Evidence of Learning #4

Date:​ March 18, 2020

Type:​ Primary Learning

Subject:​ Breast Cancer

Assessment:

Upon completion of my third mentor visit with Dr. Taboada I now have a better and more

thorough understanding of what breast cancer is, the different types, how it is identified, and

what it means when it has metastasized. This information about breast cancer that I learned from

Dr. Taboada is vital for me to understand because in the future as a medical oncologist I will be

challenged to treat and cure those with this condition. To be able to successfully and adequately

treat my breast cancer patients I must understand everything there is to know about breast cancer.

The acquisition of such essential knowledge about breast cancer began at my third mentor visit.

First and foremost, Dr. Taboada explained to me what exactly breast cancer is. It is

defined as a disease in which the cells of the breast begin to divide uncontrollably creating a

tumor. This type of cancer is one of the most common types diagnosed among women. After

defining what exactly breast cancer is, Dr. Taboada then went on to explain the different types.

He also proceeded to draw diagrams to help me better understand what exactly is occurring at the

cellular level. There are two main overarching types of breast cancer. The first main category is

Invasive breast cancer which occurs when the breast cancer cells have spread to other parts of the

body besides the breast tissue. The second type is Noninvasive breast cancer which is where the

breast cancer cells remain within the breast tissue. As a medical oncologist, it is our job to
prevent breast cancer from transitioning from Noninvasive into Invasive because it becomes

significantly more difficult to cure once the breast cancer cells have spread.

Additionally, during my third mentor visit with Dr. Taboada, I was also allowed to learn

more about how specific types of breast cancer are identified. Breast cancer is identified based

upon what hormones it either does or does not express. It can be estrogen-positive breast cancer,

HER2-positive breast cancer, or it can express none of them. The one where the cancer cells

express none of the hormones is called Triple-Negative breast cancer and it is one of the most

aggressive types. Dr. Taboada also mentioned that this type of breast cancer most commonly

occurs within African-American women. The last type of breast cancer identification type we

discussed was Inflammatory breast cancer, a rare and aggressive type that causes redness and

swelling of the affected area. Lastly, during this mentor visit, Dr. Taboada also defined to me

what it means when breast cancer has metastasized. This means that the breast cancer cells have

spread beyond the breast ducts to other areas of the body. When this occurs it is considered to

have become Invasive breast cancer and must be treated with chemotherapy to ensure that all of

the cancer cells are destroyed before they can cause extensive harm to the body.

In conclusion, at this third mentor visit with Dr. Taboada, I was granted the opportunity

to learn all about breast cancer including its medical definition, the main two types, how it is

identified by hormone expression, and what it means when it has metastasized. It is important for

me to overtime gain a deep understanding of breast cancer because in the future when I become a

medical oncologist I will be expected to know how to adequately treat patients with breast cancer

and without knowledge about how breast cancer works I will not be able to do my job.

Furthermore, the information that I learned at this visit also impacted my understanding of
oncology as it opened my eyes more to how one specific type of cancer works and how it

compares to the other types of cancer I will treat in the future. All in all, the information that I

gathered about breast cancer at this visit will be used in the future to help me treat and cure any

of my patients suffering from breast cancer.