Learning you have breast cancer must be terrifying. Fear of losing your body image, your lifestyle, and even your life is only natural -- but fear itself is your worst enemy.

Denying the problem won't make it go away, nor will postponing important treatment decisions. Fear of the unknown just keeps you in the dark about what to expect -- when what you need is to be enlightened about all the recent advances.

Fear prevents your body from doing what it was designed so beautifully to do -- to fight cancer. Every day, every one of us successfully fights off cancer cells without even realizing it. But fear or depression can cripple your immune system and prevent it from destroying the cancer cells, and from recovering from surgery or radiation free of infection or other complications.

Thanks to new treatments, you need not be afraid. While you may associate breast cancer surgery with radical mastectomy, this disfiguring operation is now rarely done. Most women with early breast cancer can have a lumpectomy, removing only the tumor, followed by radiation and other treatment.

Hormonal treatments like Nolvadex or Femara[delete tamoxifen] allow many women to avoid the side effects of chemotherapy. But for those who do need chemotherapy, new drugs dramatically reduce symptoms like nausea and anemia, allowing you to continue most normal activities. Even if you do feel sick for a few days, it's well worth it to get your life back. New drugs like Herceptin and Xeloda target cancer cells, leaving healthy cells alone.

Picture yourself as a fighter rather than a victim, and you can win the war against this dreaded enemy. Taking charge of your health by quitting smoking, following a good diet, exercising sensibly, and getting plenty of rest helps mobilize your forces. Prayer or meditation focuses your mind and frees your spirit, allowing your body to fight the cancer.

One in nine American women is diagnosed with breast cancer during her lifetime. So don't forget your allies -- get reinforcements through support groups and organizations for the 2 million breast cancer survivors in the U.S. alone.

Your odds are better than you think. If breast cancer is caught early, 95% of women live more than 5 years. Take it one day at a time, knowing that every year you outlive breast cancer, the risk of it returning goes down. Five years with no recurrence, and you're 80% home-free.

Yours in health, Laurie Barclay, MD (WEBMD)