Other than skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common cancer in American women.

The goal of screening exams for early breast cancer detection is to find cancers before they start to cause symptoms. Breast cancers that are detected because they are causing symptoms tend to be relatively larger and are more likely to have spread beyond the breast. In contrast, breast cancers found during screening exams are more likely to be small and still confined to the breast.

The size of a breast cancer and how far it has spread are the most important factors in predicting the prognosis (the outlook for chances of survival) of a woman with this disease. Finding a breast cancer as early as possible greatly improves the likelihood that treatment will be successful. Breast Cancer screening includes a Breast Self Examination, Breast X-ray (mammogram) and professional physical examination.

Once a breast lump or breast abnormality has been detected, your doctor may want to conduct a Breast Biopsy. This procedure involves taking sample tissue from the suspicious area to determine whether the breast lump is cancerous or not. While the thought of having a Breast Biopsy may be frightening to some patients, the results can provide a reassuring peace of mind. Remember, the vast majority of Breast Biopsies do not turn out to be breast cancer and a biopsy is currently the only way to achieve an accurate breast cancer diagnosis. There are two methods for producing images in minimally-invasive breast biopsies: 1. Stereotactic breast biopsy  2. Ultrasound Guided  braest Biopsy. A Stereotactic [stare-ee-o-tak-tick] Biopsy uses mammography (x-rays) to locate breast abnormalities, while ultrasound biopsies use high-frequency sound waves to create breast tissue images. In a minimally-invasive breast biopsy using stereotactic imaging, a patient lies face down on a special table with their breast protruding through a hole in the table's surface. The breast is lightly compressed to immobilize it throughout the biopsy procedure. The table is connected to a computer that produces detailed x-ray images of the abnormality to be biopsied. Using these images, the doctor guides a special sampling device to collect tissue specimens. Ultrasound Guided Biopsy (UGB) is a minimally-invasive breast biopsy that is performed using ultrasound imaging and is performed on patients in an upright or reclined position. Using a hand-held transducer, a doctor will move the device back and forth across the breast to generate clear images of the abnormal breast tissue. While viewing the images on a computer monitor, the doctor will guide a small probe into the breast to retrieve sample tissue specimens.

 If the biopsy shows breast cancer then the surgical intervention is needed. The surgical options would be lumpectomy (removing the breast mass) and axillary lymph node dissection (removing the lymphatic glands of the arm pit) with post-operative radiation therapy vs. modified radical mastectomy. After surgery patient may need chemotherapy or hormone therapy depending on the stage of her disease. In the cases of some pre-cancerous breast lesions or early breast cancer, sentinel lymph node biopsy will be performed to avoid complete removal of the axillary lymphatic glands. In some cases, after the lumpectomy the margin of the specimen is positive (patient has cancer cell in the margin of her specimen). Therefore she will require second operation to excise more breast tissue for negative margin or undergone total mastectomy