What is Breast Cancer:
Like all forms of cancer, breast cancer is made of unusual cells that grow out of control. Those cells may also travel to places in your body where they aren’t usually found. When that happens, the cancer is called metastatic.
Breast cancer usually begins either in your glands that make milk (called lobular carcinoma), or the ducts that carry it to the nipple (called ductal carcinoma). It can grow larger in your breast and spread to nearby lymph nodes or through your bloodstream to other organs. The cancer may grow and invade tissue around your breast, such as your skin or chest wall.
Different types of breast cancer grow and spread at different rates. Some take years to spread beyond your breast, while others grow and spread quickly.
What Are the Symptoms of Breast Cancer?
Breast cancer can have different symptoms for different people. Most don’t notice any signs at all.
The most common symptom is a lump in your breast or armpit. Others include skin changes, pain, a nipple that pulls inward, and unusual discharge from your nipple.
Early Warning Signs of Breast Cancer
Common symptoms of breast cancer include:
- A lump in your breast or underarm that doesn’t go away. This is often the first symptom of breast cancer. Your doctor can usually see a lump on a mammogram long before you can see or feel it.
- Swelling in your armpit or near your collarbone. This could mean breast cancer has spread to lymph nodes in that area. Swelling may start before you feel a lump, so let your doctor know if you notice it.
- Pain and tenderness, although lumps don’t usually hurt. Some may cause a prickly feeling.
- A flat or indented area on your breast. This could happen because of a tumor that you can’t see or feel.
- Breast changes such as a difference in the size, contour, texture, or temperature of your breast.
- Changes in your nipple, like one that:
- Pulls inward
- Is dimpled
- Burns
- Itches
- Develops sores
- Unusual nipple discharge. It could be clear, bloody, or another color.
- A marble-like area under your skin that feels different from any other part of either breast.
Breast cancer treatments
Breast cancer treatments are getting better all the time, and people have many more options today than ever before. With so many choices, it’s a good idea to learn as much as you can about the ones that can help you the most.
No matter which ones you choose, all breast cancer treatments have two main goals:
- To rid the body of as much of the cancer as possible
- To prevent the disease from coming back
Breast Cancer Treatment Options
Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer
Radiation Therapy
Hormone Therapy
Breast Cancer Surgery
Targeted/Biologics Therapy