Breast Cancer Treatment Essay -- essays research papers fc

doorknocker Cancer TreatmentOnly lung cancer kills more than women each year in the United States than meet cancer does. The American Cancer Society (ACS) estimates that over184,000 new cases of breast cancer were diagnosed in women in 1996 (ACS Breast).Although these statistics are alarming, there are a number of treatment optionsavailable for those that are diagnosed with breast cancer.The best way to treat whatsoever disease is to balk 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 in any case 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 name mammograms. What isknown is that mammography is the best way to determine if a palpable lump isactually cancerous or not.Treatment methods for breast cancer c an be lumped in two majorcategories local or systemic. Local treatments are used to destroy or controlthe cancer cells in a detail area of the body. Surgery and radiation 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 summate 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 codto the side effects which include loss of strength in the closest arm, swellingof the arm, and limitation of shoulder movement. If a mastectomy must beperformed, the physician result often suggest post surgical reconstruction of thebreast (Kushner 37).Another type of breast cancer surgery is called breast-sparing surgery. This category would include lumpectomies and segmental mastectomies. In thissituation, doctors remove only the tumor and make an attempt at sparing the restof the breast tissue. These procedures are often followed by radiation therapyto destroy any canc... ...nbspContrary to the negative press commonly attributed to breast cancer,there are viable treatment options for those diagnosed with this terribleaffliction. The push for increased research in breast cancer is even comingfrom the White House. President Bill Clinton mentioned his support forincreased funding for research and prevention in his recent State of the coalescenceAddress, and he urged insurance 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 tidy sum 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 C ancer. 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 learn toKnow About Breast Cancer. Revised August 1995.