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Breast Cancer among Men and Women

The second main cause of cancer death in women, after lung cancer, is breast cancer.

Not only can breast cancer be found in women, but also men. There is estimated to be about

40,000 women and 460 men who die from breast cancer each year. Thankful to the improved

technology the death due to this cancer has went down dramatically but are still very high. I

chose this topic because I am wanting be a an oncologist after I get out of school. I specifically

chose breast cancer as my topic because it affected my grandma and my great grandmother.

Luckily they survived it when they had it but breast cancer is known to come back a second or

third time. Breast cancer is often known to be genetically inherited so since both of my grandmas

has had it my sisters are now at a higher risk of getting it too.

I feel that breast cancer, or really any cancer, is a very cruel disease and that everyone

should watch out or the signs of cancer because it can be very ugly if you do not deal with it

early. There are many people that are trying to find this cure for cancer, and some people think

they will find it and some people don’t. When it comes to what I think, I hope they find it but I

feel like when will need better technology to be a to cure something so harsh. I think that

sometime in the future we will get the cure but I do not think it will be any time soon, although I

wish it would be. I believe that the only way to really reduce the deaths due to breast cancer is to

make sure that women and men are really checking for the signs, such as lumps in the breast,

pitting or redness on the skin of the breast, like the skin of an orange, a rash on or around the

nipples, a discharge from the nipple, a sunken or inverted nipple, and a change in size or shape of
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the breasts. Of course the listed signs or more directly related to breast cancer but make sure to

watch out for any sign of a cancer. When it comes to breast cancer, I already know it can be

genetically inherited or it can just randomly come up. I also know that there are many women

affected by it and that it can also occur in men. But through research there is much more to know

about this cancer.

Through a lot of research I have learned about the stages of breast cancer, the treatments,

the risk factors, symptoms and the diagnosis. Some things about this disease I already knew due

to my grandmothers having it but I learned a lot of new things. I also learned about the

misconceptions too. Before I started studying this topic I also believed that if you were to get

your mammogram on time you wouldn’t get breast cancer, but it turns out even if you get your

mammogram at the suggested time you still have a chance of getting breast cancer but the chance

of dying to it is decreased. I am really glad I studies this topic because it is important that

everyone has knowledge on this disease because it can affect anyone.

The second leading cause of death in women is breast cancer (Medical News Today).

Breast cancer is mainly found in women but can also be found in men. There is estimated to be

40,000 women and 460 men who die per year due to breast cancer. The death rate due to this

cancer used to be much higher but thanks to updated technology the death rates have dropped

dramatically. Breast cancer has several causes, many signs, different types and stages, different

treatment options, and many risk factors. Since breast cancer can be genetically passed on it is
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good to get screening done to stay safe and be aware of the symptoms and risk factors of this

cancer. Breast cancer is very deadly and doesn’t have a very good survival rate if not caught

early, because of this it is important to always be aware of any abnormalities in your breasts.

There are many misconceptions about breast cancer in social media and in campaigns.

One big misconception is that a mammogram will prevent you from getting breast cancer

(Burgess). If you aren't familiar with what a mammogram is, a mammogram is a low-dose x-ray

that allows radiologists to look for changes in the breast tissue. Many women wonder how they

got breast cancer when they got their mammograms at the recommended times. It is true that

mammograms have increased the detection of early stage breast cancer, but it does not prevent

breast cancer. There is also a big misconception when it comes to the treatment of breast cancer.

It is often believed that if you remove the whole breast and undergo chemotherapy and radiation

your breast cancer will be cured. In fact, early stage breast cancer patients who undergo breast

conserving surgery, which is the removing of the cancerous spot in the breast, have a higher rate

of survival. Furthermore, all breast cancers do not require surgery, chemotherapy and radiation.

This misconception has just led to overtreatment, which has become a major issue.

