1. The youngest
known survivor of breast cancer is Aleisha Hunter from Ontario, Canada. At only three years old, Aleisha
underwent a complete mastectomy in 2010 to treat her juvenile strain of
breast cancer.
2. Breast cancer is
the most common type of cancer among American women after skin cancer. It is
the second leading cause of cancer death in women after lung cancer.
3. The first
operation to use anesthesia was a breast cancer surgery.
4. The incidence of
breast cancer is highest in more developed countries and lowest in less
developed countries.
5. The left breast
is statistically more prone to developing cancer than the right breast.
Scientists are unsure why.
6. In the U.S., an
average of 112 women die of breast cancer every day, or one every 15 minutes.
7. The United States
has the most cases of breast cancer in the world.
8. The first
recorded mastectomy for breast occurred in A.D. 548 on Theodora, Empress of
Byzantine.
9. Only 5-10% of
breast cancers occur in women who have a genetic predisposition for it.
However, women with the gene mutation run a lifetime risk as high as 4 in 5
of developing the disease. The risk of developing ovarian cancer also rises
to 2 in 5.
10. When breast
cancer spreads beyond the breast, it is said to be “metastatic.” The most
common places breast cancer spreads to are the bones, liver, and lungs.
11. There are
currently 2.5 million breast cancer survivors living in the United States.
12. During 2002-2006,
95% of new cases and 97% of breast cancer deaths occurred in women 40 years
and older. The biggest single risk factor for breast cancer is age.
13. White women have
a higher incidence of breast cancer than African American women. However,
African American women are more likely to die from breast cancer than white
women.
14. Currently, about
1 in 3,000 pregnant or lactating women will develop breast cancer. Research
has shown that once a woman has been diagnosed with breast cancer during pregnancy, her chances of survival are less
than a non-pregnant woman.
15. It has been
estimated that if every woman over the age of 50 had her yearly mammogram,
breast cancer deaths in this age group would drop by 25% or more.
16. Breast cancer in
men is rare, accounting for approximately 1% of breast cancer rates in the
U.S. Nearly 400 men die of breast cancer each year. African American men are
more likely to die from breast cancer than white men.
17. Risk factors for
male breast cancer include age, BRCA gene mutations, Klinefelter’s syndrome,
testicular disorders, a family history of female breast cancer, severe liver
disease, radiation exposure, being treated with estrogen-related drugs, and
obesity.
18. One in 40 women
of Ashkenazi (French, German, and East European) Jewish descent carry the
BRCA1 and BRCA2 (breast cancer) gene, which is significantly higher than in
the general population where only 1 in 500 to 800 people carry the gene.
19. The risk for
breast cancer increases when a woman has been using HRT for more than five
years. The largest risk is when both estrogen and progesterone are given
together. Women who have had a hysterectomy and are taking pills containing
estrogen alone are at less of a risk.
20. One myth about
breast cancer is that a person’s risk is increased only when there are
affected relatives on the mother’s side of the family. However, the father’s
side of the family is equally important in assessing breast cancer risk.
21. Tumors are more
likely to be malignant when they are firm and have irregular shapes, while
benign tumors are more likely to feel round or soft. However, it is important
to see a doctor when any lump is found in the breast.
22. In 1810, the
daughter of John and Abigail Adams, Abigail “Nabby” Adams Smith (1765-1813)
was diagnosed with breast cancer. She underwent a grueling mastectomy—without
anesthesia. Unfortunately, she still eventually died from the disease three
years later.
23. Breast cancer was
often called the “nun’s disease” because of the high incidence of nuns
affected by the cancer.
24. Mammography was
initially used in 1969 when the first specialized X-ray units for breast
imagining were developed.
25. In 1882, the
father of American surgery, William Steward Halstead (1852-1922), introduced
the first radical mastectomy (the breast tissue underlying chest muscle and
the lymph nodes are removed). Until the mid 1970s, 90% of women with breast
cancer were treated with this procedure.
26. Breastfeeding has
consistently been shown to reduce breast cancer—the greater the duration, the
greater the benefit.
27. Although not
fully understood, research suggests that pre-eclampsia is associated with a
decrease in breast cancer risk in the offspring and the mother.
28. There are a number
of misconceptions about what can cause breast cancer. These include, but are
not limited to, using deodorants or antiperspirants, wearing underwire bras,
having a miscarriage or induced abortion, or bumping/bruising the breast
tissue.
29. A JAMA study
reports that women who had taken between one and 25 antibiotic prescriptions
over an average of 17 years had an increased risk for breast cancer. The
results do not mean women should stop taking antibiotics but that these
medicines should be used wisely.
30. Women with high
breast density were found to have a four- to six-fold increased risk of
breast cancer compared with women with lower breast density.
