Kpeli 2 Yanira Kpeli Mrs. Douglas Eng 112-78 : Nov. 6, 2014 Round Table Essay Breast cancer is a serious disease which affects one in eight women. Though there is no known cause for breast cancer there are some risks factors one should take into consideration. ‘Some risks factors to consider are family history of the disease, increased exposure to estrogen, frst pregnancy after the age of 31, or no pregnancy at all, being overweight, and having had cancer sett eas ben si that getting mammograms isa great way to increase onés chances of survival, Ifa person is diagnosed with breast cancerythey have different treatment options depending on the results from the pathologist who test the tissue sample from the biopsy. Men too can be diagnosed with breast cancer but women are 100% more likely to be diagnosed with the disease. ‘The voices in the round table, regarding breast cancer are, Susan Love, Katherine Hobson and the Harvard Medical School. Each voice talks about different aspects of breast cancer. Susan Love explains the politics of breast cancer and explains how little awareness of breast cancer there was in the past and the abundance of knowledge we have on the topic today and why. Katherine Hobson described how little treatment options women had in the past and compares it to choices women have today. The Harvard Medical School demonstrates the different types of invasive and noninvasive breast cancer diagnoses, risk factors, treatments, ways to help prevent Sg breast cancer and symptoms to look out for.Kpeli 2 Susan Love explains in,*The Politics of Breast Cances" how back in the 1950's there was only one group named “Reach to Recovery,” which was a group of women who were breast, cancer survivors, and would go to the hospitals to talk to recently diagnosed women. Soon after supports groups were formed but members did not have medical degrees. In the past, breast cancer was a disease which was not talked about. Once celebrities like Shirley Temple Black, First Lady Betty Ford and then governor of New York, let the world know they had breast cancer people realized how serious and dangerous the disease really was and still is today. Susan Love did not realize how much the lack of support from the White House affected the women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer until she was on tour for her book. Susan said sarcastically, “I don’t know what we have to do to make President [HW] Bush wake -) up and do something about breast cancer. Maybe we should march topless to the White House."(¢ Soon aftershe got huge response from women who wanted to know where they could sign up for the march. (Chat was when she realized a national organization was needed for these women to get the answers to their questions and the help they need. Susan started speaking to leaders of different organizations and scheduled an open meeting in Washington for all of those interested in the cause. The day of the meeting they had no idea who would show up, and to their surprise, the room was packed. Representatives from different well known organizations Schuck as, The American Cancer Association, American Jewish Congress and many more. On thet day they started The National Breast Cancer Organization, Fran Visco, a breast cancer survivor and lawyer from Philadelphia, was elected Med am shes i today. Their first project was called “Doing the Write Thing” in 1991 The purpose of the project was to collect 175,000 letters for the 175,000 women diagnosed with the disease and take them to the White House, but they were overwhelmed and received 600,000Kpeli 3 letters. They boxed the letters and took them to the White House where women who had mastectomies lifted these boxes on to the conveyer belt because the guards did not help them. ‘Though they were ignored by the White House, Congress finally granted them forty-three million dollars. After, what they considered a minor success, they held meetings with scientists and realized they needed another $300 million, Through much fighting and pursuance, Senator Tom Harkin was able to get them $310 million dollars.(This was a great success and the beginning of the awareness as well as research. They started more projects and eventually were able to get into the White House and meet with President Clinton about the issue. Four years after they started the Breast and Cervical Cancer Treatment Act was enacted; this was a big win because it helped the low income women who were screened and diagnosed with cancer. Katherine Hobson is a health and science writer based out of New York City. Katherine wrote an article names New Treatment for Breast Cancer” where she compares the increase in survival rate and decrease in recurrence between old and new treatments/drugs. Herceptin, which is a drug previously given to women to give them some extra time because the cancer had spread to different parts of the body, is now being used in combination with chemotherapy. This combination has reduced the recurrence rate from thirty three percent to fifteen percent from those treated with chemotherapy alone. Though the women are not considered cleared and cured fiom the disease ghey have hope and knowledge that new drugs and treatment methods are stil in ‘the works. New treatments are formed based on the new information discovered about the disease. ‘Women diagnosed with HER2, a breast cancer tumor which makes too much protein, had little options after chemotherapy. After a few studies completed by researchers, it was concluded that Herceptin was a successful drug to use after chemotherapy, for those diagnosed with HER2,Kpeliia which is a very aggressive tumor. Women now have a drug that can increase their chances of survival, something they did not previously have. Many women will be alive in the future that ‘would probably not have survived the disease. Researchers are trying to figure out new treatment methods, as well as trying to figure out who it will work for and who it will not, is a continuous struggle. “One drug that isn't limited to a specific tumor type is Avasin, a drug already shown to help in other cancers by choking off the tumor’s blood supply.” Genentech, a biotechnology corporation and Roche, a Swiss global health care company, both stated that a combination of chemo and Avastin doubles ones survival without recurrence. For example, a woman named, Heraleen Broome, was going through chemo when she was informed that the cancer has spread to her lungs. Broome was about to give up but decided to stay in chemo and try Avastin and soon after the eleven tumors in her lungs tumed into three. With all the good results from the new tceatment methods there are also negative side effects. “Herceptin for example, can cause heart problems in a small percentage of patients.” A low-fat diet may be a risk free and inexpensive way to reduce recurrence of breast cancer. There are also studies which demonstrate that exercise could increase the patient's chance of survival. