A.

MANWERE

CANCERS
CANCER

 occurs as a result of mutations, or abnormal

changes, in the genes responsible for
regulating the growth of cells and keeping
them healthy.
 Normally, the cells in our bodies replace
themselves through an orderly process of cell
growth
 healthy new cells take over as old ones die
out
 over time, mutations can “turn on” certain
genes and “turn off” others in a cell
 changed cell gains the ability to keep dividing
without control or order, producing more
cells forming a tumor.
 A tumor can be benign (not dangerous to
health) or malignant
 Malignant tumors are cancerous.
 If left unchecked, they eventually spread
beyond the original tumor to other parts of
the body.
STRUCTURE OF THE BREAST
BREAST CA

 is an uncontrolled growth of breast cells

 Usually breast cancer either begins in the
cells of the lobules, which are the milk-
producing glands, or the ducts
 Over time, cancer cells can invade nearby
healthy breast tissue and make their way into
the underarm lymph nodes (small organs that
filter out foreign substances in the body).
 If cancer cells get into the lymph nodes, they
then have a pathway into other parts of the
body.
 The breast cancer’s stage refers to how far
the cancer cells have spread beyond the
original tumor.
 5-10% of cancers are due to an abnormality
inherited from your mother or father.
 85-90% of breast cancers are due to genetic
abnormalities that happen as a result of the
aging process and the “wear and tear” of life
in general.
Breast Cancer risk factors

 Being a woman
 Just being a woman is the biggest risk factor
for developing breast cancer.
 While men do develop breast cancer, less
than 1% of all new breast cancer cases
happen in men.
 Age
 your risk of breast cancer goes up as you get
older.
 About 2 out of 3 invasive breast cancers are
found in women 55 or older.
Breast Cancer risk factors

 Family history
 Genetics
 Personal history of breast Cancer
 Radiation to chest and face before the age of
30
 Race/ethnicity(White women↑).
 Menstruation history
Being overweight

 Overweight and obese women have a higher

risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer
compared to women who maintain a healthy
weight
 Being overweight also can increase the risk of
the breast cancer coming back (recurrence) in
women who have had the disease.
Pregnancy history

 Women who haven’t had a full-term

pregnancy or have their first child after age
30 have a higher risk of breast cancer
compared to women who gave birth before
age 30.
Breastfeeding history

 Breastfeeding can lower breast cancer risk,

especially if a woman breastfeeds for longer
than 1 year.
Drinking alcohol and smoking

 Research consistently shows that drinking

alcoholic beverages -- beer, wine, and liquor
--increases a woman's risk of breast cancer.
 Smoking is linked to a higher risk of breast
cancer in younger, premenopausal women..
Reducing the risk

 Lifestyle changes — A number of lifestyle

changes may reduce breast cancer risk:
 ●Planning for first birth before the age of 30.
 ●Breastfeeding for at least six months.
 ●Avoidance or limited duration of use of
menopausal hormone therapy.
●Avoidance of unnecessary exposure to
radiation (eg, inappropriate use of computed
tomography [CT] scans).
●Avoidance or cessation of smoking.
●Limiting alcohol intake.
●Maintenance of a healthy weight.
●Limiting nocturnal shift work.
Signs and symptoms of breast cancer

 The most common symptom of breast cancer

is a new lump or mass.
 A mass that’s painless, hard, and has irregular
edges
 but breast cancers can be tender, soft, or
rounded.
 have any new breast mass, lump, or change
checked by a health care provider
experienced in diagnosing breast diseases.
 Swelling of all or part of a breast (even if no
distinct lump is felt)
 Skin irritation or dimpling
 Breast or nipple pain
 Nipple retraction (turning inward)
 Redness, scaliness, or thickening of the nipple
or breast skin
 A nipple discharge other than breast milk
Signs and symptoms of breast Ca

 Discharge that:
 Occurs without squeezing the nipple
 Occurs in only one breast
 Is bloody or clear (not milky)
Breast self examination

