Breast cancer is not a disease invented by modern times and circumstances. There is some evidence that women and even men in ancient times may have suffered from the condition. Since the condition was poorly understood at that time, not many medical or textual accounts exist of it. The lives of some notable figures however have been documented and provide some early clues about the disease. 

Atossa, born more than five hundred years before Christ was the wife of Xerxes I and was probably one of the earliest recorded victims claimed by the fatal disease. One thousand years after she was born came Theodora, wife of Justinian I and co-ruler of the Byzantine Empire. Although historians dispute the cause of her death, some say it may have also been due to breast cancer. 

Clearer clues were found in a document from ancient Egypt which presented three cases of breast cancer. Ancient doctors or that time were said to have remedied breast cancer by manually removing the mass of tissues. With such methods, the author of the surviving document admits that breast cancer has no cure. 

From the ancient times until the more recent centuries, people who had breast cancer may have suffered and died terrible deaths. This was simply because the disease was not understood and therefore had no alternative treatment than mass removal. It was only in the 1600s that medical practitioners noticed a possible connection between armpit lymph nodes and breast cancer. 

It was only however in the 1700s that doctors began surgically removing lymph nodes, lumps and breast tissues in an effort to stop breast cancer. It was late in the following century that full mastectomies were conducted. The procedure was widely practiced even well after the 1950s. Even today, full mastectomy is an option but is rarely chosen over newer methods. 

In the 1920s, the mammogram was invented. To this day, improved versions of it remain a vital tool in early breast cancer detection and treatment. 

The discovery of the mammogram was probably one of the major turning points that highlighted the importance of breast cancer awareness. In less than two decades after the mammogram came out, initial attempts at forming support groups for cancer patients began. Women were also made aware of the importance of breast examination including self-examination. It was however only in the 1970s that the movement for breast cancer awareness and support came into full swing. 

Today, women know better than to wait and see or suffer quietly. In this decade, more stress has been given to detecting cancer cells early for prompt treatment. Doctors now recommend regular mammograms for women over twenty and yearly mammograms for women 40 and above. Women who do detect early lumps or breast changes may immediately ask for biopsy procedures. 

In recent years, knowledge about breast cancer has grown even more with the discovery of genetic mutations that may be the main culprits for breast cancer. Research though still has a long way to go since the exact causes and exact risk factors have not been fully established. Nonetheless, women of today benefit and should be thankful for modern detection and treatment methods that allow a new lease on life.