Breast Cancer and New Treatments Breast Cancer affects one in eight of American women, and is the second most common cause of cancer death in America. I chose to write my term paper on breast cancer because it is a disease that has effected some members of my family. Due to this possibly inherited condition, I felt that researching the topic would help me learn ways to prevent the disease and educate myself to perform self-exams that may result in early detection.Breast cancer is a malignant tumor in the glandular tissues of the breast. Such tumors, also called carcinomas, form when the chemical processes that control normal cell growth break down, enabling a single abnormal cell to multiply at a rapid rate (Hickman). Carcinomas, which tend to destroy an increasing proportion of normal breast tissue over time, may spread, or metastasize, to other parts of the body. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women, other than skin cancer. A major health problem in many parts of the world, it is especially prevalent in developed countries. The American Cancer Society (ACS) estimates that in the United States more than 175,000 new cases are diagnosed and more than 43,000 women die each year from cancer originating in the breast. One in eight American women will develop this illness at some time during her life (Cummings). The rate of incidence increases with age, and women 75 years and older are at the highest risk. Breast cancer can affect males, but the disease strikes women about 100 times as often as it does men. The good news is that if a woman develops breast cancer, her options are much greater than ever before due to advancements in technology, and proper treatment can usually preserve the breast while enhancing survival (Feldman). Scientists do not understand exactly what causes breast cancer. Studies suggest that several categories of women are at increased risk for the disease: those who began to menstruate at an unusual...
