Breast Cancer Symptoms and Treatment Breast cancer is the most common malignant tumor among women and has the highest mortality rate of all cancers affecting this sex . It is the leading cause of death among women aged 35 to 54. In 1999, an estimated 175,000 women were diagnosed with breast cancer. That is one woman every three minutes. At the same time, 43 thousand people will die, at a rate of one every two minutes. The incidence of men diagnosed with breast cancer is rare, however it does occur. Approximately 1,300 men are diagnosed with the disease each year, and 400 die each year from the disease. Overall, 75% of all breast cancers occur in women with no known risk factors. 80% of breast cancers occur in women age 50 and older. The mortality rate would decrease if every woman over 50 was informed and followed the guidelines. If confined to the breast, the survival rate is 95%. Studies have shown that more white women than black women get breast cancer, yet more black women die from breast cancer because they are not diagnosed at an early stage. Most breast tumors appear as a slow-growing, painless mass, although vague discomfort may be present. present. Physical signs include retracted nipple, bleeding from the nipple, distorted areola or breast contour, skin dimpling over the lesion, attachment of the mass to surrounding tissues, including the underlying fascia and overlying skin, and enlarged lymph nodes. In the more advanced stages of the disease, skin nodules can be observed with definitive rupture and the formation of ulcers. Metastases should be looked for immediately so that further spread is not a factor. The most common sites of metastasis include the lungs and pleura, the skeleton (particularly the spine, pelvis, and skull), and the liver. When possible, distance… middle of paper… most effective in palliating symptoms or delaying the progression of breast cancer. It is often combined with radiation therapy when the cancer recurs following a mastectomy and when the cancer is so advanced that surgery is not indicated or is palliative. Chemotherapy Chemotherapy is useful in patients who have a high risk of developing cancer recurrence after a mastectomy. Chemotherapy is used in the management of patients with breast cancer recurrence usually after failure of previous hormonal manipulations. A variety of chemotherapeutic agents are used in various combinations, sometimes with a corticosteroid to suppress endogenous adrenal function or with the estrogen antagonist tamoxifen. Chemotherapeutic agents have proven useful in arresting or delaying the appearance of metastases, especially in premenopausal patients, and in the treatment of recurrences.