Statistics show that 1 in 8 women will get breast cancer in their life; most caused by lack of nutrition (O"Donnell and Axelrod, 76). Breast cancer is the result of cells in a part of the body that grow and divide quickly and create a mass of tissue called a tumor. If the cells that are growing out of control are normal cells, the tumor is called benign (not cancerous). Breast cancer can grow and travel to the tissue surrounding the breast, and also to other parts of the body to form new tumors. This process is called metastasis (Pfeuffer and Estrin, 12). .
Breast cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer death among women next to lung cancer (Pfeuffer and Estrin, 12). About 5 percent of women with breast cancer have a hereditary form of this disease (Magee, 12). Many people with family histories of breast cancer perceive their risk of cancer higher than it actually is. In fact, only 5-10 percent of breast cancers develop because of genetics (O"Donnell and Axelrod, 84). It has been said that birth control pills can cause breast cancer. The truth is that some oral contraceptives can increase the risk of breast cancer among certain groups of women. For example, women who took the older, higher-dose estrogen pills long ago, starting in their teens, and into their thirties, seem to have greater risk than those who did not take them. Oral contraceptives only add about 11 cancers per 100,000 women per year (O"Donnell and Axelrod, 85).
Warning signs of breast cancer are:.
• Lump or thickening in or near the breast or in the underarm that persists through the menstrual cycle.
• A mass or lump, which may feel as small as a pea.
• A change in size, shape, or contour of the breast.
• A blood-stained or clear fluid discharge from the nipple.
• A change in the feel or appearance of the skin on breast or nipple (dimpled, puckered, scaly, or inflamed).
