Medical knowledge about breast cancer is advancing rapidly. What causes it? Why are some people more likely to get it than others? Women now have many more choices to make about imaging tests, biopsies, surgeries, and drug treatments. This newly updated report explains the current state of knowledge regarding diagnosis, treatment and prevention in easy-to-understand language.
Prepared by the editors of Harvard Health Publications in consultation with Carolyn M. Kaelin, M.D., M.P.H, Director of the Comprehensive Breast Health Center at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston . 48 pages.
Here's an Excerpt from this Breast Cancer Special Health Report
As women enter midlife and beyond, their health concerns begin to mount. Many diseases become more common with age, and breast cancer is no exception. Age is the single most potent risk factor for breast cancer; as your age increases, so does your chance of developing this disease. As you get older, you may notice that more of your friends and relatives are being diagnosed with breast cancer, or you may be living with it yourself. It is the most common type of cancer among women in the United States.
It’s encouraging to know that great progress has been made in managing and preventing breast cancer. Diagnostic procedures and treatments are more precisely targeted to reduce side effects and recovery time. Newer classes of drugs help eliminate cancer cells throughout the body. Even certain health habits, such as regular exercise, can speed up the recovery time after surgery and other treatments. The result is that many women with breast cancer have been treated successfully and are now living normal lives. You may be surprised to learn that most women with the disease do not die from it. The death rate from breast cancer has declined by 2.3 percent per year since 1990 as a result of early detection and improved treatments.
It used to be almost impossible to predict which women were likely to develop breast cancer and what people could do to prevent it. But now research has identified some risk factors that are within your control. For example, one factor you can avoid is postmenopausal hormone therapy, which increases the risk of breast cancer by 26%. Another is drinking alcohol; women who have more than one glass of any alcoholic beverage a day are more likely to get breast cancer than women who drink less. Although diet has been less firmly linked with breast cancer than with other illnesses, such as colon cancer and heart disease, research strongly suggests that getting plenty of folic acid — from foods as well as from supplements — might be a hedge against breast cancer.
The incidence of breast cancer has been rising for women ages 40 and older. One reason is that the use of mammograms (x-ray examination of the breast) is more common, and therefore more breast cancers are being found. Also, the population is aging. In the years ahead, as more women enter midlife and beyond, the number of women with the disease is likely to rise. Still, a more positive trend is also possible — that preventive measures might well push the incidence down.