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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