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Some Good News About Breast Cancer
still evokes panic in most people, the fact is we’ve come a long way. In the past, a breast cancer diagnosis oftentimes meant a death sentence—or at least years of illness and fight in prolonging the inevitable.
WHILE THE “C” WORD
Right Before Your Eyes
But, just since 1990, breast cancer mortality has decreased by 37 percent. According to the Susan G. Komen Foundation, nine out of 10 women with breast cancer live beyond five years after diagnosis. Advances that have contributed to this progress include:
DRUG THERAPIES
Better chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and other drugs are prolonging lives and improving quality of life…not to mention boosting cure rates to alltime highs.
SCREENING
The awareness and importance of mammography, MRI scans, and other screening techniques have aided in the early diagnoses of more than 90 percent of breast cancers, allowing treatment to begin in early stages when it’s most effective.
RADIATION THERAPY
Thanks to improved radiation treatments, recurrence rates are down significantly, and fewer women have to undergo surgery.
PREVENTION
SURGERY
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20 LKN
Once upon a time, it was common for women to have the entire breast(s) and even part of the chest wall removed, but today’s surgeries are far less invasive. Early-stage breast cancer is often treated with lumpectomy only. | OCTOBER 2016
New drugs, as well as preventative surgeries, have reduced the risk of breast cancer in many women, including those with genetic mutations, such as BRCA gene, which predispose them to the disease. For more information on breast cancer, visit www.komen.org.