Breast cancer awareness is a very good thing , but social media has really impacted a lot

of the major misconceptions when it comes to this disease. It is important that the illusions of

breast cancer are brought to attention because it is important that you know the facts and lies

about this disease. In fact, throughout studies it shows that 1 in 10 women are actually well

educated when it comes to breast cancer. This is a major problem because women and men need

to know everything there is to know about this disease so they can do everything possible to

prevent it.
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When it comes to the survival rate of breast cancer, it has everything to do with what

stage of cancer you have. If caught early it is likely you will have better odds to survive than if

you caught it late. Another impact to the survival rate is the treatment you get. The treatment you

receive revolves around the type of breast cancer, stage of the cancer, age, sensitivity to

hormones, and the patient’s overall health (Medical News Today). They have treatment options

like radiation therapy, surgery, biological therapy, hormone therapy, and chemotherapy. All of

these treatment options will have different effects on your body, too. Advances in screening and

treatment have improved the survival rate dramatically throughout the years, but breast cancer is

still very deadly and something you wanna always keep an eye out for.

There are multiple symptoms that men and women need to watch out for so you can catch

breast cancer at an earlier stage and increase that survival rate (Medical News Today). The

symptoms include pains in the armpits or breast that do not change with the monthly cycle,

pitting or redness of the skin on the breasts, a rash around or on the nipple, discharge from the

nipple, possibly containing blood, a sunken or inverted nipple, a change in size or shape of the

breasts, peeling or flaking of the skin on the breast or nipple. These are just some of the

symptoms to watch out for, but if you find any abnormalities in the breasts than you should go to

your family doctor where they can run tests and do screening.

It is important to talk about breast cancer awareness campaigning because it is one of the

major ways of making the risk factors of this disease known. There have been questions about if

these campaigns are actually raising awareness and getting to the attention of men and women.

Luckily, through studies we have learned that people who are familiar with more campaigns are

more familiar with the risk factors of breast cancer (Taylor & Francis). It is important that people
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are paying attention to these campaigns because breast cancer is such a common disease and

people need to be aware of all the risk factors related.

It is important to talk about all the risk factors relating to breast cancer so men and

women know how to reduce the risk of getting this disease. Some of the risk factors include age:

after 20 years old you have a higher chance; genetics: if a close relative has or had breast cancer

the risk is higher, a history of breast cancer; if you have had breast cancer before you chances are

greater; dense breast tissue: breast cancer is more likely to develop in higher density breast

tissue; estrogen exposure and breastfeeding: being exposed to estrogen has appeared to increase

the risk and breastfeeding, especially for over a year appears to reduce the risk; body weight:

those overweight or obese have a greater chance; alcohol consumption: if you consume more

than 3 drinks a day your risk is greater; radiation exposure: if you undergo radiation treatment for

a cancer that isn’t breast cancer you have a greater risk; hormone treatments: the use of hormone

replacement therapy (HRT) and or oral birth control increases your risk; and occupational

hazards: it has also been seen that those that work night shift have a greater chance. Another risk

factor is cosmetic implants; women with breast implants who are diagnosed with breast cancer

have a higher risk of dying to the disease and a 25% higher chance of being diagnosed at a later

stage. It is very important to understand all of the risk factors so you can try to avoid certain

things.

It is also important to understand the different stages of breast cancer and the different

types. There are 5 different stages of breast cancer. Stage 0, known as ductal carcinoma, where

the cells are limited to within a duct and have not invaded surrounding tissue. Stage 1: this is

where the tumor is up to 2 cm across and it has affected any lymph nodes. Stage 2: the tumor is 2

cm across and has spread to nearby lymph nodes. Stage 3: the tumor is 5 cm across and has
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spread to some lymph nodes. Stage 4: the cancer has spread to nearby organs, especially the

bones, liver, brain, and lungs. There are two different types of breast cancer. One type is Ductal

Carcinoma, which begins in the milk duct and is the most common type. The other type is

Lobular Carcinoma, which starts in the lobules. The stages and types of breast cancer are very

important, especially when determining the survival rate.

