Sunday, November 16, 2008

A little history on breast cancer

It was good to learn a bit about breast cancer, especially considering that I walked for breast cancer just recently and was among many breast cancer survivors. Now I know a little more about what their lives are like.

A little history lesson summarized (see source below):

Breast cancer dates back to 1600 BC (as far as we know) in ancient Egypt. The Egyptians used to cauterize the tumors. The first surgeries removing lymph nodes didn't occur until the early 1800s. In 1882 the first mastectomies occurred, particularly the radical mastectomy. The procedure was popular up until the 1970s and is still common. One in 12-13 women will suffer from breast cancer. Research continues to find a cure.

Source: http://www.syl.com/articles/thehistoryofbreastcancerfightingthemostcommoncancerinwomen.html

David