Fifty years of systemic therapy for breast cancer: from one size fits all to tailored therapy.

Breast cancer treatment has evolved dramatically in the past 50 years. In addition to innovations in medical therapy-including widespread use of endocrine treatments, chemotherapy, and anti-HER2 agents-medical advances in genetic testing, imaging, and screening have revolutionized care. As profound as these changes in medical treatment have been, however, they are matched by a cultural transformation in the way society understands, discusses, and cares about breast cancer. Breast cancer has evolved from an unnamed affliction to a disease that is regularly featured on the front page of the newspapers, and is discussed in countless forums in traditional and social media. Clinical specialization in breast cancer among oncologists has given patients access to dedicated specialists around the country. These transformations will be highlighted through the analysis of a patient, Rachel Carson, who died 50 years ago from breast cancer.