Breast cancer, like any cancer, causes some serious physical effects. Mostly, the severity of breast cancer effects depends on the treatment chosen by the doctor. Breast cancer and its treatment affects everyone differently, varying from person to person.
Early Effects
A few early physical effects of breast cancer, some even before diagnosis, include breast swelling, breast skin irritation, thickening of the breast skin, discharge that is not breast milk, nipple discomfort and changes in the appearance of the nipple, according to the American Cancer Society. If you experience any of these physical effects, you should speak to your doctor.
Treatments
Once a doctor diagnoses breast cancer, treatment will begin quickly. This is when breast cancer patients encounter a lot of physical effects on the body. Two surgical treatments for breast cancer are a lumpectomy and a mastectomy. In a lumpectomy, the lump of cancer is removed from the breast. According to the American Cancer Society, the physical effects of a lumpectomy include pain, swelling, tenderness and usually a hard scar tissue at the surgery site. Depending on the size of the lump removed, there may also be a change in the shape, appearance and size of the breast.
Mastectomy
A mastectomy removes the entire breast. Physically, the shape of the breast is completely gone. In some cases a double mastectomy removes both breasts. Many women that have a mastectomy opt for reconstructive surgery to rebuild the breast. The American Cancer Society notes that aside from drastic changes to the breast, other physical side effects include swelling, tenderness and scarring at the surgery site. There is also a risk of a hematoma---build up of blood---or a seroma---build up of clear fluid in and around the wound.
Radiation Therapy
Radiation therapy is the use of high-energy beams that go through the skin to break up and damage cancer cells. Radiation therapy for breast cancer has several physical side effects. BreastCancer.org says that side effects include changes in breast skin color, irritation at the radiation site, peeling or blistered breast skin, shooting chest pain and fatigue.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is a drug given to many breast cancer patients. Chemotherapy works by destroying and dividing cancer cells. Unfortunately, chemotherapy also destroys other cells even if they are healthy, causing many physical effects. The difference is that noncancerous cells grow back but cancer cells do not. According to BreastCancer.org, the physical effects of chemotherapy to treat breast cancer include diarrhea, hair loss, changes to nail growth and color, memory loss, headaches, hot flashes, mood swings, mouth and throat sores, nausea and vomiting.
Tags: physical effects, breast cancer, breast skin, American Cancer, American Cancer Society, breast cancer
