Fighting
BREAST CANCER
with Knowledge BY BEN OWENS
At least one in eight women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. More than 300,000 women and 3,000 men are estimated to be diagnosed with new cases of breast cancer in 2019 alone. Second to lung cancer, breast cancer is the second main cause of cancer death. 85% of breast cancer occurs in women with no family history of breast cancer. These instances of cancer occur as a result of genetic mutations that happen as part of the aging process or as a reaction to experiences throughout our lives. Due to advances in treatment science, early screenings, and increased awareness of symptoms and signs, the mortality risk associated with breast cancer has decreased. Incidence rates have been on the decline since 1989, but there are still roughly 3.1 million breast cancer survivors living in the United States. With the recent trend in cannabis legalization, many patients and survivors have turned to cannabis for relief from symptoms of their cancer and/or conventional treatments, and science has begun to back up the efficacy claimed in anecdotal evidence.
WHAT IS BREAST CANCER?
IN 8 1 T S AT LEA N WILL WOME BREAST OP DEVEL R IN HER E CANC TIME LIFE
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Breast cancer is a cancerous growth that begins in the breast tissues of both women and men, though it is significantly more common among women. As with all cancers, breast cancer begins with an abnormal mutation of cells.1 Cells may be replicating that should not be or sticking around when they should decompose. This abnormal cell growth results in a tumor, which, when malignant, can be the beginning of cancerous growth. For breast cancer, this process begins in the breasts and, in advanced stages, can move to glands and lymph nodes (metastatic cancer), which can then spread throughout the body’s cell network. Even if your family has no history of cancers, these genetic mutations can happen to your cells as a result of getting older or simply through daily life encounters with pollution, chemicals, and everything else we come in contact with.
