Breast Cancer Essay

Breast Cancer

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.

Historically speaking breast cancer has been around for hundreds of years. Thankfully the treatment has improved. Patients who get the cancer removed and take care of themselves after, for example, by exercising and eating healthy, will live longer. There are many risks that increase the likelihood of developing breast cancer, for instance, age, family history, and race. A women who made history with breast cancer was Betty Ford, Betty was one of the first lady’s to speak openly about her disease. Betty encouraged women who have been affected with the disease to go to their doctor as soon as possible and told women who had shared that they didn’t have breast cancer to do self breast exams regularly and get mammograms. She also said when women get diagnosed with it don’t be embarrassed. Treatments in the past were pretty good and quite the same compared to the treatments given to people now, for instance, mastectomy’s which was the primary...

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...lso recommend that their patients get an x-ray for the untreated breast as well. Doctors and patients are relieved quite a few times because a majority of breast cancers don’t recur, yet minorities of breast cancers do recur after several years. This is why doctors encourage their patients to come to their follow-ups. Doctors aren’t really sure that if the disease doesn’t recur in a few years it doesn’t mean it won’t. This cancer is slow growing so the disease may recur in about 10 to 20 years; however time does affect the likelihood of recurrence so if there are no signs of the cancer in the x-ray then there is a chance the disease won’t recur. Doctors and medical professionals can offer only so much support and every woman who has been diagnosed with is deals with the consequences of treatment and diagnosis no matter how strong she is needs emotional support.