Cancer
Breast Cancer Cancer is not just one disease but rather a group of diseases. All forms of cancer cause cells in the body to change and grow out of control. Most types of cancer cells form a lump or mass called a tumor. Cells from the tumor can break away and travel to other parts of the body. There they can continue to grow. This spreading process is called metastasis. When cancer spreads, it is still named after the part of the body where it started. For example, if breast cancer spreads to the lungs, it is still breast cancer, not lung cancer. Another word for cancerous is malignant. So a cancerous tumor is called malignant. But not all tumors are cancer. A tumor that is not cancer is called benign. Benign tumors do not grow and spread the way cancer does. They are usually not a threat to life. A few cancers, such as blood cancers (leukemia), do not form a tumor. Most kinds of cancer are named after the part of the body where the cancer first starts. Breast cancer begins in the breast tissue. This article refers only to breast cancer in women. Men can also get breast cancer, although this is rare. [Women.com, pp. 6] Inside the breasts are glands that produce and release milk after a woman has a baby. The glands that make the m
ilk are called lobules and the tubes that connect them to the nipple are called ducts. The breast itself is made up of lobules; ducts; and fatty, connective, and lymphatic tissue. There are several types of breast tumors. Most are benign; that is, they are not cancer. These lumps are often caused by fibrocystic changes. Cysts are fluid-filled sacs, and fibrosis refers to connective tissue or scar tissue formation. Fibrocystic changes can cause breast swelling and pain. The breasts may feel lumpy and sometimes there is a clear or slightly cloudy nipple discharge. Benign breast tumors are abnormal growths, but they do not spread outside of the breast and they are not life-threatening. [Lawrence, pp. 54] Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women, other than skin cancer. It is the second leading cause of cancer death in women, after lung cancer. Many great doctors predicts that there will be about 184,200 new cases of invasive breast cancer in the year 2000 among women in this country and about 41,200 deaths from the disease. Breast cancer also occurs among men, although much less often. Death rates from breast cancer declined significantly during 1992 to 1996, with the largest decrease in younger women-- both white and black. This decline is probably the result of better detection and improved treatment. We do not yet know exactly what causes breast cancer, but we do know that certain risk factors are linked to the disease. A risk factor is something that increases a person's chance of getting a disease. Different cancers have different risk fact
Some common words found in the essay are:
Cancer Cancer, ERT Replacement, breast cancer, risk breast cancer, risk breast, risk factors, breast cancer risk, cancer genetic testing, finding breast cancer, family history, women risk, replacement therapy, cancer risk, cancer genetic, genetic testing, breast tissue, earlier breast cancer,
Approximate Word count = 1053
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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