Women and Breast Cancer

Breast Cancer Statistics

Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women other than skin cancer.
There were approximately 269,730 new cases of breast cancer among women in the United States in 2005.
Breast Cancer will be responsible for approximately 40,410 deaths among women in the United States in 2004.
Women living in the United States have a 1 in 7 chance of developing breast cancer during their lifetime.
The survival rates from breast cancer drastically improve with early detection, stressing the importance of early screening and monthly self breast exams. Survival of women who have been diagnosed early is 95 percent.

What Are The Warning Signs Of Breast Cancer?

Lump or thickening in or near the breast or in the underarm that persists through the menstrual cycle.
A mass or lump, which may feel as small as a pea.
An area that is distinctly different from any other area on either breast.
A marble-like hardened area under the skin.
A rash on the skin of the breast around the nipple.

How Is Breast Cancer Treated?

You and your doctor will develop a treatment plan with three key goals:

Removing the cancer in your breast.
Reducing the odds of the cancer traveling to other parts of your body.
Reducing the chance that the cancer will return.

Breast cancer treatments are local or systemic.

Local treatments are used to remove, destroy or control the cancer cells in a specific area, such as the breast. Surgery and radiation treatment are local treatments.
Systemic treatments are used to destroy or control cancer cells all over the body. Chemotherapy and hormone therapy are systemic treatments.
A patient may have just one form of treatment or a combination, depending on her needs.

How Can I Protect Myself From Breast Cancer?
Follow these four steps for early detection:

Get a mammogram. The American Cancer Society recommends having a baseline mammogram at age 35, and a screening mammogram every year after age 40. Mammograms are an important part of your health history. If you go to another healthcare provider, or move, take the film (mammogram) with you.
Women at increased risk (e.g. family history, genetic tendency, past breast cancer) should talk with their doctors about the benefits and limitations of starting mammography screening earlier, having additional tests (i.e. breast ultrasound and MRI), or having more frequent exams.
Examine your breast each month after age 20. You will become familiar with the contours and feel of your breasts and will be more alert to changes.
Have your breast examined by a healthcare provider at least once every three years after age 20, and every year after age 40. Clinical breast exams can detect lumps that may not be detected by mammogram.

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