Breast cancer

When Victoria Contreras was diagnosed with breast cancer, she felt frightened and isolated. She rediscovered hope and community at the Breast Club, a local support group in Lima, Peru.

The American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics is asking doctors to test and alert patients of genetic conditions regardless of their desire to know the information. But are doctors and patients equipped to explain and understand this kind of information?

Among developing nations, cancer is an increasingly prevalent cause of death. It’s largely overtaken other diseases as the leading cause of death in those countries — mostly because there’s little or no access to affordable prevention and treatment.

Cancer’s viewed by many as a disease of the developed world. Alternately, it’s viewed as too hard or too expensive to prevent or treat. But often, those views simply aren’t true. In Uganda, Dr. Jackson Orem, the country’s first, and for a time only, cancer doctor is showing the way.

This year’s winner of the Google Science Fair is Brittany Wenger, a 17-year-old high school student from Florida. For her award-winning project, Wenger used her knowledge of computer science and biology to design an app to help doctors diagnose breast cancer.