Breast Cancer
Breast Cancer:
Risk Factors, Detection & Treatment
Among all American women who die when they are between the ages of forty and forty-five, the cause of death most likely to be listed on their death certificates is BREAST CANCER. Breast tumors are responsible for the greatest number of deaths among women, and breast cancer alone is the cause of almost one fifth of all cancer related mortalities. It results in the death of thirty seven thousand American women every year. Currently, there is no concrete answer as to how breast cancer is caused nor is their a cure for the disease. "Research over the past fifty years has narrowed the causes down to certain risk factors that are common amongst breast cancer patients. The disease can be detected somewhat early if one attends examinations. As for treatment, several methods have come into use, neither of them one hundred percent effective." (Seltzer, 23) "The risk factors for breast cancer have been evaluated solely by researching the medical histories of those with the disease." (Seltzer, 27) They have been assigned a specific order which ranges from greatest risk to the least amount of risk. The risk factors are having a family history of the disease, never bearing children, having a child after the age of thirty, having had a late menopause, age, obesity, and being a Caucasian. These risk factors are not however, totally conclusive. My mother, also being a victim of breast cancer had none of the above listed risk factors, but still developed the sickness. "Even if none of the risk factors applies to you, you must still be wary and attend regular examinations, because every woman is at risk." (Subak-Sharpe, 42) Early detection of breast cancer is the key to surviving the illness. Once the tumor has grown too much, it is often too late. "Large tumors interact with lymph nodes which interconnect with the breast, facilitating the spreading of the disease, which in almost all cases, leads to certain
Risk Factors, Detection & Treatment
Among all American women who die when they are between the ages of forty and forty-five, the cause of death most likely to be listed on their death certificates is BREAST CANCER. Breast tumors are responsible for the greatest number of deaths among women, and breast cancer alone is the cause of almost one fifth of all cancer related mortalities. It results in the death of thirty seven thousand American women every year. Currently, there is no concrete answer as to how breast cancer is caused nor is their a cure for the disease. "Research over the past fifty years has narrowed the causes down to certain risk factors that are common amongst breast cancer patients. The disease can be detected somewhat early if one attends examinations. As for treatment, several methods have come into use, neither of them one hundred percent effective." (Seltzer, 23) "The risk factors for breast cancer have been evaluated solely by researching the medical histories of those with the disease." (Seltzer, 27) They have been assigned a specific order which ranges from greatest risk to the least amount of risk. The risk factors are having a family history of the disease, never bearing children, having a child after the age of thirty, having had a late menopause, age, obesity, and being a Caucasian. These risk factors are not however, totally conclusive. My mother, also being a victim of breast cancer had none of the above listed risk factors, but still developed the sickness. "Even if none of the risk factors applies to you, you must still be wary and attend regular examinations, because every woman is at risk." (Subak-Sharpe, 42) Early detection of breast cancer is the key to surviving the illness. Once the tumor has grown too much, it is often too late. "Large tumors interact with lymph nodes which interconnect with the breast, facilitating the spreading of the disease, which in almost all cases, leads to certain