Some men and women are curious about the testing and procedures done if you were to

contact a doctor about having symptoms of breast cancer. So it is very important to know what to

expect from the doctor before you go. The doctor is likely to do a breast examination, where the

doctor will feel for any lumps or other symptoms. The doctor will also likely run a mammogram.

The doctor could also do an ultrasound, which would help differentiate between a solid mass or a

fluid-filled cyst. Another procedure often done is a MRI scan that involves injecting a dye in the

patient to see where the cancer has spread to. And the last test would be a biopsy, which would

involve removing a sample of tissue to test if the cancer is malignant or benign.

There is a lot to know about breast cancer but it is very important that men and women

are aware of all that there is to know. Although there is no real way to prevent breast cancer, it

helps to at least try to prevent it by making some changes to your lifestyle. These include

avoiding excessive alcohol intake, following a healthy diet with plenty of fresh fruits and

vegetables, getting enough exercise, and maintaining a healthy BMI. Breast cancer is one of the

most common types of cancers and should be taken very seriously. The only thing anyone can do

is just try to raise awareness about this disease and hope people will take it serious and do

everything possible to prevent it.

The topic I addressed is Breast Cancer. The reason I wanted to cover this topic is because

it has personally affected me and I think more awareness needs to be raised about it. The three
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articles below talk about how breast cancer affects people depending on race, gender and age.

They talk about the symptoms, risk factors, treatment and other important facts that you need to

know about breast cancer. The last article talks about misconceptions when it comes to breast

cancer and how much people actually know about the disease.

“Breast Cancer Knowledge Among College Students: Influencing Factors and Resultant

Behaviors.”

Taylor & Francis, www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19325037.2017.1414645.

This article talks about the correlation between breast cancer and gender, age, and race.

In the article the author did a survey among college students to see how much knowledge they

actually had when it came to breast cancer causes, prevention and treatment. They had a total of

284 students that attended UC to fill out the questions regarding breast cancer. 46% of the people

who filled out the survey were male and the rest were female. The purpose of this article was to

inform people that they needed to be more aware of the causes and prevention factors to breast

cancer.

I think that the author of this article is pretty credible due to the face that most of the

information in the study came from a survey and that they also had 31 sources cited. I will use

this article to talk about the knowledge people have when it comes to breast cancer and to talk

about prevention and treatment of breast cancer. This article will be good to show what others

know about breast cancer and to tell what people need to know more of.
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Burgess, Melinda C. R. and Ashley B. Murray. "Sexualization of Awareness:

Catchy, but Does It Actually Increase Knowledge of Breast Cancer?." College Student

Journal, vol. 48, no. 2, Summer2014, pp. 234-242. EBSCOhost,

ezproxy.libraries.wright.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=

s3h&AN=97002775&site=eds-live.

Very much like the first article, this article is surveying college student, about 255 of

them, seeing how much they know about breast cancer the treatments and diagnosis of it. It also

talks about how the campaigns for breast cancer are focusing on breasts as an object of fun,

instead of focusing on treatment, diagnosis and prevention. I think the author's main purpose was

to make it aware that breast cancer should focus on the disease and not the breasts. I think the

article is effective and gives a lot of information and uses a lot of sources to find the information.

I could use this in my article to talk about how campaigning could be better and awareness

posters could be more effective instead of sexual

Nordqvist, Christian. “Breast Cancer: Symptoms, Risk Factors, and Treatment.” Medical News

Today, MediLexicon International, 27 Nov. 2017,

www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/37136.php.
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In this article they explained facts, symptoms, stages, causes and diagnosis to breast

cancer. The main purpose of this article was to show awareness to women to watch out for the

symptoms and if they do get it what to do about it. I think this article is reliable because it is a

medical sight in which doctors themself edit. Medical News today also uses a lot of information

about many diseases and talks to doctors about the things people should know about that disease.

I will use this to talk about the symptoms, causes, prevention, and diagnosis to breast cancer. I

can also use this to talk about fun facts.

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