NCLEX RN Practice Question # 602

NCLEX Examination.

Practice Question # 602.

Breast Cancer

Description

• Breast cancer is classified as invasive when it penetrates the tissue surrounding the mammary duct and grows in an irregular pattern.
• Metastasis occurs via lymph nodes.
• Common sites ofmetastasis are the bone and lungs; metastasis may also occur to the brain and liver.
• Diagnosis is made by breast biopsy through a needle aspiration or by surgical removal of the tumor with microscopic examination for malignant cells.

Risk factors

• Age
• Family history of breast cancer
• Early menarche and late menopause
• Previous cancer of the breast, uterus, or ovaries
• Nulliparity, late first birth
• Obesity
• High-dose radiation exposure to chest

Assessment

• Mass felt during BSE
• Mass usually felt in the upper outer quadrant, beneath the nipple, or in axilla
• A fixed, irregular nonencapsulated mass; typically painless except in the late stages
• Nipple retraction or elevation
• Asymmetry, with the affected breast being higher
• Bloody or clear nipple discharge
• Skin dimpling, retraction, or ulceration