The word Cancer sends fear into even the most fearless people on earth. Possibly because Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States, According to the American Cancer Society. Half of all Men and One-Third of all Women in the United States will develop cancer at some point during their lifetime.
Cancer does not discriminate. Although the risk of cancer increases as we get older, People of any Age and Racial or Ethnic background can and do get cancer. The American Cancer Society predicts that 1,444,920 new cases (766,860 in Men and 678,660 in Women) of cancer will be diagnosed in 2007.
People ask: What is Cancer? What causes Cancer? Cancer is a group of diseases in which cells in one part of the body start to grow out of control. Normal body cells Grow, Divide, and Die in an orderly fashion. Cancer cells Grow and Divide without stopping. As a result, They live longer than normal cells and they keep forming new abnormal cells. Cancer cells may join together to create a Lump, Mass, or Tumor. These cancer cells circulate through other tissues where they grow. Eventually, This uncontrolled growth damages normal cells and interferes with normal body functions.
The specific Cancer I am going to be writing about is a cancer in which has personally affected many people including myself. Breast Cancer.
Risks for Breast Cancer include a Family history, Atypical Hyperplasia, Delaying Pregnancy until after age 30 or never becoming pregnant,early menstruation (before age 12), late menopause (after age 55), Current use or use in the last ten years of oral contraceptives, and Daily consumption of Alcohol.
Every 3 minutes a women is diagnosed with Breast Cancer and Every 13 minutes a women dies from Breast Cancer. An estimated 182,800 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed in 2007. Approximatly 42,200 deaths will occur. As far as men go, Don't think you are out of the water because Approximately 1400 cases or breast cancer will be diagnosed in men in 2007 and 400 of those men will die.
Ways to avoid? There is no cure for cancer (yet) but there are many different steps you can take to help detect breast cancer in its early stages, Early detection or breast cancer, Through monthly breast self-exam and particularly yearly mammography (The first sign of breast cancer usually shows up on mammograms before it can be felt or any other symptoms are present) after age 40 offers the best chance of survival. If you do feel a lump or the doctor detects a lump get it checked out but do not panic because over 80% of breast lumps are Not Cancerous, But benign such as Fibrocystic Breast Disease.
There are so many different things everybody can do to help find a cure for Breast Cancer like, Go to your local "Walk for the Cure", Buy some of the "Pink" product that helps benefit research of breast cancer, or simply donate money to a good charity (there are so many great ones out there) Every Dollar Matters! Please everybody do your part and help us fight this disease.
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"Theres nothing you can't do that can be done."
All you need is Love!
Thanks for Reading,
-Zak.