 Watch video
A.Manwere
amanwere@buse.ac.zw
0714570791

Cancer of the Cervix

The female Reproductive system
 The cervix is the lower part of the uterus that
opens into the vagina
 Cancer of the cervix occurs when abnormal
cells on the cervix grow out of control
 Cancer of the cervix can be successfully
treated when it is found early
 It is one of the most common cancers in
women
Risk factors for Ca Cx

 A risk factor is anything that changes your

chance of getting a disease such as cancer.
 Different cancers have different risk factors
 it helps to focus on those you can change or
avoid (like smoking or human papilloma virus
(HPV) infection), rather than those that you
cannot).
HPV

 The most important risk factor for cervical

cancer is infection by the human papilloma
virus (HPV)
 HPV can be spread from one person to
another during skin-to-skin contact.
 One way HPV is spread is through sex,
including vaginal, anal, and even oral sex.
 about two-thirds of all cervical cancers are
caused by HPV 16 and 18.
 Infection with HPV is common, and in most
people the body is able to clear the infection
on its own
 HPV infections occur mainly in younger
women and are less common in women older
than 30.
 Certain types of sexual behavior increase a
woman's risk such as having sex at an early
age and having many sex partners.
Smoking

 Women who smoke are about twice as likely

as non-smokers to get cervical cancer.
 Tobacco by-products have been found in the
cervical mucus of women who smoke.
smoking

 Researchers believe that these substances

damage the DNA of cervix cells, and may
contribute to the development of cervical
cancer.
 Smoking also makes the immune system less
effective in fighting HPV infections.
Immunosuppression

 Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the

virus that causes AIDS, damages the immune
system and puts women at higher risk for
HPV infection.
 This might, in part, explain the increased risk
of cervical cancer in women with AIDS.
 immune system is important in destroying
cancer cells and slowing their growth and
spread.
Chlamydia infection

 Chlamydia is a relatively common kind of

bacteria that can infect the reproductive
system.
 It’s spread by sexual contact.
 Chlamydia infection can cause pelvic
inflammation, leading to infertility.
 Some studies have seen a higher risk of
cervical cancer in women whose blood test
results show signs of past or current
chlamydia infection
 Women who are infected with chlamydia
often have no symptoms.
 they may not know that they are infected at
all unless they are tested for chlamydia
during a pelvic exam.
A diet low in fruits and vegetables

 Women whose diets don’t include enough

fruits and vegetables may be at increased risk
for cervical cancer.
Being overweight

 Overweight women are more likely to

develop adenocarcinoma of the cervix.
Long-term use of oral contraceptives (birth
control pills)

 taking oral contraceptives (OCs) for a long

time increases the risk of cancer of the cervix.
 risk of cervical cancer goes up the longer a
woman takes Ocs
 but the risk goes back down again after the
OCs are stopped.
 In one study, the risk of cervical cancer was
doubled in women who took birth control
pills longer than 5 years, but the risk returned
to normal 10 years after they were stopped.
 A woman with multiple sexual partners
should use condoms to lower her risk of
sexually transmitted infections no matter
what other form of contraception she uses.
Intrauterine device use

 women who had ever used an intrauterine

device (IUD) had a lower risk of cervical
cancer.
Having multiple full-term pregnancies

 Women who have had 3 or more full-term

pregnancies have an increased risk of
developing cervical cancer.
Being younger than 17 at your first full-term pregnancy

 Women who were younger than 17 years

when they had their first full-term pregnancy
are almost 2 times more likely to get cervical
cancer later in life than women who waited to
get pregnant until they were 25 years or
older.
Poverty

 Poverty is also a risk factor for cervical cancer.

