Saving the World's Breasts

Kate Jackson, Melissa Etheridge, Edie Falco, Suzanne Somers, Jaclyn Smith, Olivia Newton John, Shirley Temple, and Anastacia. They are only the very few who have survived the fearful clench of the wicked claws of breast cancer among millions of women world-wide. In America, an average of 180,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year. The same report indicated an increase in breast cancer incidence among Asian and Pacific Islander women.

In the United Kingdom, the survival rate for breast cancer cases is also on the rise. From 52 percent survival rate among diagnosed cases from 1971 to 1975, the relative five-year survival rate improved to 80 percent from 2001 to 2003. The Cancer Research UK also reported an increase for relative twenty-year survival rate from 44 percent in the early 90s to 64 percent for the most recent period. Still in UK, the classified measurement of breast cancer survival rate according to age, stage of diagnosis, and access to treatment has led to more progressive efforts in mitigating the claims on women's lives.

Albeit generally leaning on the positive slant, the increase of survival rate on breast cancer cases still has a long way to balance the death rates. Of the average 180,000 breast cancer cases diagnosed each year (this is in America alone), it was projected that about 40,410 lives were claimed in 2005. The death rate is continuously decreasing since 1990, but a 40,000 or so figure is still a big number especially if we are talking about human lives, women at that. Good thing everyone seems to be vigilant about this health concern.

Various sectors of the society recognize the scale and magnitude of deaths and damages caused by breast cancer. They are very much aware that apathy is their greatest nemesis. Multi-sectoral efforts continue to accelerate in the attempt to save more lives. Medical researches, technological innovations, governmental, and non-governmental advocacy campaigns are launched almost everywhere exhausting all possible efforts to save more beasts and lives.

Commendable is the undying dedication of many scientists, researchers, and health institutions around the world to arrive at deeper studies on the causes, risk reduction, treatment, and post-treatment care of breast cancer. The affiliates of www.breastcancer.org have not only made remarkable feats in doing researches but have also made their findings easily accessible to the larger public. New researches on risk and genetics, environmental and lifestyle factors, screening and clinical trials, surgery, *radiation therapy*, herceptin, and many others are available for public reading through their website.

The United State's National Cancer Institute is on a progressive partnership with many federal and private entities in providing resources and funding for breast cancer researches. In UK, the Cancer Research UK has been instrumental in the improvement of currently available treatments and the study and discovery of new ones. The group is responsible for the International Breast Cancer Intervention Study, the on-going international collaboration of doctors and scientists called the Early Breast Cancer Trialists Collaborative Group (EBCTG), along with many fundings they provide to other progressive measures.

Civic groups are also very active in campaigning for breast cancer awareness and prevention. Breakthrough, a leading charity group in UK, has thousands of member sharing a single vision of a future free from the fears of breast cancer. Breakthrough is currently on its way of developing new treatments for breast cancer through its researches on new drug tests, drug resistance, and treatment for hereditary breast cancer.

Movie stars, musicians, athletes, socialites, are also contributing to the efforts to fight breast cancer. Ann Jillian has turned herself into a motivational speaker, sharing her story to others on how she coped with breast cancer. Anastacia has been on different breast cancer awareness programs after surviving the disease. Celine Dion, Courtney Cox-Arquette, Amy Jo Johnson, Alison Krauss, Erin Brokovich, and Whoopi Goldberg are just some of the stars speaking in an online talking dictionary about breast cancer in breastcancer.org. It will not come as a surprise to see Sheryl Crow added on the list one of these days, after winning her own battle against breast cancer. Unbelievably, even Hollywood is taking part in the fight to promote awareness about this major killer.