Further, with the advent of electronic media and the Internet, online discussions on the awareness of the disease are now accessible even to the remote areas and cultures of the world. However, moral and ethical reforms have been introduced in several societies and breast cancer topics are an open discussion in all forum or media today. As a result, many patients are reluctant to candidly discuss their disease or its symptoms. In many cultures, breast cancer is still considered a taboo subject.

Besides, from the ancient civilizations and through the 18th and 19th centuries it was recognized that breast cancer could not be cured once the cancer had spread. the Pyramid Era, and the high mortality associated with the advanced form of the disease, cultural and sexual connotations regarding the breast have stigmatized discussions of the disease in the general public and limited its description to clinical journals and textbooks until recently. Despite the noticeable manifestation of the disease since ancient times, e.g. The visible signs and symptoms of breast cancer and the palpability and tangibility of the lumps at later stages of the disease have enabled easy diagnosis by physicians in almost every period of recorded history. Humankind has struggled to understand and treat breast cancer since the earliest documentation more than 3500 years ago. The rising incidence in developing countries is likely due to the increasing adaptation of risk factors associated with the Western lifestyle. The historically higher increase in breast cancer incidence in developed countries is largely due to factors associated with economic development and urbanization including obesity, consumption of processed foods, physical inactivity, and changes in reproductive patterns (delayed childbearing having fewer children earlier age at menarche and shorter duration of breastfeeding). This rise is generally due to changes in reproductive patterns such as age at menarche, age at first pregnancy, number of births, and duration of breastfeeding. In most countries, however, breast cancer incidence rates are increasing, including in countries with historically higher rates, such as those in Europe, as well as regions with historically lower incidence rates like many countries in Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Epidemiological data from the United States show that breast cancer death rates were stable from 1980 to 1989 for women aged 20 to 64 and increased for women aged 65 and over. Since 1999, incidence rates of breast cancer have stabilized among women aged 50 or over, which may reflect trends in mammography screening rates. Breast cancer is rare in males, comprising 1% of all breast cancer diagnoses in the United States and less than 0.1% of cancer-related deaths in men. Better therapeutic options and major improvements in public health and care have resulted in a dramatic reduction in mortality and a major increase in longevity. Breast cancer in the 21st century is therefore not necessarily terminal. As alarming as it may seem, the mortality to incidence ratio for breast cancer is around 0.31, which is far more favorable than pancreas and liver cancers, with ratios of 0.98 and 0.95, respectively.

This translates into about 1.7 million new cases in women and an estimated 522, 000 deaths in 2012. Breast cancer reportedly accounted for 29% of all new cancer cases and 14% of all cancer-related deaths among women worldwide up to 2012. Breast cancer is the most frequent type of cancer in women worldwide, with an incidence that rises dramatically with age. Breast cancer is characterized by uncontrolled growth of malignant cells in the mammary epithelial tissue.

Edwin smith papyrus breast cancer