What is Breast Cancer?
Breast cancer is a malignant (cancerous) growth that begins in the tissues of the breast. Cancer is a disease in which abnormal cells grow in an uncontrolled way. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women, but it can also appear in men. In the U.S., it affects one in eight women.

What You Need to Know About Breast Cancer Symptoms
Breast cancer begins in a cell, which divides and multiplies at an uncontrolled rate. A small clump of cancer cells are too tiny to be felt, so the earliest stages of breast cancer usually have no symptoms. A mammogram can detect cancer before you can feel a lump, which is why your annual screening mammogram is so important. Some benign breast conditions can seem like cancer, so it’s good to know the difference, and get a health professional to check out worrisome lumps.

Diagnosis of Breast Cancer
Breast cancer isn't always detected with the naked eye. Its early signs are often hidden within your breast tissues. Changes to your breasts that you do see may not be the result of breast cancer at all. Lumps and bumps may come and go, as your hormones ebb and flow, and as you age. Breast skin may change texture due to sunburn, radiation treatments, or infections that cause rashes. So how would you know for sure whether or not a lump, skin rash, or skin dimpling is benign or cancerous? You will need help from your medical professionals to get a clear diagnosis.

Overview of Breast Cancer Treatment Options
After your breast cancer has been diagnosed and staged, your healthcare team will recommend treatment. Your treatment plan will be based on the type of breast cancer you have; the size, grade, and biological characteristics of the tumor; your hormonal status; and your general health.

There are five standard treatment options: surgery and radiation (typically used for local control of cancer within the breast and lymph nodes) and chemo, biologic, and hormonal therapies (usually reserved for control of potential disease in the rest of the body).

All About Breast Cancer Prevention and Lowering Your Risk of Breast Cancer

Why You Need To Know About Breast Cancer Prevention
In 2007, an estimated 240,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in America. Of those diagnosed, 40,000 will die from this disease. Although some of the contributors to the development of breast cancer are known, there is no guaranteed way to prevent it. But by educating yourself and taking control of some lifestyle factors, you can lower your risk of developing breast cancer.

Understanding Your Risk of Breast Cancer
Your risk is calculated by looking at several factors, some of which you are born with, and some of which you can choose. Knowing your health background will help you and your doctor make good choices about lifestyle and health care, which can lower your risk of breast cancer. You can try online risk assessment tools, but don’t use these as a substitute for talking with your doctor.

Lower Your Risk of Breast Cancer
Whether you are at low or high risk, you have many options to lower your risk. When it’s found at an early stage, breast cancer can effectively be treated, and there are several ways to help prevent recurrence. Take responsibility for your breast health.

Ongoing Research – the Future of Breast Cancer Prevention
Will breast cancer ever be preventable? Researchers hope so, and the National Cancer Institute says that clinical trials for high-risk women have been done. Since estrogen fuels 80% of all breast cancers, the trials have focused on drugs that affect estrogen levels. Selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) such as Tamoxifen and Raloxifene have been tested, and appear to help prevent the development of breast cancer, but all the results are not in yet. Aromatase inhibitors, such as Aromasin, help prevent estrogen production, and are still in trial studies. Genetic tests for BRCA1 and BRCA2 are now available to help women determine the degree of risk they may face. In very high-risk patients, preventive mastectomy may be considered, as well as oophorectomy (removal of ovaries to lower estrogen levels). If you have a family history of breast cancer, talk to your doctor about the options that would lower your risk.