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breast cancer

breast cancer

252 2.7
A serious disease in the breast where abnormal cells grow and form a lump
  • noun
  • /brɛst ˈkænsər/
translation icon : cáncer de mama
  • The day before my wife and I were waiting for results for breast cancer.
  • breast cancer patients
  • breast cancer surgery
  • operable breast cancer

We can detect the spread of breast cancer tumors much earlier.

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Examples

  • Has anyone in your family had breast cancer?

  • I have breast cancer.

  • My mother has breast cancer and she needs me.

  • So we are both going through breast cancer and she was my rock.

  • Because not every patient with breast cancer gets the same treatment.

  • My older sister died of breast cancer.

  • Currently, it is widely recognized that women should be active participants in their breast cancer treatment.

    Academic text (2013)
  • She died of breast cancer.

  • She had just beaten breast cancer and found a new lease on life.

  • My mother has breast cancer and she needs me.

How Advanced

metastatic tumor
  • Specialized
1 5.1
breast cancer
252 2.7
precancerous
  • Specialized
2 5.8

Surface Forms

breast cancer singular

Morphology

breast + cancer

The meaning is directly and compositionally derived from 'breast' (body part) and 'cancer' (disease): it denotes cancer located in the breast. This is a straightforward, cross-linguistically common compound construction (e.g. Spanish 'cáncer de mama'), so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily understand the MWE.

Etymology

Breast cancer names a disease that starts in the breast; long ago, doctors used the word cancer because some growths looked like a 'crab' with parts spreading out. So, breast cancer means a harmful growth that begins in the breast.