Wellspring

In This Issue

• These Are Curious Times
• A Changing Arsenal
• A Shocking Diagnosis for a Man
• A One-in-a-Million Breast Cancer Diagnosis
• She Knows the Value of Mammograms
• Mastectomy Was Her Decision
• She's Making Each Day Count
• Grandmother's Strategy: Fight and Pray
• Clinical Trials Advance Treatment Options
• Breast Cancer Surgery Options
• Radiation Therapy Can Keep Cancer from Returning
• Stages of Breast Cancer
• Join the Army of Women Helping Breast Cancer Research
• Ten Cancer Myths
• Breast Cancer Death Rates on the Decline
• Lymphedema Management Program
• Understanding Breast Cancer
• Breast Cancer Getting the Facts, Finding Hope
• NorthBay Cancer Center Earns Approval with Six Commendations
• Relay Rallies Funds for American Cancer Society
• Digital Mammography Now Available at Women's Imaging Center
• Cardiac Surgery Has Successful Start
• First Mended Hearts Chapter Forms
• Saving a Heart of Gold
• NorthBay Awarded Chest Pain Center Designation
• NorthBay Health Care Launches Heart & Vascular Interventional Program
• Samer Kanaan, MD Joins Heart & Vascular Surgical Team
• A Dream With Wings
• NorthBay Invests in Green Technology
• Joint Replacement Program Celebrates Second Anniversary
• A Lifetime of Giving
• Wellspring Garners Publication Awards
• NorthBay Guild 'Care Carts' Visit Patients
• Local Teens Take on Nurse Camp
• Genentech's STRIDE Shares Gift with NorthBay's ABC Clinic
• NorthBay's Web Site Has New Look
• Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Celebrates 24 Years
• Experts Team Up for NorthBay Lecture Series
• Welcome New Physicians Fall 2009
• Community Health Education Classes

Understanding Breast Cancer

September 21, 2009 · No Comments

Cancer is uncontrolled cell growth. Breast cancer is a malignant tumor that starts from cells of the breast.

Each year an estimated 200,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer. Surprisingly, 1,700 men will also receive that diagnosis.

There are many types of breast cancer and most are identified by where they originate. Some breast cancers begin in the cells that line the ducts (ductal cancer). Lobular cancer begins in the lobules and a smaller number of cancers begin in other tissues.

In a healthy person, normal body cells grow, divide and die in an orderly fashion. Cells divide rapidly as a baby grows into a child and a child into adulthood. As adults age, most cells divide only to replace worn-out cells or repair injuries.

According to the American Cancer Society, all cancers develop when cells in a part of the body begin to grow out of control. Cancer cells outlive normal cells and eventually displace them.

The best way to survive cancer is to discover it early and obtain medical treatment. That’s why it is so important to know the warning signs of cancer.

Tags: Cancer