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MelissaHardy

Biology1010

April13,2017

BreastCancer:biologicalcomponentsandmore

CanceraswelearnedinBiology1010withMelissaHardy,isthemutationofcellsthat

dividewithoutcontrol.Therearemanydifferenttypesofcancerstodayhowever,becauseof

technologyandmedicationnowadayswecantakeacloserlookateachindividualtypeofcancer

andseethecomponentsbehindthedisease,findcuresortreatmentandgetabetterunderstanding

ofthedisease.Thispaperfocusesonbreastcancer,referstoamalignanttumorthathas

developedfromcellsinthebreast(Breastcancer.org)itisatypeofcancerthataffectsmany

womeneachyear,About1in8U.S.womenwilldevelopinvasivebreastcanceroverthecourse

ofherlifetime.(Breastcancer.org)Breastcancerlikementionedaboveareuncontrolledmutated

cells.Usuallyalumpisfeltoratumorisseenonanxray(cancer.org).Itisimportanttonote

thatlumpsappearonthebreastandmostofthemarenotcancerous.Thereforeyoushouldseea

physicianifyouhaveanyconcernsaboutanylumpsthatyoufeelnearoronyourbreast.

Biologicalcomponents:Breastcancerismainlyduetogeneticabnormalitiesthatresult

withaging.(Breastcancer.org)Therearebasically9stagesofbreastcancer.Fromhavingthe

tumoronlymeasureafewcentimetersindiameter,tohavingitspreadtoothersmallpartsnear

thebreast,uptohavingthetumorexpandgreatlyinsizeandhaveitmovetootherpartsofthe

body.Breastcancercanspreadwhenthecancercellsgetintothebloodorlymphsystemand

arecarriedtootherpartsofthebody(cancer.org,2016
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Havingbreastcancerisnotsomethingyouchoose,likeitmentionsinBreastcancer.org,

somerisksarejustthere,havingapersonalfamilyfemalemember(suchasasister,mother,or

daughter)getbreastcancerincreasesyourriskofdevelopingit,ageisalsoabigfactor,andthere

aremanymorethatcomeintoplaywiththistypeofcancer,however,youcantakepreventative

measuressuchasdoingabreastselfexamination,eatingahealthydiet,doingphysicalactivity

andkeepingahealthyweight.

Treatmentandsideeffects:Likementionedatthebeginning,becauseoftodays

technologyandadvancementinmedicinewearenowabletoofferalotmoretreatmentforbreast

cancerthaneverbefore.Someofthetreatmentsincludesurgery,radiation,hormonaltherapy,

andchemotherapy.(Breastcancer.org)However,justlikeanythingelsethingsalwayscomewith

consequencesorsideeffects.Someofthesideeffectsassociatedwithgettingthesetreatments

includebutarenotlimitedtoadnominalpain,armpitdiscomfort,bruisingandbleeding,delayed

woundhealing,fatigueandfever.Mostofthesethingscanalsobetreatedbutdiscussingwitha

doctoraboutyourspecificsideeffectsisthebestthingtodo.Afterall,everysinglebodyis

different.

Statistics:Accordingto(cancer.net,2016)Itisestimatedthat40,980people(40,450

womenand440men)willdiefrombreastcancerthisyear.Thisisthesecondmostdeath

causingcancerbesideslungcancer.Morbidityratefollowingbreastcancersurgeryislow

accordingto(ncbi.gov).Mastectomycarriedahighercomplicationrateduetoinfectionafter

surgery,whichusuallyafteranysurgerythesusceptibilityforinfectionishigh.

Personalexperience:Mygrandmotherisabreastcancersurvivor.Shehadamastectomy

donefollowedbychemotherapyandnopostoperativeinfectionandtodaysheislivingahappy
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andnormallife.Becauseofbreastcancerhistorythatrunsinourfamilywehavealldecidedto

takethepreventativemeasuresanddoselfexams,visitthedoctorregularlytohave

mammogramsdone,wehavealsoincreasedourexerciseandmaintainedahealthylifestyle.With

thiswehopethatourchancesdecreaseofgettingbreastcancerbutthenagain,wecannotavoid

genetics.

Ithinkitisextremelyimportanttokeepupwithmedicalinformationregardingthistype

ofcancer.Therearemanywomenwhoexperiencethisintheirlifetimeandknowingwhatbreast

cancerisandknowingthetreatmentsarewillhelpushelpthesewomenwiththedifficultjourney

theyarefacingaheadofthem.Notonlywithbreastcancerbutanyothertypeofcancers,people

shouldstayinformedanduptodatewithwhatisgoingon.Maybeonedaywewillfindacureto

suchacomplexityofdiseases.
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Works Cited

U.S. Breast Cancer Statistics." Breastcancer.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2017

"Breast Cancer: Statistics." Cancer.Net. N.p., 14 Mar. 2016. Web. 13 Apr. 2017.

"What Is Breast Cancer?" American Cancer Society. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2017.