You and Breast Cancer: What Every Woman Needs to Know

My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer at what most doctors would consider an early age. She received her diagnosis upon her first mammogram. My mother was in shock, and of course scared to death. She had two small children and a husband to care for, and was faced with the traumatic news that she had this cancer upon her first breast exam. Although she had a long road to face, she still to this day considers herself blessed, and very fortunate to have caught the cancer early.

According to medicinenet.com, breast cancer is the most common cause of cancer among women in the United States, and the highest cause of cancer deaths among women. Generally, a lump or mass is picked up in a mammogram or breast exam, but now women have become educated and are getting mammograms earlier in life, so that early detection can help them overcome anything that lies ahead.

Cancer is formed when cell regeneration becomes faulty. When cells become old or damaged, they should die off and form new ones. When this doesn't happen and they continue to divide, they will form together causing a lump or a mass. In the breast, this can grow in the fatty tissue or even in the lymph nodes which help to fight infection. When affecting the lymph nodes it is critical that they are removed right away.

This was the case with my mother, and they removed all of her lymph nodes at the time of her mastectomy. They only had to remove one breast, but because of her breast size they had to follow with additional surgeries to do a "breast reduction". The reduction is designed to balance out your body and reduce the other breast since one is now missing. Then, the doctor will usually talk with you about further surgeries of reconstruction if you want that, but it's strictly your choice. My mother was tired of surgeries and doctors and just wanted to be at home with her children so that ended her journey.

My mother was indeed fortunate, and because it was detected early her doctor firmly believed that they could get all the cancer in the initially mastectomy. Once they did the biopsy and proved it to be cancer, they scheduled her surgery within a few weeks, and since they were able to remove all the disease my mother did not have to undergo chemotherapy or radiation.

Radiation is designed to shrink or eliminate a tumor or mass when it is localized, but if not detected early it can spread quickly. Chemotherapy is generally used when the disease has spread, or in some cases they may want to do this before surgery if the surgery is a few weeks out.

According to cancer.org, one of the keys to understanding breast cancer is knowing what the risk factors are. Age and gender are top qualifiers, leaving most women concerned until they are 55 or older. This was the case with my stepmother. She was age 59 when they diagnosed her with breast cancer, and by the time they found it, she was stage four.

Genetic risk factors are certainly up for consideration. It used to be believed that breast cancer would skip a generation, but now most doctors are seeing that if your mother had it, your chances of having it are doubled. There are different types of genetic testing that are available now to see if you have the mutation that brings breast cancer about. Your risk can be as high as 80% when a family member has it, so the BRCA 1 gene test would be the one you would want to have. There are other tests to determine whether or not you have the mutation. There is an ATM gene, which has been known to bring a high rate of breast cancer if someone is carrying two abnormal copies of this gene. There is also a p53 gene, that not only can bring about breast cancer, but those who carry this gene are also suspect for leukemia, brain tumors and other tumors called sarcomas.

It never hurts to talk to your doctor no matter what your family history is. Do yourself a favor and make sure that you account for your health and well being by getting testing done when it is available or recommended.