A diagnosis of breast cancer can be overwhelming, so it's important to write down all your questions before meeting with your doctor. Read more: What Questions Should I Ask My Doctor About Breast Cancer? Article
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Breast Cancer Awareness: Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Treatment
Learn about breast cancer causes, symptoms, tests, recovery, and prevention. Discover the types of treatments such as surgery and...
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10 Things Young Women Should Know About Breast Cancer
Is breast cancer genetic? Should I get tested for the BRCA gene? What every young women should know about breast cancer. Discover...
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Breast Cancer: Visual Guide to Male Breast Cancer
Breast cancer isn't just a woman's disease. Learn about the symptoms and treatment of male breast cancer, and find out what can...
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Breast Cancer Quiz: Symptoms & Signs
This Breast Cancer Quiz features signs, symptoms, facts, causes, common forms, terms, risk factors, statistics, and more. ...
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Breast Cancer: Diet Tips for Breast Cancer
No single food or diet plan prevents breast cancer, but what you eat plays a role in how likely you are to get the disease or...
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Breast Cancer: Where It Can Spread
When breast cancer spreads, or metastasizes, it often goes to these five places: the lymph nodes, bones, liver, lungs, and brain....
SLIDESHOW
Breast Cancer Awareness: Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Treatment See SlideshowRelated Disease Conditions
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Breast Cancer in Men
Second Source WebMD Medical Reference
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How Common Is Lymphovascular Invasion in Breast Cancer?
About 30% of breast cancers metastasize to nearby blood vessels and lymph nodes, a process called lymphovascular invasion.
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Breast Anatomy
The breast, or mammary gland is made up of lobules, milk producing glands, and a system of ducts to transport milk. Both males and females have breasts. Abnormal enlargement of breasts in men is referred to as gynecomastia. In women, during pregnancy the breasts grow larger and produce milk. Common medical conditions that affect the breasts include breast cancer, breast lumps, fibrocystic changes and cysts, mastitis, and benign tumors (fibroadenomas).
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Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
Triple-negative breast cancer is more common in Hispanic and African-American women. Signs and symptoms include a lump in the armpit or breast, nipple discharge and inversion, and changes in the breast's skin. Treatment may incorporate surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy.
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Male Breast Cancer
Male breast cancer accounts for 1% of all breast cancers, and most cases are found in men between the ages of 60 and 70. A man's risk of developing breast cancer is one in 1,000. Signs and symptoms include a firm mass located below the nipple and skin changes around the nipple, including puckering, redness or scaling, retraction and ulceration of the nipple. Treatment depends upon staging and the health of the patient.
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Can HER2-Positive Breast Cancer Be Cured?
HER2-positive breast cancer is associated with cancer cells that have extra copies of the HER2 gene and produce extra HER2 receptor proteins. With recent advances in medicine, it is considered that HER2-positive breast cancer is curable.
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Can Fibroadenomas Turn Into Breast Cancer?
A fibroadenoma is the most common type of benign, non-cancerous lump of the breast. Although it is rare, complex fibroadenomas and phyllodes tumors have a chance to develop into malignant breast cancer.
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Breast Cancer
Breast cancer is an invasive tumor that develops in the mammary gland. Breast cancer is detected via mammograms, breast self-examination (BSE), biopsy, and specialized testing on breast cancer tissue. Treatment of breast cancer may involve surgery, radiation, hormone therapy, chemotherapy, and targeted therapy. Breast cancer risk may be lowered by managing controllable risk factors. What you should know about breast cancer Breast cancer is the most common cancer among American women. One in every eight women in the United States develops breast cancer. There are many types of breast cancer that differ in their capability of spreading (metastasize) to other body tissues. The causes of breast cancer are unknown, although medical professionals have identified a number of risk factors. There are 11 common types of breast cancer and 4 uncommon types of breast cancer. Breast cancer early signs and symptoms include a lump in the breast or armpit, bloody nipple discharge, inverted nipple, orange-peel texture or dimpling of the breast's skin (peau d'orange), breast pain or sore nipple, swollen lymph nodes in the neck or armpit, and a change in the size or shape of the breast or nipple. Breast cancer can also be symptom free, which makes following national screening recommendations an important practice. Breast cancer is diagnosed during a physical exam, by a self-exam of the breasts, mammography, ultrasound testing, and biopsy. Treatment of breast cancer depends on the type of cancer and its stage (0-IV) and may involve surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy.
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What Are the Three Top Cancer Killers?
Cancer is a group of diseases that occur when abnormal cells spread uncontrollably throughout the body. The top three cancer killers are lung cancer, colorectal cancer, and breast cancer.
