A married woman who lives across the street was diagnosed with breast cancer early on. It was removed and she is currently as healthy as a babe.
On the other hand, a former associate succumbed to the disease after a very long, painful and costly struggle.
I am sure we all have our separate stories to tell about it, either close to home or among friends and acquaintances. In every case, we lump it into one generic disease – breast cancer.
But since it is so common, common enough perhaps to become personal, it is worthwhile to know more about this disease that regularly claims the lives of more than 40,000 women each year in the U.S. alone.
Breast cancer types:
There are basically seven types of breast cancer. Some of these are:
1. Ductal Carcinoma In-Situ (DCIS):
This is the early type of breast cancer. It is confined in the inside of the ductal system of the mammary gland.
2. I nfiltrating Ductal Carcinoma (IDC):
This is the most common type of breast cancer, accounting for roughly 80% of the total cases. They appear as star-like or rounded lesions in mammograms. The star-like lesions, generally, have very poor prognosis.
3. Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC):
This is called inflammatory because they make the breast look swollen and red. Though very rare, about 1 to 5% of the total cases, it is very aggressive.
How serious is it?
- Among women, regardless of race and ethnicity, breast cancer is second to skin cancer in prevalence;
- Among women between 20 – 59 yrs old, it is the second cause of death; overall, it is the seventh;
- In the U.S., a new breast cancer case occurs every three minutes and a woman dies from the disease every 13 mins;
- The American Cancer Society estimated 192,370 new cases of breast cancer in 2009.
Hedging against breast cancer:
Generally, breast cancer is curable with the current advances in technology and treatment.
My neighbor is an example. Aside from being a regular church – goer and a natural sunny disposition, her complete cure could have been due to any, or all, of the following:
- It was detected early;
- She had one of the less aggressive types of breast cancer like “infiltrating lobular carcinoma” which respond well to therapy;
- Her genes were on her favor;
- She responded well to medication and reinforced by her lifestyle.
The key to breast cancer survival is early detection. Nobody knows your body more than you do. Listen to it. If there’s anything out of sync, don’t guess. See a physician.
Your risk goes a little higher if you have a family history of the disease. Otherwise, hedge yourself against it by keeping a healthy body mass index (BMI), exercise regularly, minimize your alcohol intake and have a healthy diet.
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