Difference between revisions of "Breast cancer"

Revision as of 17:28, April 10, 2007

Introduction

Breast cancer is the most common female cancer in the United States, the second most common cause of cancer death in women, and the main cause of death in women ages 45 to 55^{[Citation Needed]}. The most important risk factors are family history and hormonal factors. The term "breast cancer" itself refers to a number of distinct disease entities. Breast cancer also occurs in men, but far less frequently.

Risk factors

Many factors affect the incidence of breast cancer in any given population of women including:

• diet ^[1]
• racial grouping, ^[2]
• obesity ^[3]
• family history if such a history involves having several generations affected by breast cancer or having many relatives diagnosed with breast cancer at less than 50 years old ^[4]
• prolonged uninterrupted exposure to estrogen (e.g. by having an early menarche and late menopause or by having no full-term pregnancies).^[5]
• age: increasing age increases the risk that at some point in her life a woman will contract breast cancer, rising from 1 in 231 (0.5% risk) aged under 40 to 1 in 7 at age 90. ^[6]

This concept of risk should be put into the context of other risks, since life is full of risks. A woman's risk of dying of breast cancer is similar to her risk from radon by living in Cornwall, England, ^[7] a factor which does not seem to have denuded Cornwall of its female population.

The National Breast Cancer Coalition does not endorse the view that induced abortions increase the risk of breast cancer.^[8] Nor do the American Cancer Society, the US National Cancer Institute ^[9] and the World Health Organisation^[10] endorse this view. This would seem to be borne out by the experience of the Republic of Ireland, where abortion is illegal, and yet it has one of the highest rates of both breast cancer incidence and mortality in the EU. ^[11]

A higher risk factor for breast cancer than abortion, recent research reveals, is the eating of red meat. ^[12]

Ways of reducing the risk

Having children reduces the risk of breast cancer. If a woman breastfeeds her babies she greatly reduces her risk of breast cancer. ^{[13] [14]}

Maintaining a healthy weight and a healthy diet reduces the risk.^{[15] [16]}

Breast self-examination carried out every month, ideally one week after beginning a menstrual period, is a common-sense preventive measure. ^[17] For women over the age of 40, mammogram screenings are another preventive measure that can detect cancer earlier, when it is easier to treat. However, not all medical authorities agree on whether there is any benefit from having annual mammograms below the age of 50. ^[18]

References

1. ↑ http://unisci.com/stories/20021/0104023.htm
2. ↑ http://www.womenshealthnetwork.org/advocacy/wocbreastca/natam.htm
3. ↑ http://society.guardian.co.uk/cancer/story/0,,686105,00.html
4. ↑ http://www.breastcancer.org/cmn_who_indrisk.html
5. ↑ http://www.breastcancer.org/cmn_who_indrisk.html
6. ↑ http://www.breastcancer.org/cmn_who_indrisk.html
7. ↑ http://www.cplusc.co.uk/risks.html
8. ↑ http://www.natlbcc.org/bin/index.asp?strid=364&depid=9
9. ↑ http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_6x_Can_Having_an_Abortion_Cause_or_Contribute_to_Breast_Cancer.asp
10. ↑ http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs240/en/index.html
11. ↑ http://www.allirelandnci.org/pdf/publications/Stat-Report-1998-2000/4a.pdf
12. ↑ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/global/main.jhtml?xml=/global/2007/04/04/nmeat04.xml
13. ↑ http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn2570
14. ↑ http://society.guardian.co.uk/cancer/story/0,8150,757869,00.html
15. ↑ http://society.guardian.co.uk/cancer/story/0,,686105,00.html
16. ↑ http://unisci.com/stories/20021/0104023.htm
17. ↑ http://www.kidshealth.org/teen/sexual_health/girls/bse.html
18. ↑ http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/women/9909/27/bcam.mammography/