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Risk factors of breast cancer essay
Term paper on causes of breast cancer
Causes of breast cancer essay
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Cancer is one of the most lethal diseases that greatly contributes to the death toll of millions people around the globe, especially breast cancer. However, as technologies are being modernized, humans took a major step forward in the battle against cancer by inventing mammography. In the past few years, mammograms helped save countless women’s lives, and consequently, it’s currently one of the leading research programs that attracts attention of many scientists.
Basically, breast cancer happens when the amount of cells growth exceeds the amount of cells which die. Ultimately, they are out of control and being spread to other parts of the body, including the liver, bones or even the brain. There are many factors which contribute to breast cancer. For instance, genetics plays an important role to a woman who has a mother, a sister, or another member of the family who has been diagnosed with this disease. This woman has an increased risk of developing breast cancer. Exposure to chemical elements, such as drugs, alcohol, or radiation, also increases the risk. Last but not least, age ...
Over the past decade breast cancer has become one of the most predominant diseases in the United States. Breast cancer starts out as a malignant tumor in the tissues of the breast which is formed from the uncontrolled growth of abnormal breast cells. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women, but it can also appear in men. (Stephan, 2010)
Breast cancer is most commonly diagnosed in Stage I and Stage II, where the size of the tumor is less than five centimeters in diameter. In these situations, surgery is often the second treatment option after chemotherapy and radiation therapy, both of which are used to shrink the tumor to a manageable size first. If the patient chooses to, the ...
Breast cancer is a type of cancer originates from breast tissue, generally from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas whereas from ducts are called ductal carcinomas. (Ref: Breast Cancer, National Cancer Institute) Invasive breast cancer is breast cancer that has spread from the point of origin in the breast ducts/lobules to the surrounding normal tissue cells. In exceptional cases, breast cancer can start in at other sites in breast. Breast cancer occurs in both women and men, though male breast cancer is uncommon.
About 12% of women in the United States will develop breast cancer in their lifetime, more than any other type of cancer (www.breastcancer.org, 2015). Many people lack the knowledge of how breast cancer is developed. Some people think they will not get cancer because they do not smoke cigarettes, but this is not the only cause of cancer developing in the breast. Anyone can get cancer. Everyone is potentially at risk for developing some form of Cancer (American Cancer Society, 2015).
What is breast cancer? According to the National Cancer Institute at the National Institute of Health breast cancer is a, “cancer that forms in tissues of the breast" (cancer.gov). More specifically breast cancer is a malignant tumor that grows inside the breast tissue. What happens is one cell in the tissue does not get the stop signal and keeps dividing into this big mass. This big mass continues to grow and grow and could eventually taking over space that is meant for other tissue or getting into the blood stream taking the dividing cells elsewhere. Breast cancer normally starts in one of two places.
In the United States, starting from the first breast cancer case in 1930s to today, a woman's lifetime risk of breast cancer increases to one eighth (Gray et al.). Continuously increasing breast cancer rate has caused a lot of concerns among not only ordinary people but also scientists. For decades, scientists have been working on the causes of breast cancer in order to find the corresponding methods of treatment. However, only about 25% of the breast cancer cases got explained (Brody et al.); till today, heredity, lifetime exposure to environmental estrogen (the female sex hormone), and the dietary fat are the only major known causes (“Cover Story: Breast Cancer and Environment”). For the 75% unexplained breast cancers cases, scientists, through various of researches, have come up with several hypothetical breast cancer causes, in which synthetic chemicals and environmental radiations are the major ones.
Treatment for primary, localized breast cancer commonly includes surgical interventions based on tumor type, size, and stage. Certain procedures such as a local excision or lumpectomy conserve more of a woman’s breast than others, where only the breast lump and surrounding area of tissue are removed. A mastectomy is a more radical procedure that removes the entire breast. After a mastectomy, some women choose to have breast reconstructive surgery to restore their sense of body integrity (LeMone et al., 2011). Recently, surgical techniques have improved, resulting in less radical and invasive surgeries. The increase in breast conserving surgery has been related to screening mammograms. On average, screening for breast cancer detects tumors in smaller and earlier stages, enabling patients to begin treatment before the cancer advances to more invasive stages (Watts, 2013).