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that a healthy lifestyle will beat the disease. No matter what one’s background, age or beliefs are, each breast cancer diagnoses is unique to the individuals, Also, patient’s treatment decisions will be different from others based on insurance, their doctors recommendations, and what will work best for them. One thing to take into consideration, if diagnosed, is to ensure your doctor is up-to-date on all the therapies available. It is also important to get involved, informed and participate in available clinical trials.kpeli 5 Cinical ras allow patients to be constantly monitored, receive beter care of and given new treatments not available to others. The article from the Harvard Medical School named, “Breast Cancer” informs readers on exactly what is breast cancer from beginning to end, “Breast cancer is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells that can develop in one of several areas of the breast, including the ducts that carry milk to the nipple, small sacs that produce milk and non-glandular tissue.” The main forms of invasive breast cancer, starting from most common to least common a ie pyninl, arecinvasive ductal cxinon Pei lar acinoms medullary, mucinous, and tubular carcinomas, Paget’s disease and inflammatory carcinoma. The non-invasive or precancerous conditions are known as: ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS). Most women would only be concerned about breast cancer if she or her physician felt a Jump but there are some symptoms women should look out for. The symptoms are a lump or ‘thickening in the breast or under the arm, a clear or bloody discharge from the nipple, crusting or scaling of the nipple, a nipple that no longer sticks out (inverted), redness or swelling of the breast, dimpling on the breast skin resembling the texture of an orange, a change on the contours of the breast and a sore ulcer on the skin of the breast that does not heal. Once a physician finds a patient having any symptoms or abnormalities, a mammogram would be recommended, which will be followed by an ultrasound or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). A biopsy would follow if the lump is found to be solid. A pathologist will examine and test the tissue sample from the biopsy and determine what type of breast cancer the patient has. The results from the pathologist will help determine the patient’s treatment method. “Breast cancer will continue to grow and spread until it is treated,” according to the Harvard Medical School. Bones scans, CT (computed tomography) scans or PET scans could be required to ensure the cancer has not spread.Kpeli 6 Most treatment for breast cancer begins with surgery. “A mastectomy removes the entire breast. A lumpectomy removes only the cancerous tumor and a small amount of healthy tissue around it,” aecording tothe Harvard Medical School, Testing can bs completed onthe cancerous breast tissue removed in surgery. This action will help determine if and what kind of therapy is needed. According to the Harvard Medical School, The types of therapy are radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, targeted therapy or a combination of therapies. The therapies listed help lower the chances of recurrence of the spread of cancer. Physicians might prescribe chemotherapy prior to surgery in order to compress large tumors, this process will make it easier to remove the tumor in surgery. Early detection is important because women whose tumors are found small and restricted to a certain area have a ninety percent chance of surviving five years or longer. However, if the disease spreads, chances for survival are lowered to twenty percent. It is very important for women to continue to have regular check-ups and mammograms if they have had breast cancer on one breast, even if they are still in treatment, because they are at higher risk of getting the disease on the other breast. ‘The three voices in this essay explain different aspects of breast cancer but in the end they have one thing in common, which is bringing awareness and knowledge to their readers. All the voices, in their own way, demonstrate the seriousness of breast cancer. The fight to bring awareness to the world is discussed in Susan Love’s article. Love’s article is the reason researches were and still are able to lear so much about the disease and new treatment, and better treatments, were discovered. The evolution of the treatment methods were described in Katherine Hobson’ article. Of course, all the information documented by the Harvard Medical School wouldn't be available to readers today without informati mn required from the pastKpeli 7 ‘Today we know that breast cancer is a serious disease: every woman should be concemed about it. Thankfully, there are treatments available today to help women beat breast cancer and new developments about the disease are still in progress. The Harvard Medical School and is a place where the members of the round table come together with researchers to find a cure for breast cancer. 7 Ke conclu wer Work Cited: "Breast Cancer." Harvard Medical School Health Topics A-z. Boston: Harvard Health Publications, 2013. Credo Reference. Web. 20 October 2014. Hobson, Katherine, "New Treatments for Breast Cancer." Cancer. Ed, Clayton Farris Naff. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008, Contemporary Issues Companion. Rpt. from "Beating the Odds." U.S. News & World Report (13 June 2005). Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 10 Oct. 2014. " Dr. Susan Love's Breast Book. New York: Da Capo, 2010. Credo Reference. Web. 07 October 2014.