Women’s Health
Enter the words “Breast Cancer” in the Search bar top right and click Search – it will show you articles within this site relating to Breast Cancer.
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What is Breast Cancer?
Cancer is a group of diseases that cause cells in the body to change and grow out of control. Most types of cancer cells eventually form a lump or mass called a tumor, and are named after the part of the body where the tumor originates.
Breast cancer begins in breast tissue, which is made up of glands for milk production, called lobules, and the ducts that connect the lobules to the nipple. The rest of the breast is made up of connective, fatty and lymphatic tissue.
Most lumps or masses are benign; in other words they are not cancerous. They do not grow uncontrollably or spread, and are not life-threatening.
• Most cancerous breast tumors are invasive. These cancers start in the lobules or ducts of the breast but have penetrated through the duct or glandular walls to invade the surrounding tissue of the breast.
The seriousness of invasive breast cancer is influenced by the stage of the disease; that is, the extent or spread of the cancer when it is first diagnosed. There are two main staging systems for cancer. The American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) classification of tumors uses information on tumor size and how far it has spread within the breast and nearby organs (T), lymph node involvement (N), and the presence or absence of distant metastases (spread to distant organs) (M). Once the T, N, and M are determined, a stage of I,II, III, or IV is assigned, with stage I being an early stage and stage IV being the most advanced. The AJCC staging system is commonly used in clinical settings.
A simpler system used for staging of cancers is known as the SEER Summary Stage system and is more commonly used in reporting to cancer registries and for public health research and planning. According to this system:
– Local-stage tumors are cancers confined to the breast.
– Regional-stage tumors have spread to surrounding tissue or nearby lymph nodes.
– Distant-stage cancers have metastasized or spread to other organs.
Breast Cancer Diagnosis
If you receive a positive diagnosis for breast cancer, here are some things to keep in mind if you’ve been diagnosed with breast cancer:
1. Breast cancer doesn’t require immediate treatment, so take your time to interview and talk with your potential medical treatment team of doctors. Take a week or two to gather information and make your decision.
2. Don’t be embarrassed or hesitate to ask questions of your doctors. Be sure to have someone with you at the medical visits to help listen and understand what is being recommended, because you may not remember much.
3. Make sure you pick up your breast imaging films and reports to take to your medical treatment planning appointments so that you will have all the information your doctor needs.
4. Every medical treatment plan is different and are geared toward your situation, however they usually have some of the following components: surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, or hormone therapy.
Chartered Divisions of the American Cancer Society, Inc.
California Division, Inc.
1710 Webster Street
Oakland, CA 94612
(510) 893-7900 (O)
(510) 835-8656 (F)
Eastern Division, Inc.
(NJ, NY)
6725 Lyons Street
East Syracuse, NY 13057
(315) 437-7025 (O)
(315) 437-0540 (F)
Florida Division, Inc.
(including Puerto Rico operations)
3709 West Jetton Avenue
Tampa, FL 33629-5146
(813) 253-0541 (O)
(813) 254-5857 (F)
Puerto Rico
Calle Alverio #577
Esquina Sargento Medina
Hato Rey, PR 00918
(787) 764-2295 (O)
(787) 764-0553 (F)
Great Lakes Division, Inc.
(MI, IN)
1755 Abbey Road
East Lansing, MI 48823-1907
(517) 332-2222 (O)
(517) 664-1498 (F)
Great West Division, Inc.
(AK, AZ, CO, ID, MT, ND, NM,
NV, OR, UT, WA, WY)
2120 First Avenue North
Seattle, WA 98109-1140
(206) 283-1152 (O)
(206) 285-3469 (F)
High Plains Division, Inc.
(including Hawaii operations,
KS, MO, NE, OK, TX)
2433 Ridgepoint Drive
Austin, TX 78754
(512) 919-1800 (O)
(512) 919-1844 (F)
Hawaii Pacific Division, Inc.
2370 Nuuana Avenue
Honolulu, HI 96817
(808) 595-7500 (O)
(808) 595-7502 (F)
Illinois Division, Inc.
225 N. Michigan Avenue
Suite 1200
Chicago, IL 60601
(312) 641-6150 (O)
(312) 641-3533 (F)
Mid-South Division, Inc.
(AL, AR, KY, LA, MS, TN)
1100 Ireland Way
Suite 300
Birmingham, AL 35205-7014
(205) 930-8860 (O)
(205) 930-8877 (F)
Midwest Division, Inc.
(IA, MN, SD, WI)
8364 Hickman Road
Suite D
Des Moines, IA 50325
(515) 253-0147 (O)
(515) 253-0806 (F)
New England Division, Inc.
(CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT)
30 Speen Street
Framingham, MA 01701-9376
(508) 270-4600 (O)
(508) 270-4699 (F)
Ohio Division, Inc.
5555 Frantz Road
Dublin, OH 43017
(614) 889-9565 (O)
(614) 889-6578 (F)
Pennsylvania Division, Inc.
Route 422 and Sipe Avenue
Hershey, PA 17033-0897
(717) 533-6144 (O)
(717) 534-1075 (F)
South Atlantic Division, Inc.
(DE, GA, MD, NC, SC, VA,
Washington, D.C., WV)
250 Williams Street
Atlanta, GA 30303
(404) 816-7800 (O)
(404) 816-9443 (F)
National Breast Cancer Coalition/Fund
http://www.stopbreastcancer.org
Cancer Treatment Centers of America
Breast Cancer Network of Strength
Get immediate emotional relief. Talk to a breast cancer survivor.
www.cancer.org
Medical Groups Recognizing Link between abortion and breast cancer -
- a list of medical organizations recognizing a link between abortion and breast cancer is provided below. Telling women their abortions are related to increased breast cancer risk is clearly not good for cancer fundraising businesses, the abortion industry and the pharmaceutical industry. Medical groups whose doctors do not perform abortions or refer women for abortions will be among the first to recognize that abortion raises a woman’s breast cancer risk.
American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists
844 South Washington, Suite 1600
Holland, MI 49423
616-546-2639
www.aaplog.org
National Physicians Center for Family Resources
P.O. Box 59692
Birmingham, AL 35259
205/870-0234
www.physicianscenter.org
Catholic Medical Association
2020 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, #864
Washington, DC 20006
Tel: 1-877-CATHDOC (877-228-4362)
www.cathmed.org
Breast Cancer Prevention Institute
9 Vassar St.
Poughkeepsie, NY 12601
845/452-0797
www.bcpinstitute.org
Breast Care Center-EAMC
G/F OPD Bldg East Avenue Medical Center, East Avenue,
Quezon City, Philippines
Phone: (632)-928-0611 loc 578
E-mail: pfbci_bcc@yahoo.com
http://www.abortionbreastcancer.com/news/Santos/index.htm
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