the breast can be caused by cancer or by other, less serious problems. To find out the cause of any of these signs or symptoms, a woman's doctor does a careful physical exam and asks about her personal and family medical history. In addition to checking general signs of health, the doctor may do one or more of the breast exams described below.

* Palpation. The doctor can tell a lot about a lump—its size, its texture, and whether it moves easily—by palpation, carefully feeling the lump and the tissue around it. Benign lumps often feel different from cancerous ones.

* Mammography. X-rays of the breast can give the doctor important information about a breast lump. If an area on the mammogram looks suspicious or is not clear, additional x-rays may be needed.

* Ultrasonography. Using high-frequency sound waves, ultrasonography can often show whether a lump is solid or filled with fluid. This exam may be used along with mammography.

Based on these exams, the doctor may decide that no further tests are needed and no treatment is necessary. In such cases, the doctor may need to check the woman regularly to watch for any changes. Often, however, the doctor must remove fluid or tissue from the breast to make a diagnosis.

Aspiration or needle biopsy. The doctor uses a needle to remove fluid or a small amount of tissue from a breast lump. This procedure may show whether a lump is a fluid-filled cyst (not cancer) or a solid mass (which may or may not be cancer). Using special techniques, tissue can be removed with a needle from an area that is suspicious on a mammogram but cannot be felt.

If tissue is removed in a needle biopsy, it goes to a lab to be checked for cancer cells. Clear fluid removed from a cyst may not need to be checked by a lab.

Surgical biopsy. The surgeon cuts out part or all of a lump or suspicious area. A pathologist examines the tissue under a microscope to check for cancer cells.

When a woman needs a biopsy, these are some questions she may want to ask her doctor:

* What type of biopsy will I have? Why?
* How long will the biopsy or aspiration take? Will I be awake? Will it hurt?
* How soon will I know the results?
* If I do have cancer, who will talk with me about treatment? When?

When Cancer Is Found

When cancer is present, the pathologist can tell what kind of cancer it is (whether it began in a duct or a lobule) and whether it is invasive (has invaded nearby tissues in the breast).

Special laboratory tests of the tissue help the doctor learn more about the cancer. For example, hormone receptor tests (estrogen and progesterone receptor tests) can help predict whether the cancer is sensitive to hormones. Positive test results mean hormones help the cancer grow and the cancer is likely to respond to hormonal therapy. Other lab tests are sometimes done to help the doctor predict whether the cancer is likely to grow slowly or quickly.

If the diagnosis is cancer, the patient may want to ask these questions:

* What kind of breast cancer do I have? It is invasive?
* What did the hormone receptor test show? What other lab tests were done on the tumor tissue, and what did they show?
* How will this information help the doctor decide what type of treatment or further tests to recommend?

The patient's doctor may refer her to doctors who specialize in treating cancer, or she may ask for a referral. Treatment generally begins within a few weeks after the diagnosis. There will be time for the woman to talk with the doctor about her treatment choices, to get a second opinion, and to prepare herself and her loved ones.

How Breast Cancer Happens

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Primary Pulmonary Hypertension-causes & symptoms

What causes primary pulmonary hypertension?
We don't know the cause; there may be one or more causes.

The low incidence makes learning more about the disease extremely difficult.

Studies of PPH also have been difficult because a good animal model of the disease hasn't been available.

We think that in most people who develop primary pulmonary hypertension, the blood vessels are very sensitive to certain factors that trigger this disease to develop.

• For example, people with Raynaud's syndrome seem more likely than others to develop PPH.
• In addition, appetite suppressants, cocaine and HIV are some factors believed to trigger the constriction, or narrowing, of the pulmonary artery.

What are the symptoms of primary pulmonary hypertension?

• The first symptom is often fatigue or tiredness. Many patients think that they're simply "out of shape."
• Difficulty in breathing, dizziness and even fainting spells can occur.
• Swelling in the ankles or legs, bluish discoloration of the lips and skin, and chest pain more often occur later in the disease.

One of the great difficulties in treating PPH is that the diagnosis is often delayed due to the slowly progressive and insidious onset of the symptoms.


How is a patient with primary pulmonary hypertension evaluated?
Significant advances in PPH therapy over the past decade have markedly affected the survival and quality of life for people with this disease.
The optimal medical and/or surgical treatment for patients with PPH depends upon a thorough evaluation at a medical center with expertise in pulmonary hypertension.
The evaluation includes a right heart cardiac catheterization.

