A cancer diagnosis can be scary but, Joan Savoy executive director of Miles Perret Cancer Services in Lafayette, said it should be considered the beginning, not the end of a journey.

The Dauterive Hospital staff, breast cancer survivors, oncologist Dr. David Rinaldi and representatives from Miles Perret Cancer Services and the Lydia Cancer Association met at a luncheon Thursday to acknowledge October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month and celebrate advancements made in breast cancer treatment.

Rinaldi gave a historical overview of breast cancer. He said the first recorded breast cancer diagnosis was made in 1500 B.C. by the Egyptians with methods of treatment and explanations of the disease changing over the centuries.

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The Greeks, from which the word cancer comes, Rinaldi said, believed cancer was caused by excess black bile in the body. The word “cancer” comes from the Greek word karkinos, which means crab.

Rinaldi said the Greeks believed those who had surgery to have cancer removed, often died sooner than those who did not.

For the next several hundred years, physicians experimented with different drugs to treat the disease pharmacologically. Often, he said, those experiments included opium, castor oil, licorice, sulpher, salves and incantations to the gods.

Despite their broad experimentation, they still did not consider surgery for treatment.

Those thoughts changed in the 16th century when doctors began to consider surgery the only viable option, he said.

Rinaldi said there also was discussion at this point in history of sex, too much, or the lack thereof, as a possible cause of the disease. He said a 18th century physician, Jean Astruc, attempting to disprove prior theories about cancer causes, “cooked a piece of breast cancer and beef, and chewed them.”

Both, Astruc said, tasted the same and he concluded the tumor tissue did not contain unusual amounts of bile or acid,” Rinaldi said.

What followed was discussion over several hundred years about how radical breast surgery needed to be to lessen the chances of recurrence.

Rinaldi concluded the prognosis and treatment of breast cancer has improved drastically and that many women who faced the diagnosis, after treatment, go on to live long, fulfilling lives.

Debra Savoy, spokeswoman for the Lydia Cancer Association, said whatever kind of cancer Teche Area residents are facing, the group is there to help. She said they provide financial help, medical equipment, moral support and education to their applicants in four parishes — Iberia, St. Martin, St. Mary and Vermilion.

Also providing assistance to those facing the diagnosis, Miles Perret Cancer Services based in Lafayette, recently unveiled its mobile unit which visits New Iberia on Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to noon at Dauterive Hospital and 1 to 3 p.m. at Iberia Medical Center, providing all services available at the center in Lafayette including, wigs, prosthetics, nutritional supplements, educational materials and support, at no cost to patients.

“A lot of people hear that ‘C’ word in the doctor’s office and they shrink into themselves,” Trevis Badeaux, Dauterive marketing and public relations manager, said. “We want to stress you are not alone. There are a lot of people around here that care, want to get you what you need and be there for you when you need us the most.”