Breast cancer has been the most concentrated on focus for finding a cure, asides from AID’s, for decades. It is a serious issue that plagues not only women, but, in some rare cases, men too. 1 in 8 United States women (approximately 12%) will develop some form of breast cancer, according to breastcancer.org. One should perform a self-examination once a month. There are 4 stages of breast cancer, with 4 being the most severe. To determine the stage of breast cancer, tumor size, lymph node status, and metastases are inspected. The history of breast cancer predates to ancient times, but not much was known about it until the 19th century.
Some symptoms of breast cancer include: a lump in the breast, or pain, tenderness, indentation, …show more content…
The breast and the nipple are removed, but not the underarm lymph nodes or muscle tissue. Hospitalization is not always needed, and if it is, they are normally released the next day. If the women has a high risk of breast cancer, the second breast is normally removed as well as a preventative procedure. Another type is the skin-sparing mastectomy. This is done when a women wants immediate reconstruction, but the nipple areola is still removed. It leaves as much of the breast tissue as possible without risking the chance of a repeated cancer. Nipple-sparing mastectomy (a variation of skin-sparing mastectomy) leaves the nipple areola intact, but very often the nipple loses most, if not all feeling.
A radical mastectomy is rarely done (due to not being needed.) It involves removing the entire breast, axillary lymph nodes, and the chest wall under the breast.
Stages of breast cancer range from 0-4, with stage 4 being the most severe. At stage 0 there might not be a lump or even any symptoms; it is not invasive. There are two types of stage 0, DCIS and LCIS. DCIS is when breast cancer cells develop in the breast ducts, and can become invasive. LCIS is when abnormal cells develop in the lobules. It rarely becomes an invasive cancer. The risk chance is 20-25% over the course of 15 years after it has been