A female breast consists of fatty and fibrous connective tissues. The interior of the breast is divided into about twenty different sections called lobes. Each of the lobes is further divided in to lobules, which are structures that contain small milk-producing glands. These glands place the milk into tiny ducts. These ducts take the milk through out the breast and store in a chamber located below the nipple.

Breast cancer can either be invasive (spreading) or noninvasive (non-spreading). An invasive cancer penetrates the wall of a duct. This type of cancer is the most common, constituting about seventy percent of all cases. Infiltrating lobular cancer that spreads through a wall of a lobule accounts for about eight percent of all breast cancer. This type is likely to appear in both of the breast, often in seven separate locations.

The cause of breast cancer is unknown but researchers are suggesting that estrogen, a hormone produced by the ovaries, may be involved. Studied suggest that the longer

Radiation therapy use x-rays to kill cancer cells or to shrink the size of a tumor in the breast or surrounding tissue. Radiation is used in breast conserving treatments for women with early stage cancers and who have chosen lumpectomy. In premenopausal women those that have mastectomies, combining radiation therapy with chemotherapy after surgery appears to reduce relapse and improve survival rates. Radiation is also used to treat cancers that have spread or tumors that are considered inoperable because of location.

In conclusion it is very important that women do daily/monthly breast examinations and if by your age (40 or older) or if the woman has specific risk factors then a mammogram should be done on a yearly or biannual basis. With all the advancement of medicine today, hopefully a cure for breast cancer will be in the near future.

Until recently mastectomy, the removal of the breast was the standard treatment for nearly all breast cancers, now most patients choose lumpectomy.

Mastectomy is the removal of the entire breast and armpit lymph nodes with the underlying chest wall muscle being maintained. Mastectomy is now usually recommended only if one of the following conditions are present: (1) tumors exist in more than one place; (2) the cancer is located under the nipple; (3) radiation therapy is not a possibility or; (4) the removed lymph is large and shows cancer cells on its margins.

Drug therapy works systemically. It kills cancer cells throughout the body rather than just in the breast. Drug therapy is used in every stage of breast cancer, generally to relieve symptoms. Chemotherapy and hormone treatment is used to reduce the risk of secondary growth elsewhere in the body.

Some common words found in the essay are:
United Breast, breast cancer, , lymph nodes, breast cancer includes, cancer includes, percent breast, breast tissue, percent breast cancer, type cancer, radiation therapy, breast cancers, chest wall, drug therapy, lymph node involvement, spread lymph nodes, cause breast cancer,
Approximate Word count = 1855
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)