Books and Articles by Kimlin Tam Ashing

Breast cancer is a particularly devastating and intimate disease. Although not as deadly as some other forms of cancer — five-year survival rates in the United States are between 80 percent and 90 percent — the toll that breast cancer takes on the body, mind, and psychology make it an especially difficult disease to contend with.

Following are ten inspiration stories from breast cancer survivors — some of them in their own personal words. Survivorship is broken into three categories: Acute survivorship: This is just after getting the diagnosis of breast cancer. Women often experience "the shock" and immediately start thinking about life decisions.

Your body makes great efforts to fight off many diseases on its own, but it must have the right resources on its side to be able to do that. Poor nutrition reduces mental function and productivity as well as diminishes your body's immunity against diseases such as cancers.When you are getting sufficient calories for energy and sufficient nutrients to support body function and growth, you can say you have good nutrition.

Breast aches and pains are cause by compression of the nerve endings in the breast. Basically, neurotransmitters in the nerves send messages to the brain that the breast hurts. Anything that causes the nerves to be compressed can cause breast pain, including a breast mass, breast cyst, fluid/inflammation (which can be caused by infection or trauma), and scarring.

The size and shape of your breast are unique to you. Breast growth is mostly influenced by the release of estrogen and other hormones in your body, along with your genes (DNA) that you inherit from your parents. Your breast shape and how it looks are influenced by many factors: Your age History of childbearing Breastfeeding History of breast infections When a female has passed puberty and the breasts are fully developed, that doesn't mean that the size of the breast will always be the same throughout her lifetime.

Normally the skin on the breasts is a similar color to the skin on the rest of the body, though it may be lighter due to less sun exposure. The nipple and areola (the dark area around the nipple) are usually a darker color with some bumps and textures. Just like the rest of the skin, there may be freckles or moles on the breasts.

Sometimes you have to be like Sherlock Holmes when it comes to investigating changes in your breast beneath the skin. Lumps, bumps, and mass-like structures can develop in the breasts. Breast cysts and dense breasts are frequent findings on mammograms and breast ultrasounds. Breast masses and fibroadenomas Often when a woman feels a lump or a mass in the breast, the instinct is to panic.

You should watch for changes in your nipples. Remember that knowing your breast through regular self-examinations is the key to identifying changes that may be a sign of breast cancer. Nipple inversion Sometimes women may naturally have inverted nipples — in which the nipple does not protrude. That is their normal.

There are several surgical options for treating breast cancer, but it is your stage of breast cancer that determines which surgical options are best for you. Breast reconstruction is when a surgeon rebuilds the breast using one of two main types of breast reconstruction: implant or your own tissue (tissue from belly, back, thigh, or buttock).