The human body is an amazing machine which functions with systems that
are more advanced than any which man has ever created. However, as with
any machine, malfunctions can occur and these are the diseases which cause
death. Cancer is one of these diseases; it causes death and devastation
for many millions of people each year. The leading cause of death of woman
aged between 40-49 in North America is one of these cancer. It is breast
cancer and the recent fear of it has engulfed women of all ages.
The fear and frustration of breast cancer has affected thousands of
women and their families, mainly in recent years, and it does not seem to
be slowing down. According to the American Cancer Society, bout 184,3000
North American women will discover that they have breast cancer and another
44,300 women will die of it alone. Breast Cancer is a horrible disease and
it devastates thousands of families each year. What makes it even more
difficult to conceive is that a woman is at a very high risk just because
she is a woman. The breasts which have been with her almost all her life,
those which gave her children strength and growth, those which have been a
symbol of beauty are now going to destroy her. These are facts which women
who have the disease must face and the mental and psychological strain is
unimaginable to those who are not affected.
As with mainly all diseases, there is not just one contributing factor
to its existence. Breast Cancer has numerous causes and by studying these
factors, we can see who is at high risk. In a life-time, a person will
either be diagnosed with cancer or die from it. Women between the ages of
25-29 who have used oral contraceptives, or are taking the pill, are 16%
more likely to develop Breast Cancer. Women in the United States, at an
early age, have less of a risk of developing Breast Cancer than a women in
her later age. American C...