Giuliana Rancic, E! News Host, Has Breast Cancer: What's The Importance Of Finding It Early?

"E! News" host Giuliana Rancic announced Monday on NBC's Today show that she has breast cancer, and that she was alerted to the cancer via a mammogram during her third in vitro fertilization attempt.

"Through my attempt to get pregnant for the third time, we sadly found out that I have early stages of breast cancer," she said on the Today show. "It's been a shock. A lot of people have been asking, we saw that you went and got IVF, are you pregnant? But sadly, we've had to put that off."

Rancic, 36, is a TV personality on "E! News" and "Fashion Police." She and her husband also have appeared on their own reality show, "Giuliana and Bill," on which viewers have been able to see their past unsuccessful attempts at using IVF to get pregnant.

Rancic didn't elaborate on the Today show what kind of breast cancer she has, but she joins one of the hundreds of thousands of women diagnosed with the cancer each year. In 2007, the most recent year that data is available, 202,964 women were diagnosed with breast cancer and 40,598 women died from the cancer.

And worldwide, breast cancer cases are increasing -- with 641,000 cases of breast cancer in 1980, and 1.6 million cases last year, the Associated Press reported.

Rancic noted on the Today show that she caught the cancer early -- early diagnosis ups the chances that the cancer can be successfully treated, according to the American Cancer Society. The larger and further along the breast cancer tumor gets, the more symptoms it causes and the more likely it's metastasized (spread) past the breast, while the smaller the tumor and earlier along it's found, the more likely it hasn't spread past the breast, the American Cancer Society reported.

Screening for breast cancer with mammography (breast X-rays) are recommended every other year starting at age 50 until age 74, though at-risk women should consult their doctor about their particular screening schedule, according to 2009 recommendations released by the United States Preventive Services Task Force. However, other health groups including the American Cancer Society recommend that women ages 40 and older should have a mammogram every year to screen for breast cancer, and should continue having mammograms unless they have medical problems (like heart failure or severe dementia) that would hinder it.

Breast cancer is the second most common cancer in women (after skin cancer), and while it's far more common in women, it can also develop in men. There are several different types of breast cancer, though ductal carcinoma (cancer that starts in the milk ducts of the breast) is the most common, according to the Mayo Clinic.

There are several risk factors for breast cancer, including being a woman, being older, having a personal or family history of breast cancer, being obese, beginning your period at an early age or beginning menopause at a later age, and taking certain hormone therapy medications to treat menopause symptoms. Women with the gene mutations BRCA1 and BRCA2, as well as certain other gene mutations, also have a higher risk of breast cancer, the Mayo Clinic reported.

Recently, Wanda Sykes, an actress and comedian, and Landra Reid, the wife of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, were also diagnosed with breast cancer. Sykes underwent a double mastectomy because of the cancer.

For more inspiring people who have been diagnosed with breast cancer, click through this slideshow:

In an interview with Ellen DeGeneres aired last month, Wanda Sykes revealed that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a double mastectomy.

"I had breast cancer. Yeah, I know it's scary," Sykes said in the interview. "This was in February. I went for the reduction. I had real big boobs and I just got tired of knocking over stuff. Every time I eat ... Oh lord. I'd carry a Tide stick everywhere I go. My back was sore so it was time to have a reduction."

After the reduction, the pathology report found ductal carcinoma in situ in her left breast, which prompted Skykes, who has a family history of breast cancer, to opt for a double mastectomy.

And while the diagnosis is scary, she hasn't lost her signature humor.

"I was like, 'I don't know, should I talk about it or what?' How many things could I have? I'm black, then lesbian. I can't be the poster child for everything ... At least with the LGBT issues we get a parade, we get a float, it's a party. [But] I was real hesitant about doing this, because I hate walking. I got a lot of [cancer] walks coming up."

MORE SLIDESHOWS NEXT?> ??|?? <?PREV

Wanda Sykes

In an interview with Ellen DeGeneres aired last month, Wanda Sykes revealed that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a double mastectomy. "I had breast cancer. Yeah, I know it's scary," Sykes said in the interview. "This was in February. I went for the reduction. I had real big boobs and I just got tired of knocking over stuff. Every time I eat ... Oh lord. I'd carry a Tide stick everywhere I go. My back was sore so it was time to have a reduction." After the reduction, the pathology report found ductal carcinoma in situ in her left breast, which prompted Skykes, who has a family history of breast cancer, to opt for a double mastectomy. And while the diagnosis is scary, she hasn't lost her signature humor. "I was like, 'I don't know, should I talk about it or what?' How many things could I have? I'm black, then lesbian. I can't be the poster child for everything ... At least with the LGBT issues we get a parade, we get a float, it's a party. [But] I was real hesitant about doing this, because I hate walking. I got a lot of [cancer] walks coming up."
'; var coords = [-5, -72]; // display fb-bubble FloatingPrompt.embed(this, html, undefined, 'top', {fp_intersects:1, timeout_remove:2000,ignore_arrow: true, width:236, add_xy:coords, class_name: 'clear-overlay'}); });

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/17/breast-cancer-giuliana-rancic-risk-early_n_1015676.html

corsica corsica dead island gabrielle union nascar schedule burkina faso elmo