Download 3000-2000 B.C. The Ancient Egyptians were the first to recognize

3000-2000 B.C.
The Ancient Egyptians were the first to recognize and treat breast cancer. Although the
Babylonians had some knowledge of the body and performed simple surgical operations, the
Egyptians were the first to develop a specialized medical profession and a written knowledge of
anatomy and surgery. The Egyptians' treatment for breast cancer was to cut off the diseased tissue a rudimentary form of mastectomy done without anesthesia and no understanding of sterility - and
then to cauterize the wound. And as for the origin of breast cancer, as well as other diseases, the
Egyptians blamed foreign gods and prayed to the gods Bes and Sekhmet to protect them.
400 B.C.
In Greece, Hippocrates (460-377 B.C.) took the idea of illness as science further than the Egyptians
had. He discredited supernatural powers as the source for disease and urged observation, diagnosis,
and treatment. Illness occurred, he believed, if one of the body's "four humors" - black bile, yellow
bile, phlegm, and blood - was out of balance.
A.D. 500-1400
The Middle Ages were generally a time of great superstition in disease treatment, and treatment for
breast cancer was no exception. The power of the Roman Catholic Church permeated all scientific
endeavors, and illness was often seen as a result of sin, influence of the devil, and punishment from
God. Also at this time, superstitions about disease revolved around planetary alignment and
astrology. Pictures of a "zodiac man" in some books showed parts of the body affected by the
different zodiac signs.
Some doctors in the Middle Ages, however, embraced the scientific method and were devoted to
works of Greek physician Claudius Galen (c. 129-216), who believed that melancholia - what is now
known as depression - could be the primary cause of breast cancer. They acted on Galen's
recommendations, which included special diets for breast cancer patients, the use of topical
applications, and, occasionally, an old-fashioned exorcism to restore breast health.
1400-1700
The Renaissance was a time of great progress in the treatment of breast cancer. It was during this
time that doctors made the critical discovery that breast cancer could spread to the lymph nodes
under the arm and to other areas of the body. They also noted that this spread represented a poor
prognosis for the patient.
Great strides were also made in pain reduction following removal of the cancerous breast. For
centuries, the common practice had been cauterization of the wound - searing it shut with a red-hot
iron or boiling oil. As an alternative to this intensely painful procedure, Flemish anatomist Andreas
Vesalius (1514-1564) recommended sutures to control bleeding after mastectomy. A professor of
anatomy at Padua University, in Italy, Vesalius urged physicians to know the human body through
dissection, but the Church's ban on dissection made it necessary to be stealthy; he often took bodies
from graves and even stole from the gallows. His book about anatomy, de Humani Corporis
Fabrica, showed greater bodily detail than ever before recorded. Another Renaissance figure,
Ambroise Paré (1510-1590), discovered an additional alternative to cauterization; his mixture of egg
white, turpentine, and rose oil was a more effective and less painful way to seal a wound.
1700-1900
In the mid-1700s, doctors started keeping detailed records of breast cancer, noting recurrence rates
and survival after surgical removal of the breast, the only viable treatment option available.
By the late 1800s, it was common practice for doctors to remove the affected breast and
surrounding glands and nodes - essentially, what is now known as a modified radical mastectomy in an attempt to stave off any further progression of the malignancy.
Early 1900s
In 1917, Dr. William Stewart Halstead (1852-1922), professor of surgery at Johns Hopkins,
performed the first radical mastectomy - which involves resection not only of the entire breast and
auxiliary contents (lymph nodes of the armpit) but of both underlying pectoralis muscles and
surrounding soft tissue of the breast. But the odds were slim: Patients had about a three-year
survival rate. Surgery alone obviously was not enough, and scientific discoveries soon created many
more options for breast cancer treatment.
One of these discoveries was the X-ray. Shortly after their discovery in 1895, X-rays were used in
treatment of inoperable breast cancer. In 1916, Dr. James Murphy (1884-1950) conducted clinical
tests with X-rays on breast cancer patients who had recently undergone a radical mastectomy. This
was probably the first attempt at adjuvant therapy for breast cancer patients.
Mid-1900s
Between 1920 and 1960, radiation became a popular, powerful therapy used in conjunction with
mastectomy. The National Cancer Institute began research into possible uses of chemotherapy in
1955.
The early and middle part of this century also brought important strides in breast cancer awareness.
Until now, the experience of breast cancer had largely been one of silence for women, with the
breast sexualized and the disease taboo. The first stories written by breast cancer survivors began
appearing in the 1930s. The decades thereafter marked a time of outreach for patients with breast
cancer and increased awareness about the importance of early detection. Taking a social risk,
radiologist Alfred Popma created a 16-millimeter film about breast self-examination. The film
showed a woman correctly performing a BSE, and Popma knew it would raise many an eyebrow.
"Many people thought this would be immoral, photographing a woman's breasts … they didn't think
we could show it without creating trouble," he said.
1970s-1980s
Given the growing number of women with breast cancer, a whole infrastructure began to grow
around prevention, research, and treatment of the disease in the 1970s. The National Cancer Act
in 1971 nearly doubled funding to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and the United States
began to sponsor major clinical trials funded through the NCI, the American Cancer Society, and
the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project. Regular media coverage of breast cancer
lessened the erotic nature of the breast and placed the disease squarely in the scientific arena.
First ladies Betty Ford and Nancy Reagan were diagnosed with breast cancer a decade apart, and
both underwent a radical mastectomy and shared their story with the public. While they may not
exactly be representative of the 2 million American women who live with breast cancer, their
exposure lessened the stigma. Other activists, like Rose Kushner, moved the personal narrative into
a public forum, encouraging patients to be informed and redefining what it means to be a cancer
patient.
2000
Less than 50 years after the discovery of DNA, scientists have a rough map of the entire human
genome. Two genes for breast cancer, BRCA1 and BRCA2, are known to dramatically increase a
women's chance of developing the disease - in some cases, the lifetime risk increases 30 to 50
percent, and in families in which several members have cancer, 80 percent. But women have a
better chance of surviving breast cancer than at any other time in history, with five-year survival rates
of early-stage breast cancer at more than 95 percent.
Extract from: “A Test of Time: Breast Cancer Awareness and Treatment Through the Ages” by
Leah Shafer - http://rx.magazine.tripod.com/wh_20001016.htm