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Inflammatory Breast Cancer
Inflammatory breast cancer is an accelerated form of breast cancer that is not usually detected by mammogram or ultrasound. Symptoms of inflammatory breast cancer include pain in the breast, skin change in the breast area, bruise on the breast,sudden swelling of the breast, nipple retraction or discharge, and swelling of the lymph nodes.
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What Is the Difference Between a Radical Mastectomy and Modified Radical Mastectomy?
In a radical mastectomy, the entire breast tissue along with the nipple, covering skin, lymph nodes (filter organs for harmful substances) in the armpit and chest wall muscle under the breast is removed. It is known as a standard treatment for breast cancer. In a modified radical mastectomy (MRM), the entire breast is removed, including the skin, areola (surrounding the nipple), nipple and most armpit lymph nodes. The underlying chest wall muscles (the pecs) will be left intact. Additionally, the skin covering the chest wall may or may not be removed.
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Can a Weak Immune System Cause Cancer?
Your immune system plays a vital role in maintaining your health. Although some cancers are caused by genetic mutations, some other factors like old age and a weakened immune system can also play a significant role in causing the disease.
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What Should I Know About Breast Cancer?
Breast cancer is the most common non-skin cancer of American women, but it can also occur in men. Every year in the U.S., there are over 266,000 new diagnoses of breast cancer. A woman has a risk of one in eight for developing breast cancer at some point during her lifetime.
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Breast Cancer Stages
Breast cancer staging is the determination of the extent and spread of cancer. An individual's health care team uses stages to summarize the extent of cancer in a standardized way that is recognized by all health care providers. They use this staging to determine the treatment most appropriate for the type of cancer. Cancer staging helps to determine the prognosis, or outlook, of cancer, including rates of recurrence and survival rates.
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Breast Cancer Recurrence
Breast cancer most often recurs within the first three to five years after the initial treatment. Changes in the look, feel, or appearance of the breast may indicate breast cancer recurrence. Factors related to recurrence include tumor size, tumor grade, hormone receptor status, lymph node involvement, and oncogene expression. Treatment for recurrent breast cancer depends on the initial treatment.
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What Is Usually the First Sign of Breast Cancer?
A lump in the breast or in the armpits is often the first sign of breast cancer. This may be felt while in the shower. There may or may not be changes in the structure of the breast. Other early signs include changes in breast skin, breast pain and others.
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Breast Cancer Prevention
Lifestyle changes, a healthy antioxidant-rich diet, exercise, and weight reduction can help reduce a woman's risk of developing breast cancer. It's important to be aware of how risk factors such as family history, lifestyle factors, breast conditions, radiation therapy, and hormonal factors may influence your chances of developing breast cancer. Mammography and breast self-examinations are crucial steps in breast cancer prevention.
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Breast Cancer Treatment
Breast cancer treatments depend upon the type of breast cancer that is present as well as the stage (extent of spread) of the tumor. Treatment for early breast cancer typically involves surgery to remove the tumor. After surgery, medical professionals may administer radiation therapy, chemotherapy, or targeted therapy.
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Breast Cancer Early Warning Signs and Symptoms
In most cases, there are no early warning signs of breast cancer. Breast cancer may not produce any early symptoms, and in many cases, it is first discovered on screening mammography. The most common sign of breast cancer is a new lump or mass in the breast.
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What Are The Five Warning Signs Of Breast Cancer?
The majority of breast cancer patients first seek diagnosis because of a lump on the breast. This is one of the five warning signs of breast cancer. Others include changes in the nipple, changes in the breast skin and other symptoms.
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Is Chemo Necessary for HER2 Positive?
The HER2 protein is a kind of receptor found on the surface of breast cells. Chemotherapy is typically used to shrink a tumor before it is removed from the breast with surgery.
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Breast Cancer and Lymphedema
Lymphedema is a common chronic, debilitating condition in which excess fluid called lymph collects in tissues and causes swelling in them. It is common after a mastectomy, lumpectomy or breast cancer surgery and radiation therapy.
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What Are the Four Types of Breast Cancer?
The four most common types of breast cancer are ductal carcinoma in situ, lobular carcinoma in situ, invasive ductal carcinoma, invasive lobular carcinoma. The designations are based on the locations of the tumors, whether they have spread and where they have spread to.
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How Do You Deal With Embarrassed Patients?
Patients know they have doctor-patient privilege in your office, but that doesn’t make embarrassing conversations any easier. Help your patients feel at ease talking to you about awkward health concerns.
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Eight Early Signs of Breast Cancer
Breast cancer is the second most common cancer affecting women in the United States (next to some types of skin cancer that are most common). Screening tests can help you identify if you have the condition.
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HER2-Positive Breast Cancer
In about 10%-20% of breast cancers, the cancer cells test positive for HER2, sometimes referred to as the HER2/neu protein. HER2 is a growth-promoting protein located on the surface of some cancer cells. HER2-positive breast cancers tend to grow more rapidly and spread more aggressively than breast cancers that are HER2-negative. Doctors do not know what specifically causes some breast cancers to express this protein while others do not.
