Breast Cancer Treatment Essay -- essays research papers fc

heart cancer TreatmentOnly lung cancer kills more women each stratum in the United States than doorknocker cancer does. The American crab louse in alliance (ACS) estimates that over184,000 new cases of mamilla cancer were diagnosed in women in 1996 (ACS embrace).Although these statistics ar alarming, there atomic number 18 a number of treatment optionsavailable for those that are diagnosed with disparager cancer.The best way to treat any disease is to preclude it. Since little isknown about breast cancer, there are no established rules for prevention. TheACS recommends that women age twenty and older perform monthly breast self-exams,and it also suggests clinical examinations every three years (ACS Breast).Mammography is also a wonderful tool for detecting tumors however, there isconflicting data on when and how often women should have mammograms. What isknown is that mammography is the best way to determine if a palpable lump isactually cancerous or not.Treatment metho ds for breast cancer can be lumped in two majorcategories local anesthetic or systemic. Local treatments are used to destroy or tick offthe cancer cells in a specific area of the body. Surgery and shaft of light therapyare considered local treatments. Systemic treatments are used to destroy orcontrol cancer cells anywhere in the body. Chemotherapy and hormonal therapyare considered systemic treatments.Surgery is the most common treatment for breast cancer. Although thereare many different types of breast cancer surgery, they all fit into a few basiccategories. An operation that aims to remove most or all of the breast iscalled a mastectomy. If at all possible, doctors shy away from mastectomies callableto the side effects which take on loss of strength in the juxtaposed arm, swellingof the arm, and limitation of shoulder movement. If a mastectomy must beperformed, the doctor ordain often suggest post surgical reconstruction of thebreast (Kushner 37).Another type of breast can cer surgery is called breast-sparing surgery.This category would include lumpectomies and segmental mastectomies. In thissituation, doctors remove only the tumor and make an get down at sparing the restof the breast tissue. These procedures are often followed by radiation therapyto destroy any canc... ...nbspContrary to the negative press normally attributed to breast cancer,there are viable treatment options for those diagnosed with this terribleaffliction. The push button for increased investigate in breast cancer is even approachingfrom the White House. President Bill Clinton mentioned his support forincreased funding for research and prevention in his recent State of the UnionAddress, and he urged policy companies to pay for more mammograms. Hopefully,with the support from the White House, new treatments can be found for breastcancer, and maybe with a little luck we will have a cure by the turn of thecentury.Works CitedAmerican Cancer Society. Breast Cancer. Document 004070 .American Cancer Society. For Women Facing Breast Cancer. 1995.Kushner, Rose. If Youve Thought About Breast Cancer. Kensington, MD RoseKushner Breast Cancer Advisory Center, 1994.LaTour, Kathy. The Breast Cancer Companion. New York William Morrow andCompany, Inc., 1993.National Institutes of Health. National Cancer Institute. What You Need toKnow About Breast Cancer. Revised August 1995.