Family members usually sit beside a mother or grandmother or a sister who has been diagnosed as having breast cancer.
Breast Cancer is a cancer of the part of the male and female human body called glandular breast tissue. Around the world, breast cancer accounts temporarily pegged as the fifth most common cause of death. This follows after the more prevalent lung cancer, stomach cancer, liver cancer and colon cancer(Fallowfield, 1991;p. 74).
In 2005, breast cancer was the culprit in more than five hundred two cases of deaths. This represents roughly seven percent of all cancer deaths around the world.The following paragraphs will explain the technicalities surrounding breast cancer in order to unveil the secrets and the fears of inevitable death lurking around the corner. BODY Critically analyse the literature in relation to the issue including the following where appropriate: • Current prevalence theory, principles and issues in relation to family health.
Breast Cancer is the number one cause of cancer deaths in women in 2005 alone. In the United States alone, thirty –three percent of cancer deaths were classified as breast cancer.Also, it has predicted that breast cancer deaths in the United States would reach about 41,000 in 2007 alone. This represents seven percent of the total cancer deaths in the same demography. In terms of probability, the United States females stand to have a one out of eight probability of contracting breast cancer and a thirty three percent chance of dying by way of breast cancer.
Research has shown that the rise in breast cancer has been influenced by the lavish and life –threatening lifestyle of the Western population.Usually, breast cancer starts off as a tiny microscopic cell that then multiples counter to the normal growth procedure of non-cancer cells. The cells stay put temporarily in the basement membrane of the lobule or duct part of the woman’s breast. Unchecked, they then have grown very visible in numbers and could be felt as a hard lump on the breast. The cancer will then burst out of its hiding place in the breast and invade far away places like the other organs in the female’s body.
In our modern day society, breast cancer can be literally removed by surgery.The process is to the lymph nodes in the armpit, the breast tissue and the chest muscle hidden below the breast during the 17th century by Jean Louis Petit, a surgeon from France. This is successful only if the breast cancer will be spotted earlier. Families for many generations have passed on the belief that cancer is caused by heredity. And, environmental factors also play an important part. Thus, family members are taught at a young age not to eat cancer igniting foods like too much fat and smoking.
The family members are admonished not the exceed the maximum body mass index.This is based on the height and the age of the person being examined physically. Current family conversations show that cancer is the aftershock of smoking, living in a polluted environment ( air and water pollution specifically) and inherited from a mother, father, uncle, aunt or grandparents who had contracted and even died from breast cancer. Also, family members believe that cancer will have a greater probability of erupting as the person gets older and older.
If this occurs, the usual treatment would be to combine surgery, radiation and chemotherapy.Surgery is best to remedy a tumor that is localized. The modern ways of combating breast cancer are radiation therapy, hormone therapy, chemotherapy, immune therapy. In addition, the invention of the MammaPrint improved the breast cancer scorecard because the doctors can now predict cancer before it becomes a full blown issue or pain on the patient’s body. Often, the family members are also holding hands as they pray for a speedy recovery of their loved ones from the onset of breast cancer.
In fact the book Understanding Breast Cancer states that “ Friends and relatives can be a major source of support, but face their own difficulties. They have to provide emotional support, physical care and help in making decisions about treatment. Many of the observations about the impact of cancer are as true for them as for the patient. Their response to the illness depends on things such as their relationship to the patient, the stage of the disease and their own personalities”(Ogden, 2004;p. 41) After the surgery, radiation therapy is a very good follow up.This process involves bombarding the recurring cancer cells with gamma rays (XT) or X-rays.
This process is necessary because there is a big possibility new cancer cells will crop up after a prior surgery has removed all cancer cells. • Current research about the problem/issue There are many theories on breast cancer. For , one of the accepted causes of breast cancer is an adult person’s increase in weight gain more than what is normal in relation to his or her age and height (Harvie, 2007; p287).Research done on the relation of 475 women aged between twenty to sixty years of age in a regional family health breast cancer risk clinic as contrasted to only 312 women at population risk shows that the trend of adult weight gain was different between the two groups.
The findings showed that increases in weight gain occurred between the ages of twenty and forty years in both groups of women studied. Thus, the research recommendation was for a need to manage the weight of the research population. Further, women suffering from breast cancer that needed self –support has been less researched as compared with other types of cancer.For, many of the cancer studies focused on the quality of life and what life gives to satisfy the breast cancer patients. The current study here shows that there is evidence proving the occurrence of self assessed support needs of women with breast cancer Scale’s validity, reliability and acceptability.