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Breast Cancer Treatment by Stage
Treatment of breast cancer depends upon the stage of the cancer at the time of diagnosis. Some of the various treatments include: hormone therapy, radiation therapy, surgery, chemotherapy, HER2-targeted therapy, neoadjuvant therapy, and adjuvant therapy.
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What Is the Breast Cancer BRCA Gene Test?
BRCA genes (BRCA 1 and 2, when normal, repair damaged DNA) are among the genetic mutations linked to breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and other cancers when mutated. Every woman with a BRCA mutation is at high risk for breast cancer, irrespective of whether she has a family history of breast cancer or not. By age 80, a woman with a BRCA mutation has about an 80% chance of developing breast cancer. BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations also increase the risk of ovarian cancer, by 54% and 23%, respectively.
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Breast Cancer During Pregnancy
Breast cancer occurs in about 1 in every 1,000 pregnant women. Treatment of breast cancer during pregnancy involves surgery, but it is very difficult to protect the baby from the dangerous effects of radiation and chemotherapy. It can be an agonizing to decide whether or not to undergo breast cancer treatment while one is pregnant.
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Breast Cancer in Young Women
About 5% of cases of breast cancer occur in women under the age of 40 years old. Some risk factors for breast cancer in young women include a personal history of breast cancer or breast disease, family history of breast cancer, prior radiation therapy, and the presence of BRCA1/BRCA2 gene mutations. Breast self-exams, clinical breast exams, and screening mammograms may help detect breast cancer. Treatment may include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, and hormone therapy.
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Breast Cancer Clinical Trials
Breast cancer clinical trials are research programs designed to evaluate new medical treatments, drugs, or devices for the treatment of breast cancer. Clinical trials are designed to test the safety and efficacy of new treatments as well as assess potential side effects. Clinical trials also compare new treatment to existing treatments to determine if it's any better. There are many important questions to ask your doctor before taking part in a breast cancer clinical trial.
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Breast Cancer Growth Rate
The available evidence suggests that breast cancer may begin to grow around 10 years before it is detected. However, the time for development differs from tumor to tumor.
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What Are the Risk Factors for Developing Breast Cancer?
Breast cancer refers to the uncontrolled growth of cells within the breast. The risk factors for developing breast cancer include age, genetics, family history, personal history, menstrual history, breast density, previous radiation therapy, ethnicity, body weight, physical activity level, reproductive history, alcohol consumption and hormone pill use.
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Genetic Testing: Families With Breast Cancer
Breast cancer can be a killer and the decision to get tested to see if a patient is prone to the disease should be discussed with a doctor -- particularly if the woman has a history of breast cancer in her family. Genetic testing can only tell so much about breast cancer risk, however.
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Breast Cancer and Coping With Stress
Being diagnosed with breast cancer is stressful. Learning relaxation techniques, exercising, eating well, getting adequate sleep, receiving psychotherapy, and maintaining a positive attitude can help you cope. Creating documents, such as an advance directive, living will, and durable power of attorney will outline your wishes in the event that you are no longer able to make decisions regarding your care.
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What Is the Sentinel Lymph Node in Breast Cancer?
The first nodes in the axilla affected by breast cancer are known as sentinel or guardian lymph nodes. A positive sentinel lymph node biopsy or SLNB indicates that the cancer is no longer in situ.
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What Is the Newest Treatment for Breast Cancer?
Targeted therapies are a newer form of breast cancer treatment. They can be used alone or along with other therapies. Targeted therapies directly target cancer cells or specific processes that contribute to the growth of cancer cells. Target therapy often has fewer side effects.
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Estimating Breast Cancer Risk: Questions and Answers
As breast cancer is the most diagnosed non-skin cancer in American women, it is important to know your breast cancer risk. Risk factors include age, age at menarche, age at first live birth, history of breast abnormalities, breast biopsies, race, and history or breast cancer among first-degree relatives.
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What Helps Pain After Surgery?
After surgery, it's important to work with your healthcare team to make your recovery as pain-free as possible. Communicate with your doctor and nurses to help them adjust your pain management plan.
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Are There Any Clinical Trials for Breast Cancer?
Breast cancer is the second most common cancer among American women. Around 250,000 women and 2,300 men are diagnosed with breast cancer each year in the United States. Each year, breast cancer kills around 42000 women and 510 men in the United States.
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How Can You Detect Breast Cancer Early?
Breast cancer develops from the cells of the breasts and can spread to other parts of the body (metastasis). It is one of the most common cancers diagnosed in women in the United States. A lump in the breast or armpit is often the first sign. Treatment success depends largely on early detection.
