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. Read more: What Is the Sentinel Lymph Node in 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 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: 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....
QUESTION
A lump in the breast is almost always cancer. See AnswerRelated Disease Conditions
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Breast Cancer in Men
Second Source WebMD Medical Reference
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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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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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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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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 many different types of breast cancer.Breast cancer symptoms and signs includea 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, anda 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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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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How Long After Breast Cancer Can You Get Lymphedema?
Breast cancer means a disease in which the cells of your breast abnormally grow out of control. It commonly occurs in women than in men. There are different types of breast cancer depending on the type of cells that turned cancerous (grow wildly).
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What Happens if Sentinel Node Biopsy Is Negative?
Sentinel node biopsy is a surgical procedure performed to determine if cancer has spread from the site of the primary tumor to the lymphatic system. It is mostly used in evaluating breast cancer, thyroid cancer, melanoma, and several other cancers. The sentinel nodes are the first few lymph nodes to which the cancer spreads.
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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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Breast Cancer Facts
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 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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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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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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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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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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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 Questions Should I Ask My Doctor About Breast Cancer?
A diagnosis of breast cancer can be overwhelming, so it's important to write down all your questions before meeting with your doctor.
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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 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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