31. No association
has been found between breast implants and an increased risk of breast
cancer. However, the FDA recently announced that breast implants might be
associated with anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL). ALCL is not breast
cancer, but may show up in the scar capsule surrounding the implant.
32. One study found
that increased exposure to ethylene oxide, a fumigant used to sterilize
medical experiments, is associated with higher breast cancer risk among women
who work in commercial sterilization facilities.
33. Nurses who work
night shifts and flight attendants who have circadian rhythm disruption have
a higher risk of breast cancer with long-term employment. The International
Agency for Research on Cancer recently concluded that shift work, especially
at night, is carcinogenic to humans.
34. Currently a woman
living in the U.S. has a 12.1% (or 1 in 8) chance of being diagnosed with
breast cancer. In the 1970s, the risk was 1 in 11. The increase is most
likely due to longer life expectancy as well as changes in reproductive
patterns, longer-term menopausal hormone use, increased obesity, and
increased screening.
35. The most common
type of breast cancer (70%) originates in the breast ducts and is known as ductal
carcinoma. A less common type of breast cancer (15%) is known aslobular
carcinoma, or cancer that originates in the lobules. More rare types of
cancers include medullary carcinoma, Paget’s disease, tubular carcinoma,
inflammatory breast cancer, and phyllodes tumors.
36. Nearly 10.4 % of
all cancers in women is breast cancer.
37. Approximately 1.2
million cases of breast cancer are diagnosed around the world each year.
About 75% are found in women over age 50.
38. The American
Journal of Clinical Nutrition reports a higher risk of breast cancer
in women who take multivitamins.
39. Research has
found that pomegranates may help prevent breast cancer. Chemicals called
ellagitannins block the production of estrogen, which can fuel some types of
breast cancer.
40. Studies report
that breast cancer patients with diabetes were nearly 50% more likely to
die than those who didn’t have diabetes.
41. Long-term breast
survivors who were treated with radiation before 1984 have much higher rates
of death due to heart disease.
42. There is a strong
correlation between increased weight and breast cancer, especially those who
gained weight in adolescence or after menopause. Body fat composition in the
upper body also increases the risk.
43. On average, it
takes 100 days or more for a cancer cell to double in size. It takes about 10
years for cells to divide to a size that can be actually felt.
44. Notable women who
have been diagnosed with breast cancer include “Sex and the City” star
Cynthia Nixon (diagnosed in 2006 at age 40), Sheryl Crow (diagnosed in 2006
at 44), Kylie Minoque (diagnosed in 2005 at 36), Elizabeth Edwards (diagnosed
in 2004 at 55), Jaclyn Smith (diagnosed in 2002 at 56), and Christina
Applegate (diagnosed in 2008 at 36). Other historical figures include Mary
Washington (mother of George Washington), Empress Theodora (wife of
Justinian), and Anne of Austria (mother of Louis the XIV).
45. Breast cancer was
one of the first cancers to be described by ancient physicians. For example,
physicians in ancient Egypt described breast cancer more than 3,500 years
ago. One surgeon describes “bulging” tumors in the breast of which “there is
no cure.”
46. In 400 B.C.,
Hippocrates describe breast cancer as a humoral disease caused by black bile
or melancholia. He labeled cancer karkinos,
meaning “crab,” because the tumors seemed to have tentacles which looked like
the legs of crab.
47. To disprove the
theory that breast cancer was caused by an imbalance of the four body humors,
namely an excess of bile, French physicians Jean Astruc (1684-1766) cooked a
slice of breast cancer tissue and a slice of beef and then chewed both. He
said that because they tasted exactly the same, breast cancer tumor does not
contain bile or acid.
48. Some physicians
throughout history have proposed that breast cancer was caused by several
factors, including lack of sex—which caused reproductive organs, such as the
breast, to atrophy and rot. Other physicians suggested that “vigorous sex”
blocked the lymphatic system, that depression restricted blood vessels and
trapped coagulated blood, and that a sedentary lifestyle slowed bodily
fluids.
49. Jerome Urban
(1914-1991), who practiced the super-radical mastectomy in 1949, would remove
not only the breast and axillary nodes but also the chest muscles and
internal mammary nodes in a single procedure—often on patients who had tumors
less than a centimeter large. He stopped in 1963 when he became convinced it
worked no better than the less mutilating radical mastectomy.l
50. October is
National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM). The first NBCAM took place in
October 1985.
51. Studies show that
social isolation and stress can increase the speed at which
breast cancer tumours grow in animal models.
52. Not all lumps
that are found in the breast are cancerous but may be a fibrocystic breast
condition (disease), which is benign.
53. Researchers
speculate that left-handed women are more prone to developing breast cancer
because they are exposed to higher levels of certain steroid hormones in the
womb.
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