The Truth Behind Breast Cancer

The Truth behind Breast Cancer

Upon review of the journal article entitled : “Is Breast Cancer Prognosis Inherited,” we find that there is an ongoing discussion that breast cancer may be an inherited condition and what are the preventative measures to take to possibly prevent this killer.

Breast cancer is a group of rapidly, reproducing, undifferentiated cells in the area of the breast in women. The earliest changes occur in the epithelial cells of the terminal end buds (TEB) of the breast milk ductal system. If cancer cells are active or are considered malign, the tumor grows at tremendous speeds and may end up in metastasis. Metastasis is a complex process in which cells break away from their primary tumors, and via the blood supply or through the lymph system relocate into other organs, thus spreading cancer throughout the body if left untreated. Often if a lump is smaller than one centimeter, it is thought to be benign, but every woman is different and a doctor should be consulted. In 1995, the United States reported 43,063 people died from breast cancer. It is the number two cancer killer and the number one female cancer in women age 15 to 54. Breast cancer has the highest number of new cases each year. According to some statistics, a woman’s chance to develop breast cancer in her lifetime is one out of eight. Breast cancer is often perceived as a white women’s disease. Women such as Nancy Reagan, Shirley Temple, and Betty Ford were reported to have had this disease. While in the African-American community, it is prevalent in uneducated black women who do not bother with or know about regular breast exams.

There are at least two major genes that can cause breast cancer BRCA 1 and BRCA 2. These genes can be passed from parent to child, and are located on chromosome 17 and chromosome 13. BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 was discovered in 1994 and 1995 and since this time it has been detected that a woman with BRCA 1 has a higher risk of developing ovarian cancer as well, but in contrast men carrying BRCA 1 have no risk of developing breast cancer. Men that carry the BRCA 2 gene have a higher risk of developing the disease. Early birth control pill usage combined with more estrogen and progesterone use has been linked to breast cancer also in women.

A population-based study in Sweden was done based on the nationwide Multi-Generation Register. In this study, all women diagnosed with breast cancer from 1961 to 2001, 2,787 mother-daughter pairs and 831 sister pairs with breast cancer were identified. The results are the five year survival among daughters whose mothers died within the five years