Breast Cancer

This second edition of Breast Cancer continues the tradition of the M. D. Anderson Cancer Care Series. The book is oriented towards the needs of clinicians who manage breast cancer at every stage of the disease. Ch- ters are written by experts with a strong knowledge of research findings who also are active in the clinic and understand the practical needs of the patient and her physician. Multidisciplinary care is a popular term today, but such care has been practiced at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center for decades. The physicians who assembled this book are experienced practitioners of multidiscip- nary care. The authors of each chapter carry out their clinical activities at our Nellie B. Connally Breast Center, where they collaborate in providing complete patient care services at a single site. The chapters start, logically, with prevention of breast cancer and p- sonalized risk assessment, including genetics. These topics are followed by chapters on early detection, with emphasis on a variety of sophis- cated imaging techniques and sampling of tissue. The various surgical options, including reconstruction, are thoroughly presented. Before me- cal oncology is introduced there are chapters dealing with the growing use of markers to predict prognosis and to select hormonal or chemoth- apy treatments that are likely to succeed. The book concludes with issues related to survivorship, including re-entering social and job-related acti- ties and dealing with questions related to sexuality and reproduction.