Cancer Treatment

Breast cancer is an uncontrolled, potentially deadly division of cells in the breast. In the United States, breast cancer is the most common women's cancer. According to the American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute, an average of 1 American woman in 8 will develop breast cancer sometime during her life. Women in Africa and Asia have a lower risk of breast cancer than do women in North America and Europe. A small number of men also develop breast cancer.

The risk of breast cancer increases for all women as they grow older. A woman's risk also increases if a relative, especially her mother or a sister, has also had the disease. Scientists have found two rare abnormal genes, called BRCA1 and BRCA2, that greatly increase risk. Tests to detect these genes are available, but doctors disagree about when such tests should be used. Most women with one or two relatives who have had breast cancer do not have inherited genetic abnormalities.

A painless lump is the most common symptom of breast cancer. Doctors advise women to examine their own breasts for lumps every month. A breast X ray called a mammogram can detect many cancers before they can be felt. Most doctors recommend an annual mammogram for women over 50 years old.

Doctors usually begin treatment of breast cancer by surgically removing the tumor. When the cancer is small, a lumpectomy can preserve the breast. In this operation, a surgeon removes the cancerous lump and a margin of the normal tissue surrounding it. The breast is then treated with radiation to kill stray cancer cells. If the cancer is large, the entire breast must often be removed in a modified radical mastectomy .

In either a lumpectomy or a mastectomy, doctors also remove and examine lymph nodes from the armpit. These nodes are small masses of tissue that help the body fight disease by filtering out bacteria and other harmful particles. Cancer in the lymph nodes indicates a high risk that the tumor will reappear in other parts of the body. A tumor that is especially large or has extremely disorganized cells may also increase risk of renewed cancer even if the lymph nodes are healthy. If the tumor will likely reappear, doctors offer additional treatments.

To determine the best treatment, doctors test some cancer cells to see if female hormones make them grow. If the cells respond, doctors may prescribe the drug tamoxifen to block the action of these hormones. If hormones have no effect, or if the patient still has menstrual periods, doctors may use chemotherapy (drugs that have a toxic effect on a disease). Both tamoxifen and chemotherapy significantly reduce the risk of cancer returning.