Breast Cancer is similar to other kinds of cancer in that it is caused by the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in the body. I was told by my doctors in 1992 that there are over seventeen different kinds of breast cancer. One rare kind, which is a very fast killer, can kill you in a matter of weeks. This I was told by my social worker at the hospital, who was counseling the husband of a woman, who had just been diagnosed with breast cancer and then died with days of the diagnosis. Other types take decades to develop. By now, in 1997, probably even more kinds have been discovered and identified.
The breast are designed to produce milk and are made up of both ducts and lobes. Each breast consists of from 15 to 20 lobes, or segments and the duct of each lobe opens separately on the nipple. Between the surface skin and the underlying muscles there is a fatty layer on the front of the chest where the breast develops. The breast is made up of both glandular structure embedding in fatty tissue which give the breast form and the lobes which are separated and supported by strands of fibrous tissue. Infiltrating ductal carcinoma begins in the breast ducts and is a common form of cancer. Lobular carcinoma originates in the milk producing glands. With time the disease develops and breast cancer cells can advance and collect into the underarm lymph nodes. From their it can spread or metastasize to the lymph system, lungs, liver, heart, bones or brain. It is spread through blood or by the lymphatic vessels.
So exactly what is breast cancer? Cancer is a disease when abnormal cells in some organ or tissue, in this case the breast, grow out of control and increase in number. When these cells form a mass it is called a tumor, which can enlarge locally and invade and destroy normal tissue around it or it can spread to different body parts, as described above. Some breast cancer is hormone dependent and test can show if a tumor has hormone receptor in its cells, in other words, it may be an estrogen receptive positive cancer. That means the cancer uses the hormone estrogen to grow. Harmone thearapy can interrupt the flow of estrogen to starve and kill the tumor. Tamoxifen is the main anti-estrogen drug.
The following is a quote from the handbook , Facts on Breast Cancer by the Canadian Cancer Society; " Cancer of the breast can have all the features which are characteristic of cancers in general. The tumor usually arises from the cells of milk sacs or milk ducts, although malignant tumors occasionally arise from the supporting structure. Even a cancer arising from the sacs or ducts may show variation. It may grow into the duct canal and signal its presence early with bleeding from the nipple.Alternatively, it may grow into the breast tissue as a mass which is usually very hard, but may, with some kinds of tumors, be soft. Cancer of the breast occurs almost exclusively in women - in fact, it is one hundred times more common in women than in men."-end quote. About 1 per cent of all breast cancers are in men.
More than 10 times as many people are dying of breast cancer in Canada than from AIDS. Canada ranks second in the world for the highest incident rate of breast cancer. Statistics Canada data in 1994, states that there were 17,000 new cases and 5,400 deaths from breast cancer. While HIV/AIDS deaths in Canada were 1474 during 1992-93. I am unable to find the actual Statistics Canada rate for Breast Cancer deaths in 1992-93.( More women died of lung cancer than of breast cancer in 1993. )
And in the United States, The American Cancer Society estimates that in 1995, 182,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and 46,000 women will die from it. Compare to the Aids death rate of 74,180 cases in 1995 and approximately 5,000 deaths.
Yet, watching the Oscars awards on television I noticed few, if any pink ribbons worn by actors and actresses, but many red ribbons worn in support of AIDS awareness. At a gala theater opening in Toronto, I only saw 3 pink ribbons worn, but over 100 or so red ribbons. My conclusion is that it is more in fashion to support AIDS/SIDS awareness, rather than Breast Cancer awareness. I recieved this email , "I have the pink ribbon on my site and am glad to be promoting such a cause. it sometimes seems like all people care about is aids and like i never see anyone wear the pinkribbon in hollywood and stuff, only the red which ticks me off." However, I do not want to slight the loss or deaths caused by Aids or in any way offend those with the disease of Aids. I feel that both diseases deserve the funding and resources to find a cure. I recieved an email recently saying," I don't think it's right to make people concerned with the two diseases fight with each other over funding or the limelight- we are allies, not enemies." Any death from either disease is no less costly or more acutely felt.
While Modern Medicine seems good on the attack; which is surgery, radiation and chemotherapy; alternative medicine seems better on the build up of the body, through diet , vitamins, food supplements, and exercise.
By Carol Sutton
Written on Valentines Day February 14, 1997