 Many women with low incomes do not have
ready access to adequate health care
services, including Pap tests.
 This means they might not get screened or
treated for cervical cancers and pre-cancers.
Signs and symptoms of cervical cancer

 Women with early cervical cancers and pre-

cancers usually have no symptoms.
 Symptoms often do not begin until a pre-
cancer becomes a true invasive cancer and
grows into nearby tissue.
most common symptoms are:

 Abnormal vaginal bleeding

 An unusual discharge from the vagina − the
discharge may contain some blood and may
occur between your periods or after
menopause.
 Pain during sex (vaginal intercourse).
Preventing Cervical cancer

 A well-proven way to prevent cervix cancer is

to have testing (screening) to find pre-
cancers before they can turn into invasive
cancer.
 Pap smear and the HPV (human papilloma
virus) test are used for this.
 If a pre-cancer is found, it can be treated,
HPV infection in men:.

 For men, the main factors influencing the risk

of genital HPV infection are circumcision and
the number of sex partners
Mae circumcision

 Men who are circumcised have a lower

chance of becoming infected with HPV.
 Men who have not been circumcised are
more likely to be infected with HPV and pass
it on to their partners.
 It may be that after circumcision the skin on
the penis goes through changes that make it
more resistant to HPV infection
 The risk of being infected with HPV is also
strongly linked to having many sexual
partners (over a man's lifetime).
 Condoms provide some protection against
HPV but they don’t completely prevent
infection.
 Condoms don’t cover every HPV-infected
area of the body, such as skin of the genital or
anal area.
 Female condoms fit inside the vagina and are
not as effective as male condoms in this case.
Prostate cancer
The Male Reproductive System
Prostate basics

 The prostate is a walnut sized gland that is

part of the male reproductive system.
 The prostate is located beneath the urinary
bladder and in front of the rectum.
 The prostate makes some of the fluid that
nourishes and protects sperm cells in the
semen..
 Just behind the prostate are the seminal
vesicles, which make most of the fluid for the
semen.
 The urethra is a tube that carries urine and
semen out of the body through the penis,
running through the prostate.
 The activity and growth of the prostate is
stimulated by male hormones called
androgens.
 The main androgen is testosterone, produced
by the testicles
Prostate Cancer

 Prostate cancer is the most common

malignancy (other than skin cancer)
diagnosed in men.
 On an annual basis globally, approximately
1.1 Million Men are diagnosed with prostate
cancer and more than 300,000 will die of
prostate cancer this year.
 These statistics show that prostate cancer is a
widely variable disease.
 Prostate cancer has the potential to grow and
spread quickly, but for most men, it is a
relatively slow growing disease.
Prostate cancer risk factors

 Age over 65 – this is the main risk factor for

prostate cancer. The older a man gets, the
more likely he will develop prostate cancer.
This disease is rare in men under 45 years of
age.
 Family History – one’s risk of prostate cancer
is higher if you have a father, brother or son
with prostate cancer.
 Race – prostate cancer is more common
among African American men and less
common among Asian/Pacific Islanders,
Native American and Native Alaskan men.
 Certain Prostate Changes – men with cells
called high grade prostatic intraepithelial
neoplasia (PIN) may be at increased risk for
prostate cancer.
.
 Certain Genome Changes – research
suggests that the risk for prostate cancer
many be linked to specific changes on
particular chromosomes
Prostate cancer risk reduction
Choose a healthy diet

 Diet that is low in fat and full of fruits and

vegetables may contribute to a lower risk of
prostate cancer
 reduce the amount of fat you add to foods
when cooking, select leaner cuts of meat, and
choose low-fat or reduced-fat dairy products.
Eat more fat from plants than from
animals
 cook with olive oil rather than butter.
 Sprinkle nuts or seeds on your salad rather
than cheese.
Increase the amount of fruits and
vegetables you eat each day.

 Fruits and vegetables are full of vitamins and

nutrients that are thought to reduce the risk
of prostate cancer
Eat fish.

 Fatty fish contains omega-3 fatty acids, a

type of fatty acid that has been linked to a
reduced risk of prostate cancer.
 If you don't currently eat fish, you might
consider adding it to your diet
Maintain a healthy weight

 Men who are obese — a body mass index

(BMI) of 30 or higher — may have an
increased risk of prostate cancer.
 If you are overweight or obese, work on
losing weight.
SIYABONGA
THANK YOU