Breast cancer has always been a common thread among the women of my family; especially on my mother’s side, including my Grandmother whom passed away due to this disease before I could ever meet her. More so, my mother was gravely affected by this disease early in my life. Thankfully, she was able to stop the cancer from spreading; the doctors were able to find the cancerous cells and remove them. Due to this grave, but powerful impact on my life, I have been determined to becoming a biomedical scientist to assist on the research and treatment of this deadly disease. Although this acts as my principal driver, to study in this field, I have also been intrigued and driven by the idea that I could aid lower setting regions to receive health benefits using studies in translational medicine and
Today in the United States, Breast Cancer occurs in about one in eight women which is currently the most common cancer among women. The number of cases is expected to decrease due to the advancements in technology and dedicated researchers. Scientists have put an estimated 4.8 billion dollars towards the research every year to help find a cure or a new treatment for breast cancer ("STAT Facts Breast Cancer"). Researchers have found causes, put in research and theories that help with understanding treatments, prevention and also common symptoms and coping mechanisms.
Breast Cancer is defined as “a group of solid tumor malignancies arising in the tissues of the breast” (Sarah Crawford, Richard Alder, 2013) in human and other mammals. It can happen to both men and women. For women, breast cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer death. According to National Cancer Institute, in the United States, the 2014 estimated new cases and deaths of female from breast cancer are 232,670 and 40,000, respectively. For male, it’s 430 deaths out of 2,360 new cases. From these numbers, we can see that women in the U.S. are greatly affected by breast cancer, thus, it’s not difficult to imagine the impact on a worldwide level. Although these numbers look frightening, people can actually survive from breast cancer if it is detected early and treated properly, so it is extremely important for all of us, especially women, to have a better understanding of breast cancer.
Rosen, Leo and Rosen, Gloria. (2011).Learn About Cancer. American Cancer Society. Retrieved November 26, 2015 from http://www.cancer.org/cancer/breastcancer/index
“The American Cancer Society estimates that, in 2010, about 207,000 women developed invasive breast cancer; 54,010 developed non-invasive breast cancer…And yet 90% of the women who are diagnosed with breast cancer this year will probably be cured following initial treatment (Bluming 133)”. “Mammography techniques are improving too, Newer scans in development, such as molecular breast imaging and tomosynthesis (which creates a three-dimensional image of the breast) may soon improve the accuracy of breast cancer diagnosis and reduce the risk of false positive results (“Do you…”)”. So ask yourself, what would it hurt to get mammograms? They could potentially be a life saver.
“Since 1990, over 6 million Americans have died of cancer, more than the combined casualties from the Civil war, WWII, and the Vietnam and Korean conflicts combined” (Faguet, p. 5). According to American Cancer Society projections, there were 1,529,560 new cases of cancer in 2010. Cancer is becoming more and more common around the world. New cancers are constantly being discovered. Researchers are finding new ways to detect cancer and treat it so that the fatality rate does not rise. However, there are some cancers that researchers have not yet discovered a cure for. It is very important for Cancer Research to continue so that one day these cancers will no longer be a treat.
Skravanek, P. (1988). The debate over mass mammography in Britain: Br Med J; 297: 1542.
As defined by Majure, breast cancer is an “uncontrolled growth of abnormal breast cells” (Majure: 110). It is also one of the cancers that women fear the most. Not only do women get diagnosed with breast cancer, men do too. However, it isn't as bad, or as common, in men as it is in women so doctors don’t recommend screening for men. In the U.S more than one thousand men get affected by breast cancer every year and about two hundred thousand women are affected by breast cancer every year. Women are most likely to get diagnosed with it in their forties and fifties while some may be diagnosed with breast cancer in their twenties, if they started their menstrual cycles at an early age like 14. Typically, men are diagnosed with breast cancer in their sixties or seventies.