The American Cancer Society state that over 10% of the female population will develop breast cancer, the positive part to this statistic is that most them will recover from the cancer due to development in the diagnosis methods and treatment, especially in the last thirty years. In the USA it is the second most common cancer in women, second to skin cancer. It can also occur in men, but this is very uncommon. A lot of studies are going on all over America, and a large proportion in Los Angeles where they are looking at the different ethnic origins and how they are affected by cancer. The majority of those diagnosed will be sent for a breast biopsy in Los Angeles.

The most common symptoms of breast cancer are, feeling a lump that isn’t painful, a change to the size or shape of the breast. A dimple or puckering in the breast. Changes in the nipple such as it turning inward or producing discharge, especially if this contains blood. The nipple may also be itchy or sore. Other symptoms are scaly red skin in the breast area. If you have any of these symptoms it is always best to get checked out, the sooner you can deal with the problem the best chance you have of a speedy recovery.

Various studies throughout the world are trying to determine whether the genetic make up of a certain people is making them more pre-disposed to cancer and trying to establish whether is it harder or easier to cure them. It is then important to eradicate the socio ecological factors from this, but the purpose of it is as follows: If you can establish why a certain genetic make up is more likely to get cancer or can get rid of it more easily, then you can hopefully use this towards working out the causes of cancer and then building a cure. There is still a lot for doctors and scientists to learn about cancer, and this is one way that they ae making progress.

So, what happens after a positive diagnosis, the most common process is that you will be sent for    3-D mammography to better detect and locate the breast cancer and then a biopsy. There are several different kinds of biopsies. One of these is a Fine-needle aspiration biopsy, this is used to evaluate a lump, a doctor will insert a very fine needle attached to syringe into the lump and will extract cells or fluid from the lump. A core needle biopsy, this one will be done by a radiologist or a surgeon and will use a thin hollow needle to remove small samples of tissue from the lump. A stereotactic biopsy is used to pinpoint the exact location of the problem. A radiologist will compress the area between two plates and when they have located the correct position they will make a small incision of about 6mm and then use a needle or vacuum powered probe to remove some tissue samples. The third option is surgery to obtain a sample of the lump and send it for testing.