Breast cancer is usually classified by where it starts, whether in the ducts of the breast, or in the lobes, which is the area of the breasts which produces the milk. While the types of cancer can usually be classified even further from the main types, there are these general ones that you should be familiar with.
Ductal Carcinoma Cancer– The ducts are the parts of the breast that supply milk to the nipple from the lobes. The cells of the ducts are underneath the nipple and the areola. Most types of breast cancer diagnosed fall into this category – nearly ninety percent in fact. The two types of Ductal Carcinoma are DCIS, which stands for Ductal Carcinoma in situ. This type of cancer stays inside of the ducts and its treatable but it is also a risk factor for recurrent breast cancer or invasive one. The other type of ductal cancer, IDE or Infiltrating Ductal Carcinoma, is an invasive cancer that has spread to other tissue in the breast that is nearby. The treatment for each of these types of ductal cancers can vary, and your doctor will determine which is the appropriate course of action .
Lobular Carcinoma Cancer- The abnormal cell start in the lobes, the areas of the breast which are responsible for producing milk. The lobes are actually deeper in the breast than the ducts, which can sometimes make this type of cancer harder to treat. Again, this type of cancer is divided up into whether or not it is confined to the particular area, such as LCIS, or lobular carcinoma in situ that is not a real cancer, it’s just a group of abnormal cells with high risk for developing cancer, or whether or not the cancer is invasive and has or will spread to other parts of the breasts. Again, both of these types may require different treatments. This type of breast cancer is the most common after Ductal Carcinoma.
Invasive Carcinoma– As we said earlier both of the types of cancers mentioned above can spread to other parts of the patient’s breast and even to other parts of their body and each type has their invasive divisions. However, there are several different types of invasive cancer as well. There are also some other types of cancer which are much more rare and almost never seen.
Man Breast Cancer– Another fact to keep in mind is that females are not the only ones to suffer from breast cancer. While it is almost exclusively limited to females a couple thousand men every year get breast cancer. The symptoms, the treatment or the diagnosis of this type of breast cancer are very similar to the breast cancer in women.
A more rare type of breast cancer is known as Inflammatory Breast Cancer, and this is one of the scariest types because it is much more aggressive than the other types. It starts in the tissue of the breast rather than in the ducts or lobes and while it is difficult to manage, the survival rates are quite high if it is caught early.
The least common type of breast cancer is called Paget’s disease, names for the researcher who discovered it. This is a type of cancer of the nipple, and can often be mistaken for a skin rash or eczema. This type of cancer is generally treated with a mastectomy and may be more advanced, into the areola and milk ducts by the time it is discovered.
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