Doctors sometimes check women for breast cancer before they have any signs of the sickness. This is because finding the sickness early can make it easier to get better. There are several ways to check for breast cancer. One way is for a woman or doctor to check her breasts for any lumps or changes. Another way, called a mammogram, uses a special machine to take pictures of the breasts. There are also tests that use sound waves or strong magnets to look inside the body. Some people are not sure if every woman should have these checks because there are good and bad points for having them. For example, the checks might find something that looks like cancer but is not. This could cause worry and lead to more tests that are not needed. Doctors in the United States say women who are between the ages of 50 and 74 should have a mammogram every two years. Some women who have a higher chance of getting breast cancer may need to start checks when they are younger or do them more often. These women could have changes in certain genes, like BRCA, or have a family history of breast or ovarian cancer. If a doctor finds something unusual during a check, they might take a small piece from the lump to look at it more closely. This is called a biopsy. They can use ultrasound to help do this, which is a test that uses sound waves. Another test called magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, can help them decide how to treat the problem, but it is not usually used to check for cancer in women who do not have any signs of the sickness.

Sometimes people get very sick with a disease that doctors can't cure. This kind of sickness, called terminal illness, means that the person will probably die from it. Diseases like cancer or serious heart problems can be like this. Even with treatment, these sicknesses usually don't get better. When someone has this kind of sickness, they are known as a "terminal patient". Doctors may guess how much longer the patient might live, but they can't know for sure. Some people live with sickness for a long time, but if it doesn't cause death, it's called chronic, not terminal. There are different ways to take care of someone with terminal illness. They might still get medical care, or they might have special care to make them comfortable, which is called palliative care. Sometimes, they stay in hospice, a place that helps people who are very sick. There is also the choice of ending one's life with the help of a doctor, but this depends on the country's laws. What people do after they find out they are very sick can change a lot. They might need help with everyday things or might not be able to do some activities. Feeling sad or worried is normal when someone knows they might die soon, and their families feel sad, too. Talking to a doctor or therapist might help with these feelings. People who know they don't have much time left can make plans for their care. They might write down their wishes in a document so that others know what they want. This can help them have a better experience at the end of their lives. It's not possible to escape death, but people try to have the best death they can.

Myriad Genetics is a company in Salt Lake City, Utah, in the United States. They do special tests that help doctors and people learn about how our genes affect our health. Genes are like instructions inside our bodies that can tell us if we might get sick in the future, how we might react to certain medicines, and how fast a sickness might get worse or come back. Knowing about our genes can help create medicines just for us. A long time ago, a smart person named Mary-Claire King found a clue that some genes could make people more likely to have breast cancer. A man named Dr. Skolnick and his friends made a new way to find these genes. Then, in 1994, Dr. Skolnick and other smart people found out the full details of a special gene called BRCA1. They tried to say this discovery was their own, but this caused a lot of arguments and even went to the highest court. Later, the company started to do special tests for everyone based on what they learned. They were the first to do tests for prostate cancer in men and breast cancer in women, even before they got sick. They think it's important to help people from all different backgrounds.