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Breast Cancer Treatment
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| Term Paper Title | Breast Cancer Treatment |
| # of Words | 1273 |
| # of Pages (250 words per page double spaced) | 5.09 |
Breast Cancer Treatment
Breast Cancer Treatment
Only lung cancer kills more women each year in the United States than
breast cancer does. The American Cancer Society (ACS) estimates that over
184,000 new cases of breast cancer were diagnosed in women in 1996 (ACS Breast).
Although these statistics are alarming, there are a number of treatment options
available for those that are diagnosed with breast cancer.
The best way to treat any disease is to prevent it. Since little is
known about breast cancer, there are no established rules for prevention. The
ACS 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 is
conflicting data on when and how often women should have mammograms. What is
known is that mammography is the best way to determine if a palpable lump is
actually cancerous or not.
Treatment methods for breast cancer can be lumped in two major
categories; local or systemic. Local treatments are used to destroy or control
the cancer cells in a specific area of the body. Surgery and radiation therapy
are considered local treatments. Systemic treatments are used to destroy or
control cancer cells anywhere in the body. Chemotherapy and hormonal therapy
are considered systemic treatments.
Surgery is the most common treatment for breast cancer. Although there
are many different types of breast cancer surgery, they all fit into a few basic
categories. An operation that aims to remove most or all of the breast is
called a mastectomy. If at all possible, doctors shy away from mastectomies due
to the side effects which include loss of strength in the closest arm, swelling
of the arm, and limitation of shoulder movement. If a mastectomy must be
performed, the physician will often suggest post surgical reconstruction of the
breast (Kushner 37).
Another type of breast cancer surgery is called breast-sparing surgery.
This category would include lumpectomies and segmental mastectomies. In this
situation, doctors remove only the tumor and make an attempt at sparing the rest
of the breast tissue. These procedures are often followed by radiation therapy
to destroy any cancer cells that may remain in the area. In most cases, the
surgeon also removes lymph nodes under the arm to help determine whether cancer
cells have entered the lymphatic system.
Radiation therapy is anothe
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