Breast Cancer Awareness Month Spotlight: University of Iowa Breast Cancer Care Program

October is breast cancer awareness month.

To help raise awareness about breast cancer, Patch is shining light on activities and programs that are working to combat the disease.

An estimated 226,870 women and 2,190 men will get breast cancer in 2012, and 39,510 women and 410 men will die from the disease this year, according to the National Cancer Institute. Breast cancer is the second most common type of cancer behind prostate cancer, and is the second leading cause of cancer deaths behind lung cancer, according to the institute.

University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics has a Breast Cancer Care program. It is composed of a team of "highly-trained physicians of different disciplines combined into one center to provide patients with the best cancer care available," according to the program's website.

The center offers patients a complete program which includes diagnosis, treatment, reconstruction and long-term follow-up, according to the website. Treatments include radiation, medical treatments, surgery, or a combination of these, it says.

The program is part of the Department of Surgery's Division of Surgical Oncology and Endocrine. A team of surgeons that specialize in breast surgery. The Department of Surgery's Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery also works closely with the Breast Cancer team when needed.