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Like, totally cellular | Photo by Melissa Moore/LAist
We continue our ScientIST series for October focused on Breast Cancer Awareness.
Last week, we kicked off Breast Cancer Awareness month by highlighting the pioneering work of UCLA’s own Dr. Dennis Slamon in the field of breast cancer therapy and his fight to bring Herceptin to market. In doing so, we likened cancer to a weed overgrowing a garden, diverting vital nutrients and resources away from the healthy plants and thus deleteriously disrupting the natural balance of the system. This week we cull the top cancer organizations (City of Hope and the National Cancer Institute) to bring you some key facts on breast cancer, including information on the disease, screening and testing, and understanding your risk. With the NCI estimating that the number of new cases of breast cancer in the US this year exceeds 180,000, it’s clear that public awareness can play an integral role in early detection.