In this procedure the doctor places a thin, flexible tube (a catheter) through an artery or vein in the patient's arm, leg or neck, then threads it into the right ventricle and pulmonary artery.

This is the only way to measure the pressure in the pulmonary artery and find out what medical therapy is appropriate for a given patient.

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Peritoneal Mesothelioma Information

Peritoneal Mesothelioma -Cancer of the Stomach Lining

Peritoneum mesothelioma or Peritoneal mesothelioma is mesothelioma cancer in the lining that surrounds the abdomen (stomach).

Diffuse malignant peritoneal mesothelioma is mesothelioma cancer in the lining that surrounds the abdomen (stomach).
Diffuse means that is the cancer is spread out.

Peritoneal or Peritoneum is a smooth membrane, which lines the cavity of the abdomen (stomach).
It helps to protect the contents of the abdomen. It also produces a lubricating fluid.
This helps the organs to move smoothly inside the abdomen as we move around.

Peritoneal mesothelioma accounts for approximately 10% of mesothelioma cases.


Symptoms of Peritoneal Mesothelioma

When the symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma appear, they typically include abdominal pains,abdominal weakness, weight loss, loss of appetite, nausea, and abdominal swelling.

Fluid often accumulates in the peritoneal space, a condition known as ascites. Over time the wasting symptoms can become more and more severe.

The growing peritoneal mesothelioma tumor can exert increasing pressure on the organs in the abdomen, leading to bowel obstruction and distention.

If the peritoneal mesothelioma tumor presses upward, it can impair breathing capacity.

If the peritoneal mesothelioma tumor pushes against areas with many nerve fibers, and the bowel distends, the amount of pain can increase.

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Hernia Causes & Symptoms

*Causes-

Although one type of abdominal hernia can be present at birth (umbilical hernia), the others happen later in life. Some involve pathways formed during fetal development, existing openings in the abdominal cavity, or areas of abdominal wall weakness.

• Any condition that increases the pressure of the abdominal cavity may contribute to the formation or worsening of a hernia.

• Obesity
  
• Heavy lifting
• Coughing
• Straining during a bowel movement or urination
• Chronic lung disease
• Fluid in the abdominal cavity

• A family history of hernias can make you more likely to develop a hernia.

*Symptoms-
The signs and symptoms of a hernia can range from noticing a painless lump to the painful, tender, swollen protrusion of tissue that you are unable to push back into the abdomen—possibly a strangulated hernia.

• Asymptomatic reducible hernia

• New lump in the groin or other abdominal wall area
• May ache but is not tender when touched
• Sometimes pain precedes the discovery of the lump
• Lump increases in size when standing or when abdominal pressure is increased (such as coughing)
• May be reduced (pushed back into the abdomen) unless very large

• Irreducible hernia

• Usually painful enlargement of a previous hernia that cannot be returned into the abdominal cavity on its own or when you push it
• Some may be long term without pain
• Also known as incarcerated hernia
• Can lead to strangulation
• Signs and symptoms of bowel obstruction may occur, such as nausea and vomiting

• Strangulated hernia

• Irreducible hernia where the entrapped intestine has its blood supply cut off
• Pain always present followed quickly by tenderness and sometimes symptoms of bowel obstruction (nausea and vomiting)
• You may appear ill with or without fever
• Surgical emergency
• All strangulated hernias are irreducible (but all irreducible hernias are not strangulated)

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Mesothelioma Symptoms and Diagnosis

The primary risk factor for developing mesothelioma is asbestos exposure. In the past, asbestos was used as a very effective type of insulation. The use of this material, however, has been declining since the link between asbestos and mesothelioma has become known. It is thought that when the fibers of asbestos are inhaled, some of them reach the ends of the small airways and penetrate into the pleural lining. There the fibers may directly harm mesothelial cells and eventually cause mesothelioma. If the fibers are swallowed, they can reach the abdominal cavity, where they can contribute to the formation of peritoneal mesothelioma.

Exposure to certain types of radiation as well as to a chemical related to asbestos known as zeolite has also been related to incidences of mesothelioma.

The early symptoms of mesothelioma are often ignored, because they may be caused by a variety of ailments. These symptoms include:

* pain in the lower back or at the side of the chest
* shortness of breath
* difficulty swallowing
* cough
* fever
* fatigue
* abdominal pain,weight loss and nasuea & vomiting(symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma)

read more "Mesothelioma Symptoms and Diagnosis"