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Show Your Doctor Says . . . The following is one of a series of articles written by members of the Utah State Medical Association and published in cooperation with vour local newspaper. These articles are scheduled to appear every other week throughout the year in an effort to better acquaint you with p-,obelms of health, and designed to improve the well-being of the people of Utah. Cancer of the Breast To appreciate the manifestations of cancer in the breast, one must know something about the relationship relation-ship between the erowth of cancer and the development of the human body. Life begins with the fusion of a male and a female reproductive cell; from this union the complete structure of the body develops. The offspring resembles the parents, par-ents, possesses the same organs and structure. Its growth is steady until adulthood. Then further growth ceases, and the body is maintained by a process of restoration restora-tion and repair which continues throughout the life span. If, for example, a hand is cut, the reparative re-parative processes are immediately set in motion to restore the tissue to its original state. When healing is finished, further cell growth beyond that necessary for repair is halted by a mysterious governing govern-ing process. In the cancerous type of growth, cells begin to develop within a certain organ or tissue of the body, at first resembling closely in structure struc-ture the cells from which they originate, but they are not bound, as are normal cells, by any governing govern-ing process. In contrast they grow wildly without restraint, break through the barriers the body seta up against them, and spread by direct expansion, by means of the lymphatic system, or through the blood stream, to distant parts of the body where they continue their growth. They then use the body as a host to feed upon and eventually even-tually destroy. Cancer of the breast may begin in the connective tissue, which is a supportive structure, the milk ducts, or the nipple. It may be held in check and kept as a solitary soli-tary nodule by the resisting forces of the body for some time, but eventually will break through and spread by direct extension, or through the lymphatic system or the blood stream to other parts of the body. |