The following is a transcript of a report by medical editor Marilyn Brooks that first aired Oct. 6, 2006 on WTAE Channel 4 Action News at 5 p.m.

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October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and a good time to tell you how doctors are looking at the disease in a different light.

It used to be that every woman diagnosed with breast cancer received the same treatment. They now understand one diagnosis doesn't fit all.

Cancer has always been defined by which organ is affects -- breast, prostate, lung -- but doctors are no longer looking at where cancer forms. They are paying closer attention to how the cancer forms, and they're realizing that breast cancer is more than just one disease.

Linda Craig, along with other women who she was surrounded by, have something in common. All have battled breast cancer, but the similarities end there.

"When you talk to a survivor, their story is always different than yours, their treatment is different," said Craig.

Their diseases may have been different, too. For generations, women like these fell under one broad diagnosis of breast cancer, but increasingly, cancer specialists have recognized there are several different types of breast cancer and at least five different subsets.

For example, experts said one type of breast cancer might be more genetic in nature, while another type of breast cancer may have more to do with hormones. The difference is critical -- so is the treatment.

While surgery remains the base upon which all other breast cancer treatment rests, chemotherapy is no longer automatic.

Doctors look first at what type of cancer cell a woman has, her genetics and her body type. Tests can now determine whether she will benefit from chemotherapy.

We all process medicine differently, and drugs are now made accordingly, drugs such as tamoxifen, reloxifene and herceptin.

"That can also help to prevent breast cancer both in the breast from coming back and also help that metastatic breast cancer," said Dr. Kathleen Erb. "The more we learn about breast cancer and its characteristics, the better we are at tailoring a given woman's treatment."

Just as personal workout routines keep us fit, personalized drugs will be used to target specific types of breast cancer and strengthen the numbers of survivors like Craig.

Breast cancer isn't the only one known to have several subtypes , colon cancer can be defined this way as well. The bottom line is: in the not too distant future, it won't make any difference what type of cancer you have -- the one-size treatment will be gone. In its place will be a specific silver bullet that can knock out your specific cancer and hopefully keep it out for good.