Italicized words can be found in a dictionary at NCI.
 What is Breast cancer? |
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Breast cancer is a malignant tumor that arises from a breast tissue. A tumor usually consists of cells that grow in an uncontroled manner. A benign tumor is a group of tumor cells that can live only in the original area. They do not spread to distant areas (metastasis). Their invasion into surrounding tissues is limited. A malignant tumor is a group of tumor cells that can survive somewhere else other than their original environments. They can invade surrounding tissues and spread to distant areas. |
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| Why science? |
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| Our ultimate goal is to understand how malignant cells have acquire such power. We believe that changes in the blueprints of cells (DNA) and/or unusulal usages of information in the blueprints modify the character and behavior of cells. Using scientific approaches, we study changes in DNA (mutations). What we can tell is what had happened to the cancer cells we studied and what happens to cells if a certain gene (a unit of information in DNA) is switched on or off. It is difficult to tell which among thousands of changes caused cancer and it is impossible to tell exactly what will happen to a given cancer patient, which is a limitation of science. However, if we knew what distinguishes cancer cells from normal cells, we could achieve cure of breast cancer. | |||
Various organizations are offering resources for breast cancer information.
Selected links are listed below.
Links
National Cancer Institute (NCI)