Treatment & Diagnosis
Medications & Supplements
- Femara vs. Clomid
- tamoxifen (Soltamox, Nolvadex)
- Side Effects of Femara (letrozole)
- Side Effects of Cytoxan (cyclophosphamide)
- Side Effects of Taxotere (docetaxel)
- ProHance (gadoteridol)
- Zoladex (goserelin acetate)
- Faslodex (fulvestrant) Injection
- Vijoice (alpelisib)
- Side Effects of Arimidex (anastrozole)
- Side Effects of Ibrance (palbociclib)
- Side Effects of Perjeta (pertuzumab)
- Side Effects of Herceptin (trastuzumab)
- Nerlynx (neratinib)
- Side Effects of Xeloda (capecitabine)
- Lynparza (olaparib)
- Margenza (margetuximab-cmkb)
- Side Effects of Tykerb (lapatinib)
- Side Effects of Soltamox (tamoxifen)
- Side Effects of Halaven (eribulin mesylate)
- Kadcyla (ado-trastuzumab emtansine)
- Abraxane (paclitaxel protein-bound particles)
- Kisqali (ribociclib)
- Verzenio (abemaciclib)
- Side Effects of Proleukin (aldesleukin)
- Enhertu (fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki)
Prevention & Wellness
- Why Even the Healthy Need a Primary Care Doctor
- HealthDay Now: The Rural Doctor Shortage
- 4 in 10 Adults Over 50 Consult Online Reviews When Picking a Doctor
- Studies Pinpoint Genes That Raise Risk for Breast Cancer
- Program Helps Low-Income Women Get Needed Mammograms
- Many Breast Cancer Survivors Have Healthy Babies: Study
- Many Male Breast Cancers Diagnosed Late, and Delays Can Be Lethal
- Radiation Plus Surgery May Be Best Against an Early Form of Breast Cancer
- Delayed Surgery for Early Breast Cancer Won't Harm Survival: Study
- Mammograms in 40s Can Save Women's Lives, Study Finds
- Breast Cancer Takes Big Financial Toll on Some Young Patients
- 'Lab-on-a-Chip' Blood Test Could Spot Breast Cancer Early
- Black and White Women Share the Same Genetic Risk for Breast Cancer
- Breast Cancer Group Issues Treatment Guidelines for Coronavirus Pandemic
- The Doctor Gap: Does America Have a Physician Shortage?
- Radiation Treatments Need to Take Breast Size Into Account: Study
- Female Firefighters Face Higher Exposure to Carcinogens
- AI Better at Reading Mammograms Than Radiologists
- AI Beat Humans in Spotting Breast Tumors
- Health Tip: Breast Cancer Screening Guidelines
- Shedding Pounds May Shrink Breast Cancer Risk
- Radiation of Just Part of the Breast Can Stop Cancer's Return
- Two Drugs Make Inroads Against Aggressive Breast Cancers
- Study Links Hair Straighteners, Dyes to Breast Cancer
- Expert: Herbal Aids Can Cause Harm When Breast Cancer Spread to Skin
- Mindfulness May Be a Balm for Breast Cancer Patients
- Health Tip: Benign Breast Lumps
- Another Weight-Loss Surgery Benefit: Lower Breast Cancer Risk
- Could a Blood Test for Breast Cancer Become a Reality?
- Don't Delay Surgery for Very Early-Stage Breast Cancer, Study Suggests
- Women With More Aggressive Breast Cancer Face Higher Risk of Other Cancers
- Beyonce's Dad Reveals His Breast Cancer Diagnosis
- Despite Rise in New Cases, Breast Cancer Deaths Continue to Fall
- AHA News: Entertainment Exec Mathew Knowles: I Have Breast Cancer
- Onions and Garlic May Reduce Breast Cancer Risk
- Don't Let Fear of Cancer Keep You From Doctor Visits
- Can Older Women Stop Getting Mammograms?
- AHA News: Scientists Find Biological Link Between High Blood Pressure and Breast Cancer
- Can Breast Cancer Be a Risk Factor for Opioid Use Among Older Patients?
- U.S. Task Force Updates Breast Cancer Gene Testing Recommendations
- Nearly Half of U.S. Patients Keep Vital Secrets From Their Doctors
- Red Meat May Raise Breast Cancer Risk
- New DNA Blood Test May Help Guide Breast Cancer Treatment
- Finances Affect Women's Choice of Breast Cancer Treatment: Study
- Could 3-D Mammograms Soon Be the Standard for Breast Cancer Screening?
- Making Sense of Mammography Guidelines
- Heart Disease Is Lasting Threat to Breast Cancer Survivors
- 'Focused' Radiation Could Lighten Treatment Burden for Early Breast Cancer
- Is MRI Screening Worth It for Breast Cancer Survivors?
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