Breast Cancer on the Cellular Level Essay

Words: 2051
Pages: 9

Breast Cancer at the Cellular Level

There are many different diseases that terrorize the human race every day. Of all of these sicknesses, one of the most devastating is breast cancer. Breast cancer touches all types of people all over the world each day. It is actually the second most common cancer amongst women in the United States. One in every eight women in the United States has some form of breast cancer and currently, the death rates are higher than any other cancer with the exception of lung cancer. Cancer is defined by the Merriam-Webster Online dictionary as “a malignant tumor of potentially unlimited growth that expands locally by invasion and systemically by metastasis.” Therefore, breast cancer is a disease of
…show more content…
From here the cancer may metastasize and spread to nearby tissues. Nowadays, there are numerous methods of treating cancer, varying from medication to radiation to surgery. One of the most radical and controversial of these treatments is mastectomy surgery. A mastectomy is the oldest known treatment for breast cancer. It removes the entire breast and may include the removal of skin and muscle as well. A similar yet more conservative surgery option is called lumpectomy. A lumpectomy is a surgery where a small tumor or lump that may or may not be malignant, is removed. Basically, only part of the breast is removed, and because of this lumpectomy surgery is also referred to as breast conserving surgery. This type of surgery was developed in the early eighties, in the attempt to try to give women a less invasive option. After the lumpectomy however, the woman receives five to seven weeks of radiation in order to eradicate any cancerous breast cells that may be have been left behind in the breast tissue that remains. One would assume that the mastectomy, although more extreme, is the most effective of the two surgeries. However, doctors are now saying that the effectiveness of each of the procedures is actually equivalent. Dr. Susan Love, a professor of surgery at UCLA when interviewed by Discovery Health stated,
“Well I think we have certainly