Breast cancer is common form of cancer amongst women. In fact, one out of every eight American women will develop breast cancer!! Scary isn't it? However, with the advances of modern technology, I am relieved to say that cutting off one's breast isn't the only way of treating breast cancer anymore. In fact, mastectomy (amputation of the entire breast) isn't common these days. Most cases of breast cancer are treated with surgery, radiation, chemotherapy and hormone therapy, or a combitation of these treatments.

The purpose of this story isn't to WRITE about breast cancer for there is a multitude of information available on the Web. I am not going to repeat what these sites say. However, the purpose of this site is to showcase the following pictures which I received from my sister. I have to say that I was shocked when I opened the email. It is clearly an eye opener and quite frankly, scared the living daylights out of me. Thankfully, I was made aware of dangers of breast cancer when I was in Australia and now, I faithfully check for lumps on a fairly regular basis (also, I heard / read somewhere that if a female doesn't bear children, the incidence of her getting breast cancer is a lot higher... oh lordi lordi lordi!! I am in the HIGH RISK group!). Australia has an excellent public information system. They have on-going public health campaigns which doesn't stop after 3 months or so, unlike here.

Anyways, due to one of the campaigns I was made aware of breast cancer and let me tell you that even though there is a one in eight chance of me getting the cancer (if I were to base it on the American statistics), checking is still an anxious process. I mean, you read about women getting breast cancer all the time. I have to admit that when I do check, my heart rate goes up, my breathing is laboured etc., much like waiting for the results of your STD test (when was the last time you checked for say, AIDS?). For those of you who don't know how to check for breast cancer, I have taken the liberty of including a detailed step by step instruction here. Bear in mind, this is a pure copy and paste job. Also, if you haven't checked before, I strongly urge you to do so! As with all forms of cancer, it is easier to treat the disease if it is caught in the early stages. You do NOT want what is depicted in the following pictures to happen to you. You do NOT want your mate to get breast cancer. If you are a male, ask your partner (if your mate is indeed a female ) when was the last time she checked for breast cancer. I know a lot of Malaysians frequent my site. Unfortunately, Malaysia isn't too big on public health campaigns. Many females in this country are uneducated regarding breast cancer. Just mention it to your mate, your female friends, family members etc. Doesn't hurt to ask. It doesn't take much time and who knows, you just might save a life!!

On to the pictures:

Progression of untreated breast cancer. Patient presented with enlarged breast in August of 1958.	Patient refused treatment. Blockage of lymph vessels by tumour resulted in this appearance 4.5 months later.
Patient developed nodules and areas of necrosis 8 months after initial presentation.	This progressed into autoamputation of the breast (it fell off on its own).
From M.G. Lebwohl. Atlas of the Skin and Systemic Disease, 1995. Edited text appended by TC.

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