BREAST CANCER

Breast canceris the disease women fear most. Experts predict 178,000 women will develop breast cancer in the United States in 2007. Breast cancer can also occur in men, but it's far less common. For 2007, the predicted number of new breast cancers in men is 2,000.

Yet there's more reason for optimism than ever before. In the last 30 years, doctors have made great strides in early diagnosis and treatment of the disease and in reducing breast cancer deaths. In 1975, a diagnosis of breast cancer usually meant radical mastectomy – removal of the entire breast along with underarm lymph nodes and muscles underneath the breast. Today, radical mastectomy is rarely performed. Instead, there are more and better treatment options, and many women are candidates for breast-sparing operations.

Knowing the signs and symptoms of breast cancer may help save your life. When the disease is discovered early, you have more treatment options and a better chance for a cure.

Most breast lumps aren't cancerous. Yet the most common sign of breast cancer for both men and women is a lump or thickening in the breast. Often, the lump is painless. Other potential signs of breast cancer include: a spontaneous clear or bloody discharge from your nipple, often associated with a breast lump, retraction or indentation of your nipple, a change in the size or contours of your breast, any flattening or indentation of the skin over your breast, redness or pitting of the skin over your breast, like the skin of an orange, a number of conditions other than breast cancer can cause your breasts to change in size or feel. Breast tissue changes naturally during pregnancy and your menstrual cycle. Other possible causes of noncancerous (benign) breast changes include fibrocystic changes, cysts, fibroadenomas, infection or injury.

If you find a lump or other change in your breast – even if a recent mammogram was normal – see your doctor for evaluation. If you haven't yet gone through menopause, you may want to wait through one menstrual cycle before seeing your doctor. If the change hasn't gone away after a month, have it evaluated promptly.

A diagnosis of breast cancer is one of the most difficult experiences you can face. In addition to coping with a potentially life-threatening illness, you must make complex decisions about treatment.

Treatments exist for every type and stage of breast cancer. Most women will have surgery and an additional (adjuvant) therapy such as radiation, chemotherapy or hormone therapy. Experimental treatments are also available at cancer treatment centers.