Jana Thiele and Miriam Pielhau breast cancer can also be cured

Two popular presenters died of cancer within a few days
Within a few days two popular TV presenters have died as a result of their breast cancer. According to ZDF sports journalist Jana Thiel, the only 41-year-old Miriam Pielhau has now become the victim of the insidious disease. Pielhau, who was known to TV viewers from formats such as "taff" or "Big Brother", had received the diagnosis in 2008 and fought again after a successful treatment since 2014 again against cancer.

Not an isolated case, because about every eighth woman falls ill in the course of her life to breast cancer, around 17,000 sufferers die in Germany alone every year. But how can the disease be recognized? And what treatment options are there? At the Cancer Information Service (KID), the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) and the German Cancer Society, women can find answers to all important questions on the topic.

Cancer was already defeated by Miriam Pielhau
According to Jana Thiel (44), the presenter and author Miriam Pielhau died at the age of 41 from the consequences of her breast cancer. The cancer was detected in Pielhau in the spring of 2008, but she was able to defeat him first with the help of chemotherapy and was considered cured. In 2014, however, breast cancer and metastases were detected again, and in January 2015, liver metastases were finally recognized. Earlier this year it was said that the disease was over again - but now lost the popular author of the fight against the cruel cancer.

About one in eight women suffers from breast cancer during their lifetime. This makes breast cancer by far the most common cancer in women. (Image: blueringmedia / fotolia.com)

Every third patient is under the age of 55 at the time of diagnosis
According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), breast cancer is by far the most prevalent form of cancer in women every year. Approximately one in eight women falls ill with breast cancer during their lifetime, although the risk is not the same in every phase of life, according to the KID At the age of 35, one in every 110 women expects to be diagnosed within the next 10 years, and at the age of 65 one in 27 women up to the age of 75 is affected. Almost 30 percent of patients are younger than 55 years of age at diagnosis, so breast cancer occurs much earlier than most other cancers, according to the RKI.

As a precaution, consult a doctor if breast changes
The cancer rarely causes discomfort at an early stage. But there are some warning signs that may indicate a disease and should therefore necessarily be clarified by a doctor. These include newly formed nodules, constrictions or indurations in the chest or armpit, clear or bloody discharges from a nipple, and non-decaying skin reddening or flaking. Even if suddenly one-sided burning pain or a pulling occur, a breast in size or shape seems changed, a nipple or breast skin is retracted at one point or "orange peel" is recognizable, a doctor should be consulted as a precaution, advises the KID. If the suspicion is confirmed, the diagnosis of breast cancer is usually not a medical emergency that needs immediate attention, KID explains. Instead, "every woman she was asked to [.] Has enough time to learn about the treatment options and seek a trusted clinic," the Cancer Information Service writes on its website.

Mostly the breast can be preserved today
For the treatment of malignant breast tumors, surgery is usually indispensable. But while this usually meant a radical removal of the breast until just a few decades ago, in most cases today surgery can be performed in a gentler manner and the breast preserved. In the case of large tumors, it is possible to reduce these by a preceding drug therapy (neoadjuvant chemotherapy). If this is not the case, or if there are several lumps in the tissue, in rare cases a complete decrease of the breast (mastectomy) may become necessary. Here, thanks to medical progress, however, there are various possibilities for breast reconstruction such as breast reconstruction. permanently implanted silicone implants or a reconstruction with the body's own tissue.

After the breast conserving procedure, the breast is irradiated to reduce the risk of relapse. If a mastectomy had to be carried out, the further treatment steps take place depending on the individual situation. Thereafter, to further reduce the risk of relapse usually a drug treatment is performed (hormone withdrawal treatment, chemotherapy or targeted antibodies), the different methods can also be combined if necessary, according to the information of the KID.

Risk of metastasis depends on several factors
In some cases, cancer spreads and infects other organs, e.g. in the case of Miriam Pielhau the bones and the liver. In the long term, according to the information service, every fourth patient will have to expect metastases - but how high the personal risk actually is depends on several factors, such as: the stage of the disease at the start of treatment.

In the course of the disease, therefore, the likelihood of a relapse continues to decrease, but then the danger is not banned. "In a breast cancer, however, the risk curve is slightly different than most other cancers: Even many years after the first disease metastases are not completely excluded," emphasizes the KID.

Fewer deaths from improved therapies
In five to ten out of every 100 patients, another tumor develops in the same breast within 10 years (local recurrence). Signs of this may e.g. nodular changes or redness of the skin. If there are no metastases, this tumor is treated similarly to the first disease. However, when the breast is preserved, amputation is often performed to prevent tumor and metastasis.

Although the number of women with breast cancer diagnoses is rising, fewer people would die today than ten years ago, as medicine has made tremendous progress. In many women, the disease "thanks to modern therapies in the longer term stop" - even if the cancer has already scattered. "More and more women with advanced breast cancer can expect to live for a long time despite the metastases." The daily lives of patients in these cases are similar to those of other people with a chronic illness. Although a permanent treatment is needed, "the disease does not have to dominate life," writes the information service.

Women should palpate their breasts regularly to detect any changes. (Image: Eskymaks / fotolia.com)

Avoid overweight and lack of exercise
Can I effectively prevent breast cancer? A question that concerns many women. But "there are still many questions left about the causes of breast cancer. In retrospect, it is almost impossible to identify a single, special cause for the development of tumors in patients with breast cancer, "according to information from the KID. Thus, there is no certain protection against cancer, yet studies from some factors are known that have an impact on the risk of disease. These include age, lifestyle, hormonal status and possibly hereditary risk genes.

It is clear that lack of exercise and being overweight (especially after the menopause) can have an unfavorable effect, as well as alcohol could affect the breast cancer rate. A connection between breast cancer and smoking or passive smoking, however, is not yet sufficiently documented, as it plays, for example, does not matter if a woman feeds particularly healthy or not. Also, stress, crisis situations or a depression, the current state of research, according to the current state of research have no proven share in the development of the disease. And the so-called "breast cancer genes" BRCA1 and BRCA2 are probably relevant only for five to a maximum of ten out of a hundred patients, explains the KID.

To be on the safe side, women over the age of 30 can go to the gynecologist for a check-up to check their chest and armpits. Women between the ages of 50 and 69 have the opportunity to have a mammogram every two years. Regardless of age, every woman should also check their breasts and armpits carefully in the mirror as soon as possible once a month for changes. (No)