Deanna Bennett
Mrs. Hensel
English III
April 8, 2015
Breast Cancer
The twentieth century has often been called as the cancer century. This is because more than a
hundred types of cancer have been discovered in this century, and secondly, because enormous
medical efforts were made to fight all kinds of cancers all over the world. In the early decades of
the century, cancer was considered to be a fatal disease, and although many cancers remain fatal,
medical therapy has developed significantly over the years such that most cancers can be treated
and cured. After decades of struggling with various cancers, doctors are now becoming more
aware of the causes of these diseases, how they can be treated, and what can be done to prevent
them. Breast cancer, however, remains one of the major concerns in the medical field, mainly
because it has many forms and happens to strike a large number of women. Researchers are still
trying to determine how much each contributes to the disease.
Of all cancers, breast cancer is the most common cancer among women, although it exists
in men in rare cases. In the United States, “10% of all women have breast cancer, and according
to the estimates of 1990, 44,000 American women have died because of breast cancer” (Cook &
Dresser 149-150). Although women suffer a high risk of contracting breast cancer, the possibility
of developing this disease, however, is hardly “more than 1% for any woman at any given time”
(Cook & Dresser 150). It can be caused by a close relative who has/had breast cancer are more
likely to develop cancer. The majority of breast cancer are not hereditary. Breast cancer can be
started off by family history like mother, sister, grandmother, or aunts that have breast cancer
Breast cancer is a risky cancer and that is deadly. Breast cancer starts from “the body's
cells reproduce themselves throughout your lifetime, as tissues wear out and their cells are
replaced in a controlled manner.” (American Cancer Society). Most of the causes hasn’t been
identified for breast cancer, but there are certain risk factors that will increase a woman’s chance
of developing breast cancer. Different cancers have claimed several million lives over the years.
In the 1980s, more than 4.5 million people died in the US alone. In the past few years, nine
million people developed cancers and today, there are more than 12 million people in the United
States receiving cancer treatment. More than half a million people die of cancer every year, that
is, at the rate of 1,500 patients every day.
Doctors have identified several kinds of breast cancers. This is not to mention the many
cases in which “a tumor in the breast is nothing more than a cyst or a harmless benign lump”
(ACS, online). The majority of breast cancers, almost 95% are cancer tumors that develop in the
milk ducts. Those cancers which remain inside the duct without spreading out are known as in
situ cancers. On the other hand, if the cancer cells spread out and invade other areas, they are
known as invasive cancers. The other types of breast cancer, almost 5%, are known as lobular
breast cancers because they develop in the breast lobes. A very rare type of cancer occurring in
only 1% of all cases is known as inflammatory breast cancer. In inflammatory cases, the cancer
cells spread very fast and invade other cells, “but it can be identified very easily because it
blocks the lymph vessels and the channels in the skin, turning the breast into a hard and warm
surface with a clear red color” (ACS, online).
Breast cancers can be caused by a variety of factors. Until today, many doctors believe
that breast cancer has to do with heredity. Yet, only 15 to 20% of all women who have breast
cancer histories in their families also have breast cancers. Furthermore, a gene known as p53 that
is directly responsible for causing breast cancer has been found in extremely rare cases. In the
families in which this gene existed, the risk of contracting breast cancer was 16 times more than
average. Yet, the “number of families in which this gene has been detected is only 100 all around
the world, which leaves this cause to be very insignificant” (Cook & Dresser 151). However,
there still seems to be some evidence relating breast cancer to genetic factors. Both the breast
and the glands that produce wax in ears belong to the same family of glands. Researchers found
that individuals with ear glands that produce wet wax have a double risk with respect to breast
cancer in contrast to those whose ear glands produce dry wax. This is why, researchers believe in
the “US and Europe where most individuals have wet wax ear glands have much higher risks of
developing breast cancers than in other continents or countries such as Asia” (Cook & Dresser
151).
Another risk related factor to breast cancer is menstruation. Doctors have discovered that
risks of breast cancer are very high for women who menstruate before the age of 12 or who reach
menopause after the age of fifty. Women who do not get pregnant at all or who become pregnant
after the age of thirty also face very high risks. In relation to this risk factor, however, doctors
“believe that growing older is one factor that has to be considered because older age has been
identified as having a high relation with breast cancer” (Cook & Dresser 151).
Doctors today are becoming more convinced that diet and breast cancer could be
connected in some strong relationship. Most diets that are highly related to breast cancers include
chemicals in hair dyes, high alcohol consumption, birth control pills and many others.
Nevertheless, evidence in this respect has not been yet established. In fact, many of the research
efforts conducted on these factors have shown contradicting results. For example, “a Japanese
medical team found out that taking beer within reasonable amounts could reduce the amount of
certain mutagens in the body that are related to breast cancer, but so far, no solid evidence
supports this hypothesis” (American Cancer Society). Nevertheless breast cancer is more spread
among rich women who consume more fat and animal proteins than poor women, scientists still
“believe that there could be a cause and effect relationship between diet and breast cancer”
(Cook & Dresser 152).
Detecting breast cancer is both easy and difficult. It can be easy because any previously
unnoticed lump on the breast could be an indication of a breast cancer, even though it might not
be so. However, a clear change in a wart or mole on the breast is usually considered a reflection
of cancer growth in the breast. According to the doctor, a surgeon who is specialized in treating
breast cancer and who operates frequently at the American University of Beirut, most breast
cancer cases can be detected in two ways. The first is that women must regularly pay attention to
any changes taking places in the warts or moles in their bodies, and secondly, regular inspection
through “mammography can be very helpful in detecting the disease early before it spreads into
the rest of the body” (Personal Interview).
Traditionally, cancers have been treated with a variety or a combination of methods. With
breast cancers, almost all cases can be treated, but only on the condition that they are discovered
at an early stage, mainly through physical inspection or through mammography.
Almost a century of dealing with cancers have passed. A hundred years ago, a woman
with breast cancer was a dead woman. Today, this is no longer the case. Thousands of women all
over the world now have the chance to live a normal life after they receive a successful
treatment. Yet, breast cancer remains one of the leading causes of death among women, and even
if the death rates have been declining in the past few years, women at different ages should
continuously test for breast cancer because detecting the disease at a very early stage can be very
helpful and the treatment might not even be noticed. Science’s war with breast cancer is not over,
but it is also in the hands of women to make the victory certain.
Works Cited
“Alcohol Use and Cancer.” American Cancer Society, April 22, 2015.
“Breast Cancer.” ACS: American Cancer Society, online, April 22, 2015.
Cook, Alan & Dresser, Peter. Cancer Sourcebook for Women. Detroit:
Omnigraphics, Inc., 1996.
Laino, Charlene. “Answers to your cancer FAQs,” MSNBC online, April 3,
1999.
Personal Interview, April 12, 2015.