Introduction
The evolution of mankind and changes in the social and ecological factors provoke the spreading of different diseases. Cancer is one of the most life-threatening ones nowadays. The modern healthcare does not have the medicines and methods of medical treatment of many types of cancer guaranteeing the 100% recovery of the patients. Breast cancer is a serious disease, which not only affects the physical health of women but also puts the hard moral pressure on them.
Although science and medicine progressed substantially in the development of the effective methods of its treatment and prevention, breast cancer is still an urgent point on the agenda of healthcare. The aim of this paper is to characterize breast cancer and to describe the modern methods of its treatment and prevention.
The Main Body
There are different types of cancer. Each of them affects the different parts of the human body or a certain organ. The cancer is always the rapid and chaotic cell division in the organism, which leads to the tumours. The breast cancer can be defined as the malignant growth, which results from the degeneration of cells of the mammary gland.
The specialists have worried about the threat of this disease since the beginning of the XX century. Nowadays, society has already realized the urgency of the situation and the necessity of the resulting prevention methods as well as effective medical treatment. Many scientists claimed that the rise of the disease was “intertwined with growing female political and economic independence, the decline of traditional motherhood and with breastfeeding and large families, and the alleged misuse of organs of maternity and reproduction” (Wailoo 14).
The spreading of breast cancer is caused by the unwillingness of many women to have several children or to breast-feed. In addition, there is a genetic predisposition to the neoplasm. Nowadays, every tenth woman on Earth suffers from breast cancer.
The men are also liable to this disease, but the frequency of the disease among them is 100 lower than among women. The statistics show the terrible figures: approximately 45 thousands of women die from breast cancer in the United States. The data in other countries proves that it is one of the major causes of female deaths. It should be noted that the average age of the diseased declines. Even the young girls are at risk of being affected by it.
The exact factor provoking the breast cancer has not been identified yet. However, the group of factors increasing the risk of the disease has been determined by scientists. For example, the increased level of the radioactive emanation, the diseases of the thyroid gland and adrenals, and the increased level of the female hormones are some of the factors.
The effective medical treatment of breast cancer largely depends on the early detection of the disease and its timeliness. Mammography is one of the most widely spread methods of the diagnostics of the mammary gland allowing to detect the symptoms of the pathology. The mammogram works on the basis of the x-ray radiation, which allows producing the image of the mammary gland (“Mammogram” n.pag.). “Breast cancer treatment involves surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and hormonal therapy in different therapeutic regimens” (Václavíková n.pag.).
The method of treatment depends on the stage of the disease. The early detection of breast cancer increases the chances to avoid surgical operation and the complete removal of the breast. The chemotherapy is aimed at the destruction of the cancer cells. The glandular therapy includes the normalization of the level of the female hormones, the excess of which facilitates the growth of cancer cells.
The radiotherapy is used to eliminate the neoplasm by the local radiation of the affected zones. Usually, the treatment of the disease involves the combination of several methods. The removed tumours undergo the histological examination. The doctors also determine whether the lymphatic glands are affected. The results of the thorough diagnostics are used to treat the disease appropriately. Some centres of breast cancer treatment reduce the treatment term to a one day by using the combination of surgery and radiation therapy (“Innovative Breast Cancer Treatment” n.pag.). The University of Virginia Cancer Center is one of such centres in the United States.
The treatment is computerized, and its main benefit is gentle medical interference. “The women feel as normal as possible after surgery and treatment” (“Innovative Breast Cancer Treatment” n.pag.).
Conclusion
In order to sum up all the above mentioned, it should be said that the treatment of breast cancer is an urgent problem nowadays. The disease can be characterized by the growth of cancer cells in the mammary gland. The statistics show that the disease is one of the major factors of female deaths in the world. The efficiency of the treatment largely depends on its timely detection. It often involves the combination of methods including the surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The progress in medical treatment allows reducing its term to a single day and does not affect the body of the patients severely.
Works Cited
“Mammogram”. Nationalbreastcancer.org. 2012. Web.
“Innovative Breast Cancer Treatment Combines Surgery and Radiation Therapy in a Single Day”. News.virginia.edu. 2013. Web.
Václavíková, Radka. ” Breast Cancer and Its Precursor Lesions: Making Sense and Making It Early.” Central European Journal of Public Health 20.4 (2012): n.pag.: Questia. Web.
Wailoo, Keith. How Cancer Crossed the Color Line, New York: Oxford University Press, 2011. Print.