College Essay On Breast Cancer

When it comes to cancer everyone has their own story to tell . As the disease becomes increasingly more and more common it's almost normal to hear that someone is diagnosed with cancer; a harsh reality . In my own family, both my grandmother and aunt have been affected by breast cancer, and in my grandmother's case, colon cancer, too . I will never forget the day she told us; I had never been so dazed and confused as to what was going on . While my entire family was over at my grandparents home in downtown Walnut Creek, my grandmother pulled my mother aside and told her the awful news; she had colon cancer . Within the next hour all my aunts and uncles were crying, scattered around the house . I personally didn't find out until a couple

Breast cancer is a malignant tumor that starts in the cells of the breast . A malignant tumor is a group of cancer cells that can grow into surrounding tissues or spread to distant areas of the body . (American Cancer Society) The disease occurs almost entirely in women, but men can get it, too . Any woman could be diagnosed at some point in their life, but doctors consider age, family history, and lifestyle to be some of the factors that lead to a diagnosis . (Downshen) Treatment for breast cancer usually depends on the type of cancer and whether the cancer has spread outside of the breast to the rest of the body . In early stages, a patient endures what is called a lumpectomy, which removes the cancerous tumor from the breast . (Downshen) In more advanced cases, a patient will endure a mastectomy, which removes the entire breast to prevent the cancer from coming back . In some cases a woman who have had a mastectomy will undergo a reconstruction operation to reconstruct the breast shape . (Downshen) Following either of these operations is radiation therapy and chemotherapy to ensure that the cancer cells have been destroyed and won’t grow back . Radiation uses high energy X rays to kill the cancerous cells, while chemotherapy uses medicine that travels throughout the entire body to kill cancerous cells