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QualityTool

American Cancer Society: Breast Cancer


Description

This 106-page guide from the American Cancer Society provides detailed information about breast cancer, including information on risk factors, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.

This guide addresses the following topics:

  • What is cancer?
  • What is breast cancer?
    • Normal breast structure
    • Benign breast lumps
    • Breast cancer general terms
    • Types of breast cancers
  • What are the key statistics about breast cancer?
  • What are the risk factors for breast cancer?
    • Risk factors you cannot change
    • Lifestyle-related factors and breast cancer
    • Factors with uncertain, controversial, or unproven effect on breast cancer risk
  • Do we know what causes breast cancer?
  • Can breast cancer be prevented?
    • For women who may be at increased risk
  • Can breast cancer be found early?
    • American Cancer Society recommendations for early breast cancer detection
    • Mammograms 
    • Clinical breast exam
    • Breast awareness and self exam
    • Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
  • How is breast cancer diagnosed?
    • Signs and symptoms
    • Medical history and physical exam
    • Imaging tests used to evaluate breast disease
    • Other tests
    • Biopsy
    • Laboratory examination of breast cancer tissue
  • How is breast cancer staged?
    • Imaging tests to look for breast cancer spread
    • The American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) TNM (Tumor, Nodes, Metastasis) system
    • Breast cancer survival rates by stage 
  • How is breast cancer treated?
    • General types of treatment
    • Surgery for breast cancer
    • Radiation therapy
    • Chemotherapy
    • Hormone therapy
    • Targeted therapy
    • Bisphosphonates
    • High-dose chemotherapy with bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cell transplant
    • Clinical trials
    • Complementary and alternative therapies
    • Treatment of stage 0 (noninvasive) breast cancer
    • Treatment of invasive breast cancer by stage
    • Treatment of breast cancer during pregnancy
    • More treatment information
  • What should you ask your doctor about breast cancer?
  • What happens after treatment for breast cancer?
    • Followup care
    • Lymphedema
    • Quality of life
    • Emotional aspects of breast cancer
    • Body image
    • Sexuality
    • Pregnancy after breast cancer
    • Postmenopausal hormone therapy after breast cancer
    • Seeing a new doctor
    • Lifestyle changes to consider during and after treatment
    • What happens if treatment is no longer working?
  • What's new in breast cancer research and treatment?
    • Causes of breast cancer
    • Gene expression studies and new breast cancer classifications
    • Chemoprevention
    • Newer imaging tests
    • MRI-assisted breast biopsy
    • Treatment
  • Additional resources
Links to the Tool:
This tool is available at: http://documents.cancer.org/acs/groups/cid/documents/webcontent/003090-pdf.pdf (If you don't have the software to open this PDF, download free Adobe Acrobat Reader® software External Web Site Policy.)

Developer

American Cancer Society

Funding Sources

American Cancer Society


QualityTool Topic

Disease/Condition-Related


Related Resources

  • Abeloff MD, Wolff AC, Wood WC, et al. Cancer of the breast. In: Abeloff MD, Armitage JO, Lichter AS, et al, editor(s). Clinical oncology. Philadelphia (PA): Elsevier; 2004. p. 2369-70.
  • American Cancer Society. Cancer facts & figures 2006. Atlanta (GA): American Cancer Society; 2006.
  • American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC). AJCC cancer staging manual. 6th ed. New York (NY): Springer Verlag; 2002. p. 221-40.
  • Avis NE, Crawford S, Manuel J. Quality of life among younger women with breast cancer. J Clin Oncol 2005 May 20;23(15):3322-30. [PubMed]
  • Barthelmes L, Davidson LA, Gaffney C, et al. Pregnancy and breast cancer. BMJ 2005 Jun 11;330(7504):1375-8. [11 references] [PubMed]
  • Dorval M, Guay S, Mondor M, et al. Couples who get closer after breast cancer: frequency and predictors in a prospective investigation. J Clin Oncol 2005 May 20;23(15):3588-96. [PubMed]
  • Early Breast Cancer Trialists' Collaborative Group (EBCTCG). Effects of chemotherapy and hormonal therapy for early breast cancer on recurrence and 15-year survival: an overview of the randomised trials. Lancet 2005 May 14-20;365(9472):1687-717. [PubMed]
  • Holmberg L, Anderson H. HABITS (hormonal replacement therapy after breast cancer—is it safe?), a randomised comparison: trial stopped. Lancet 2004 Feb 7;363(9407):453-5. [PubMed]
  • Margolese RG, Hortobagyi GN, Buchholz TA. Neoplasms of the breast. In: Kufe DW, Pollock RE, Weichselbaum RR, et al, editor(s). Cancer medicine. 6th ed. Hamilton (ON): BC Decker; 2003. p. 1879-2.
  • Pisano ED, Gatsonis C, Hendrick E, et al. Diagnostic performance of digital versus film mammography for breast-cancer screening. N Engl J Med 2005 Oct 27;353(17):1773-83. E-pub 2005 Sep 16. [36 references] [PubMed]
  • Winer EP, Carey LA, Dowsett M, et al. Beyond anatomic staging: is it time to take a leap into the molecular era? In: American Society of Clinical Oncology educational book. Alexandria (VA): American Society of Clinical Oncology; 2005.
  • Wood WC, Muss HB, Solin LJ, et al. Malignant tumors of the breast. In: DeVita VT, Hellman S, Rosenberg SA, editor(s). Cancer: principles and practice of oncology. Philadelphia (PA): Lippincott-Williams & Wilkins; 2005. p. 1415-77.

History

  • Release Date: 09/2004
  • Review Date: 08/2006
  • Recent Summary: 08/2006
  • Original Summary: 10/2004
Disclaimer: The inclusion of a tool in the Innovations Exchange does not constitute or imply an endorsement by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality or Westat of the tool or of the submitter or developer of the tool. Read more.
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Last updated: December 19, 2012.