{"id":25758,"date":"2023-10-25T12:12:28","date_gmt":"2023-10-25T16:12:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.carecloud.com\/continuum\/?p=25758"},"modified":"2025-10-22T13:51:02","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T13:51:02","slug":"careclouds-stance-on-breast-cancer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/carecloud.com\/continuum\/careclouds-stance-on-breast-cancer\/","title":{"rendered":"Thinking Beyond Pink Ribbons: CareCloud\u2019s Stance on Breast Cancer"},"content":{"rendered":"

October is an important month for breast cancer awareness. Charities worldwide promote the cause to increase public knowledge of the disease and raise funds for prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and cure.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sadly, breast cancer affects millions of women globally, with <\/span>2.3 million new diagnoses and 685,000 deaths in 2020 alone<\/span><\/a>. The disease is prevalent in every country and can occur in women of any age after puberty, but the risk increases with age. There were 7.8 million women worldwide diagnosed with breast cancer in the past five years, as of the year 2020 available data.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Breast Cancer: Who Is at Risk?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Breast cancer is the cancer that most frequently affects women in the US, excluding skin cancers. The <\/span>American Cancer Society (ACS)<\/span><\/a> estimates that there is a 13% chance, or a 1 in 8 probability, that a woman in the country will develop breast cancer at some point in life. However, the likelihood of dying from breast cancer is about 2.6% or a 1 in 38 chance.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Breast cancer is not contagious or infectious. Unlike certain types of cancer that are caused by infections, such as cervical cancer, which is linked to human papillomavirus (HPV), there are no known viruses or bacteria associated with the development of breast cancer.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What Factors Increase the Risk of Breast Cancer?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Breast cancer risk factors include increasing age, obesity, harmful use of alcohol, reproductive history, history of radiation exposure, postmenopausal hormone therapy, tobacco use, and family history of breast cancer. However, half of breast cancers occur in women over 40 years of age and of female gender, without any other identifiable risk factors.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Although having a family history of breast cancer increases the risk, most women diagnosed with the disease do not have a known family history. It is important to note that not having a known family history does not necessarily mean reduced risk.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Inherited high penetrance gene mutations, such as those in <\/span>BRCA1, BRCA2, and PALB-2<\/span><\/a>, greatly increase the risk of breast cancer. Risk reduction strategies such as surgical removal of both breasts may be considered for women found to have these mutations.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Signs and Symptoms of Breast Cancer<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Breast cancer may exhibit a range of symptoms, particularly as it progresses. However, most individuals may not encounter any noticeable symptoms during the early stages. Some of the visible signs of breast cancer are:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n