Breast Cancer
By: Jenna Von Ruden
What is Breast Cancer?
Breast Cancer is one of the leading causes of death for many women in the United States. Breast cancer forms when a tumor forms on a person's breast because of their cells. Many people wouldn't think that men can get breast cancer, but some men have had breast cancer. It is way more common for women to get this type of cancer though.
Support
People wear these bracelets to support people who have or have had breast cancer.
Belief
Pro sports teams like the NFL support breast cancer during the month of October.
Celebrate Life
People have cancer walks to raise money for a cure to breast cancer.
Symptoms
Early stages of breast cancer most of the time don't have any symptoms. Symptoms don't start showing up until the later stages. One of the few symptoms in early stage breast cancer is a lump in the breast which for most people the lump isn't even tender. They will just all of find a lump. Symptoms for further stages breast of cancer include bone pain, breast pain, skin ulcers, swelling of the arm, and weight loss ("Symptoms" 7). So as you can see the longer you have cancer with out finding it the worse it gets.
Treatments
The type of treatment that a person would receive if they had breast cancer would depend on many things. The first would depend on the stage of cancer the person is in ("Breast Cancer-Pub Med Health" 15). If it were early in the cancer stages it would be a lot easier to treat than in the later stages. The doctors would need to know things about the cancer and the hormones of the person. There are two major treatments for breast cancer. According to National center for Biotechnology and U.S. Library of Medicine, the two treatments are "Chemotherapy which is a medicine that kills cancer and radiation therapy which kills cancer tissue" (13)." Hopefully a person would be in the earlier stages so they could receive these treatments.
Statistics
It is said that one in eight women in the united states will get breast cancer over the coarse of her life (U.S. Breast Cancer Statistics 1). The risk of men getting breast cancer are very slim. There are many women that die each year from breast cancer, but the rates are decreasing each year (U.S. Breast Cancer Statistics 7). Breast cancer is the second leading cause of death in cancer for women. The number one is lung cancer. According to Breast Cancer Statistics "In 2011 over 2.6 million women survived breast cancer"(5)
Risks
There are many risks that can cause a women to get breast cancer. One of those risks is age (Causes, incidents, and risk factors 9). The older you get the better chance you have of getting breast cancer. Another reason is family history (Causes, incidents, and risk factors 10). If a lot of people in your family has had breast cancer you have an even better risk of getting cancer. Women who had there period at an early age is more likely to get cancer as well (Causes, incidents, and risk factors 13). Drinking alcohol everyday and childbirth are two pretty big factors as well ("Causes, Incidents, and Risk Factors" 14).
Breast Cancer Awareness
The month of October is specifically dedicated to the awareness of breast cancer (Breast Cancer Awareness 1). During this month many sports teams support people who have had breast cancer by wearing pink. There will also be cancer walks and other activities that support and try to raise money for a cure to breast cancer. A lot of people will wear pink and you will see the breast cnacer ribbon in many places.
The Fight
In life people will go through hard times. Someone who has had breast cancer definitely knows what a hard time is. These people will go through many treatments and different kinds of surgery. It would be a very hard. There are many people who lost there battle with breast cancer, but there are many more that beat breast cancer! They fought hard and won. They believed that they could beat what life threw at them. According to Quotes from Breast Cancer Patients, "In those moments we are in most need of words that can bring us comfort"(1).
Works Cited
- Board, A.D.A.M. Editorial. "Breast Cancer." Breast Cancer. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 18 Nov. 0000. Web. 15 Oct. 2012. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001911/>.
- "Establishing the Pink Ribbon Symbol - Facts & Figures | Breast Cancer Awareness Special Section." Establishing the Pink Ribbon Symbol - Facts & Figures | Breast Cancer Awareness Special Section. N.p., 2012. Web. 16 Oct. 2012. <http://fwnextweb1.fortwayne.com/adv/special/2012/breastcancerawareness/article0001.html>.
- "Flipping Amazing." NFL.com. N.p., 2012. Web. 15 Oct. 2012. <http://www.nfl.com/>.
- Janet.Painful Hip Fractures Strike Breast Cancer Survivors. 2011. Photograph. Medicineworld. org, n.p.
- N.d. Photograph. Inspirational Quotes for Breast Cancer. 2012. Web. 15 Oct. 2012. http://kiddiescornerdeals.com/2011/10/famous-breast-cancer-quotes/.
- N.d. Photograph. Joining The Fight With Breast Cancer Walks. Darts N Stuff, Mar. 2012. Web. 16 Oct. 2012. <http://www.dartsnstuff.com/joining-fight-breast-cancer-walks.htm>.
- "Treatment Side Effects." Treatment Side Effects. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. <http://www.breastcancer.org/treatment/side_effects>.
- "What Is Breast Cancer?" What Is Breast Cancer? N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2012. <http://www.cancer.org/Cancer/BreastCancer/DetailedGuide/breast-cancer-what-is-breast-cancer>.
- "U.S. Breast Cancer Statistics." U.S. Breast Cancer Statistics. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2012. <http://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/understand_bc/statistics>.