Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women, other than skin cancer. It is the second leading cause of cancer death in women after lung cancer. The American Cancer Society predicts that there will be about 182,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer in the year 2000. Fortunately, deaths from breast cancer have declined significantly, which is though to be due to better detection and improved treatment.
Screening by breast exam and regular mammogram as recommended greatly increases the chance of early diagnosis and is important for women of all ages.
Once a breast cancer is diagnosed, the focus of care depends on the stage of disease and the personal goals of the individual. An elderly woman with a less aggressive type of cancer may wish to avoid aggressive treatments and pursue palliative treatments, while for a younger woman, aggressive therapy targeted at achieving remission is usually desired.
Treatment strategy depends on the stage of disease and the goals of care for the individual. Treatment usually consists of a combination of surgery, medication, radiation, and/or chemotherapy.
The Medifocus Guide on Breast Cancer, Metastatic provides answers to the following important questions and medical issues:
What are the most common symptoms of breast cancer?
Are there any recognized risk factors for developing breast cancer?
What kinds of medical tests are used to establish the diagnosis of breast cancer?
What is the current standard of care for the treatment of breast cancer?
What treatment options are available for the management of breast cancer?
Are there any promising new developments or potential breakthroughs in treatment?
Who are the most notable medical authorities who specialize in breast cancer?
Where are the leading hospitals and centers of research for breast cancer?
What are the most important questions to ask my doctor about breast cancer?
What Your Doctor Reads:
This MediFocus Guide contains an extensive listing of citations and abstracts of recent journal articles that have been published about this condition in trustworthy medical journals. This is the same type of information that is available to physicians and other health care professionals. A partial selection of journal articles that are abstracted in this MediFocus Guide includes:
Health food store recommendations for breast cancer patients. Archives of Family Medicine. 2000
Trastuzumab in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer : anticancer therapy versus cardiotoxicity. Circulation. 2000
Bisphosphonates and the prevention of metastasis: first evidences from preclinical and clinical studies. Cancer. 2000
Molecular mechanisms of osteolytic bone metastases. Cancer. 2000
21-day oral etoposide for metastatic breast cancer: a phase II study and review of the literature. American Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2000
Multidisciplinary care for patients with breast cancer. Surgical Clinics of North America. 2000
High-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplantation for breast cancer. Cancer Investigation. 2000
Endocrine therapy for breast cancer. Oncology (Huntington). 2000
Systematic reviews of chemotherapy and endocrine therapy in metastatic breast cancer. Cancer Treatment Reviews. 2000
Sentinel lymph node biopsy for the detection of metastases. Cancer Journal From Scientific American. 2000
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