Today the average size is grape size. Early detection is one of the keys to surviving breast cancer. CNN Moscow Bureau Chief Jill Dougherty Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Mammography, an x-ray of the breast, is the most common tool for finding breast tumors. A radiologist examines the x-ray for irregularities. But by the time a cancerous tumor has been found in a mammogram, it's already been growing for three to five years.
Doctors can then zoom in on one area or change the contrast to improve the image.
Targeting the tumor Progress is also being made in treating breast cancer with less invasive strategies. Currently, most women with breast cancer have to undergo some type of surgery, ranging from a lumpectomy, which removes the tumor and some surrounding tissue, to a mastectomy, in which the entire breast and some lymph nodes are removed. Most women with breast cancer also are treated with chemotherapy, radiation or hormone therapy. Some drugs under study now are designed to switch off the cancer molecules, in essence telling them not to grow. Others are anti-angiogenesis drugs that cut off the blood supply that allows a tumor to grow.