General Breast Cancer Information
Breast cancer is the most common cancer found in women and the fifth most common cause of death caused by cancer after lung cancer, stomach cancer, liver cancer, and colon cancer. Every single year, it accounts for 1% of the deaths that occur in the world. For example, in 2005, 502,000 people died as a consequence of breast cancer. This represents 7% of the deaths caused by cancer.
For women in the United States, it is the second biggest cancer killer, after lung cancer, and it affects one in eight women. One in thirty three women in the United States will die from breast cancer. Unfortunately, these numbers are increasing.
Ever since the 1970s, the number of breast cancer cases has begun steadily increasing. The belief, according to doctors, is that the lifestyle of women in the western part of the world is to blame. However, lifestyle is not the only cause, and other causes could simply be environmental. Doctors are not exactly sure why the cells of the breast tissue begin to mutate and mitosis becomes irregular. All they do know is that since the 1970s, rates have began to increase steadily.
Some of the causes that doctors do believe cause breast cancer are: hereditary (genetics), age, gender (male or female), diet, alcohol consumption, and obesity.
Their is a simple saying that quotes: if you are healthy, you will be healthy. Alcohol is bad for the body and can cause damage to the cells. Cause too much damage to a cell and it can become mutated which could lead to a growth of some sort, or a tumor. Obesity also plays a part in it, research has shown that a woman that gained 22lbs after entering menopause increased her chances of getting breast cancer by eighteen percent. It has been found that smoking can cause breast cancer; as can radiation to the chest; and hormones.
If things are changed around in the body and the levels of hormones in the body are altered, the body begins to change its methods of working. If a cells mitotic speed changes, it could become altered enough to mutate, which is the starting sign of a tumor.
The thing to remember about breast cancer that is commonly forgotten is that the tissue of the breast is identical whether it is a man or woman. Because of this, a man can have breast cancer; however, it is a lot less common in men. Breast cancer can be found in men and women. It can kill both men and women. There are ways to lower your risks; however, anyone can get breast cancer, just like anyone can get any cancer. A cancer is simply a mutation of the cells, and if this is not controlled, it can cause death to the person.