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mans are the only mammals that mate in the frontal, facing-each-other, more interactive manner? And is it true what anthropologists suggest, that the consequence of that female-to-male, face-to-face, caring to competitive interaction, that has lead to a more compassionate and just nature of our societies allowing for social progress instead of war?
• And yet with all this interest, the breast can turn cancerous and become a source for fear, loss, and suffering. It is appropriate and even glorious that we have advanced our medical and surgical knowledge to discover breast malignancy, to remove the destructive tumors, and to repair and reconstruct the breasts back to their original shape and consistency. Think how devastating to lose them, and not be able to get them back.

• A woman's breast is at once the origin of intimacy, the nourishing gift of mother's milk, perhaps the foundation for civilization, and then after all this nurturing, to become such a potential source for individual suffering. No wonder breasts get all that attention. They deserve it.
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• Dr. Rick Holm wrote this Prairie Doc Perspective for "On Call®," a weekly program where medical professionals discuss health concerns for the general public.  "On Call®" is produced by the Healing Words Foundation in association with the South Dakota State University Journalism Department. "On Call®" airs Thursdays on South Dakota Public Broadcasting-Television at 7 p.m. Central, 6 p.m. Mountain. Visit us at OnCallTelevision.com. 
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