Prevention and treatment of breast cancer.

In the new millennium, practitioners who provide primary care for women of all ages must be well educated in the diagnosis and treatment modalities for breast carcinoma. This disease strikes one of eight women. That statistic alone should encourage diligent and persistent efforts to detect this disease early enough to prevent the large number of deaths annually Early detection will reduce the morbidity associated with breast cancer. Strong efforts are ongoing in the fields of genetics and breast cancer research to achieve earlier detection of breast cancer and a reduction in morbidity regardless of the stage of the breast carcinoma. As results of ongoing studies materialize and new studies are funded, it is hoped that more answers will emerge to combat the devastating effects of breast cancer.