Category: Breast Cancer

A breast cancer diagnosis leads to a range of emotions, from fear to sadness. Women facing breast cancer need a support system, including both personal relationships and professional help. The help means she doesn’t have to face the diagnosis and treatment alone. Asking for help isn’t always easy, and finding resources is also challenging.

Most pregnant women spend their time thinking about nursery designs, routine prenatal appointments and baby names. Breast cancer isn’t usually on the list of worries after conception, but the disease occurs at a rate of about one in 3,000 pregnancies, according to the National Cancer Institute. The progression of the pregnancy and the disease affect the outcome and treatment options.

Breast cancer is a catchall phrase for a number of different types of cancer of the breast, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The type of breast cancer that develops is dependent upon the type of cells within the breast that develop into cancer cells. Breast cancer is the second most prevalent form of cancer among women in the United States, exceeded only by nonmelanoma skin cancer.

Breast cancer can can afflict both men and women, but it is far more prevalent among women. It is the second-most commonly diagnosed type of cancer among women, exceeded only by skin cancer. Massive breast cancer awareness campaigns and improved early detection and treatment methods have contributed to a steadily increasing survival rate for breast cancer victims, but the medical community is still not sure of the causes of breast cancer in women.