Breast Cancer

A 44 year old female came to my office complaining of a right breast lump. She had done a self breast exam three days ago and noticed the lump. On examination, she had a palpable mass at the upper area of her breast with no surrounding redness. Her medical history was unremarkable. Diagnostics tests were performed which confirmed the mass and she was referred to the surgeon for further evaluation. She was diagnosed with breast cancer and eventually underwent cancer therapy and mastectomy.

I cannot stress enough the importance of breast cancer screening. Screening includes mammography, physician clinical exam, and the self breast exam.

Click here to see how to perform a self breast examination.

Here are some interesting Breast Cancer facts. Hopefully, with improved technology and surveillance, breast cancer will be beaten.

1. Breast cancer is the second most common cancer in American women. (Skin Cancer is number one).
2. One in eight women will develop breast cancer.
3. There will about 190,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer in the United States this year.
4. Every 13 minutes, a woman dies of breast cancer.
5. Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in women between the ages of 15 and 54.
6. There are about 2.5 million breast cancer survivors!!!
7. About 400 men will die from breast cancer in the United States.
8. About 20-30% of women diagnosed with breast cancer have a positive family history.
9. Breast cancer risk increases with age but about 2-7% of breast cancers occur in women under the age of 40.
10. Women who perform regular self exams find 80-90% of all breast masses.
11. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women after lung cancer.
12. One percent of breast cancer occur in men.
13. Unfortunately, 10-15% of breast cancers are not detected by mammography (stressing the importance of clinical exams and self exams).
14. Over 90% of women who find and treat breast cancer early will be cancer-free after five years.
15. Breast cancer deaths rates have been declining by about 2% since 1990.

Hope the information is helpful. To learn more about breast cancer, click on the links below.

Susan G. Komen for the Cure
National Cancer Institute
American Cancer Society