Breast Cancer Case Study

In 2015, the National Cancer Institute released statistics stating that an estimated number 1,658,370 cases of cancer will be diagnosed this year and that in one third of those cases the patient will die (National Cancer Institute). According to the National Cancer Institute, the leading cause of death in America is heart disease, then a close second is cancer, taking an average number of 585,000 deaths per year (National Cancer Institute). The chances are every individual will, in their lifetime, know a person who has or had cancer. Based on data from 2012, the National Cancer Institute also points out that nearly 40% of men and women will be diagnosed with a form of cancer at one point in their lives (National Cancer Institute). Cancer rates have been steadily increasing over the past 30 years and according to the National Cancer Institute, “the number of new cancer cases will rise to 22 million within the next two decades” (National Cancer Institute).
Cancer, in general, occurs when an individual’s cells begin to divide with no intention to stop, instead to spread around the individual’s tissues. So, what leads an individual’s cells to do this? Well, it is important to know that cancer is a genetic disease, meaning that it is caused by changes in the genes in our body and how those genes grow or …show more content…
Breast cancer is diagnosed after a clinical breast exam, a mammogram, or a screening is taken and then a doctor will diagnose the degree or possible stage of breast cancer (ww5.komen.org). Factors such as the lymph node status, tumor size and grade, the hormone receptor status, and the types of tumors all affect prognosis