Breast Cancer

8 Pages 2032 Words

cancer. Mutations in BRCA1 may account for at least 80 percent of the families with inherited breast cancer (DeFazio 1). According to a study, a woman who receives a mutated BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene has a 56 percent chance of developing breast cancer (571). Stratton (Institute of Cancer Research, UK) described the risk profile of BRCA2 as being similar to the BRCA1 gene. Both the BRCA1 and the BRCA2 genes have more than 100 distinct mutations, with the ratio of breast cancer depending on the site of the mutation (DeFazio 1). Even thorough there are over 100 mutations, the same mutations have been found in different women, but they behave differently depending on the woman (Glazer 572).
Hormone imbalance is an important factor in promoting breast cancer. The hormones that promote breast cancer are increased levels of estrogen and progesterone (Davies 29). A 1995 study found that women that had high levels of estrogen or progesterone had a high incidence of breast cancer (Glazer 559). Lesbians and nuns are in the highest risk of getting breast cancer. The cause of this is because they usually never have children and their estrogen levels stay high during their lifetime (Davies 31).
Dr. Susan Love, a breast surgeon, has begun a counter campaign to stop doctors giving women hormones after menopause. She is worried that the increase risk of breast cancer is greater than the studies that show the hormones reduce the risk of heart disease (Glazer 559). A study published in June 1997 found that the chance of dying was 37 percent lower among women who did not use hormones. Th...