The risk perceptions of young women from families with hereditary breast cancers(Werner-Lin, 2007;p. 335) shows that genetic testing for breast cancer is use to predict the possibility of women attacked by cancer cells and not used for prophetic discussions.The study further shows that many families often trust on cancer stories inherited from many generations in the past in order to explain the myth and mystery of breast cancer. The research on women with ages from 22 to thirty six show that a BRCA mutation completed answered survey questionnaires. The questionnaires showed breast cancer were mostly based on hearsay passed on from breast cancer incidents that women of the prior generations in the family went through.
One of the inherited theories was that the chances of getting breast cancer increases as the women grew older.And, the family belief was that entire family felt that women must marry at an early age and bear a child before the women grew older. For, the onset of breast cancer was believed to increase as age increase(Esier, 2004; p. 147). Also, families believe they only have some control the environment regarding the marrying age, the child bearing age and the onset of cancer end stage(Pinell, 2002; p.
83). And, DNA repair polymorphisms could help defy the statistics on familial and sporadic breast cancer(Costa, 2007;p. 209).The research was done to determine the effect of polymorphism in the repair of the human DNA genes in the context of familial and sporadic breast cancer.
The findings of the study shows that the study of DNA samples from two hundred eighty five breast cancer patients as well as four hundred forty two subjects under controlled research show that women carrying XRCC1 399 Gln genotype DNA genes that had no breast cancer history in their family were self -protected against the dreaded breast cancer disease. Further, the study shows that DNA repair polymorphisms such as XRCC1 Arg399Gln and XRCC3 Thr241Met were important biological markers of sporadic breast cancer.RAD51 G135C polymorphism affected the modifier risk in familial breast cancer patients. • Current approaches to addressing problem/issue, which may include: In relation to family or heredity factor of breast cancer(Palmero, 2007;p.
363), hereditary breast cancer of HBC chalks up ten percent of breast cancer patients. The research on the effect of sociology and demography of families with one or more family members with Breast cancer onsets show many of the women will be future victims of breast cancer in the range of 19. 8 percent when the Gail and Claus research models were used.The research further showed that many women with a history of breast cancer in their families could not avail of genetic breast cancer screening and counseling because of lack of training of healthcare people, lack of information given to pre –breast cancer patients as well as the difficulty of these women cancer statistics to avail of genetic engineering(Baum, 2001;p. 59).
In addition, many women stuck to their old family theories on breast cancer and refuse to live in the modern world where genetic testing and counseling is a new discovery that would decrease the statistics in terms of breast cancer deaths.Thus, there should be a understanding and pointing to the factors that contribute to breast cancer and the current ways of diagnosing, preventing this life threatening disease as well as killing the disease before it kills the breast cancer patients(Flynn, 2003; p. 41). The current approaches to dealing with breast cancer is to combine all the forces and money of the entire family to alleviate the pain and suffering of a dying relative.Thus, family members would contribute their savings and to watch over the breast cancer patient to try to save her from the welcoming arms of death who is depicted as a man using a robe and holding a wooden staff where a long knife or sheath is attached. Also, family members would remind each other not to smoke or eat too much animal fat.
For, fat is one of the causes if cancer(Rees, 2003; p. 20). Also, smoking is hazardous to a person’s health for it may trigger cancer cells to grow. Likewise, family members remind each other not to eat too much carbohydrate.
For, carbohydrate causes a person to increase weight more than the maximum amount based on a body mass index. Also, family members often remind each other spend family time playing physical sports like basketball, lawn tennis, table tennis, running, jogging, walking, swimming and other “perspiring sports” activities. For, physical activity increases the blood circulation in the body and increases heart beats(Pitts, 1996; p. 51). In fact, family members usually pass jokes around that their aunt contracted breast cancer because a man did not lovingly caress her breast.Also, there are jokes passed around that breast cancer occurs because the breast was not able to produce milk.
Women’s breast only produce milk after they give birth to a child. Also, many family members would remind each other to do a monthly self examination of their breasts and a periodic mammography exam to detect breast cancer even before they can be felt by the cancer sufferers. Family members often tell teach other that early detection is better and less costly than curing an already full blown cancer case(Cohen,2002; p. 144).
