Breast Cancer

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Breast Cancer

What is breast cancer?

Breast cancer happens when normal cells in the breast change and grow out of control. People sometimes discover that they have breast cancer because they find a lump in their breast. Other times, cancer is found during a routine screening test, before a lump can be felt.

Breast cancer is much more common in females, but anyone can get it. Breast cancer sometimes runs in families.

If you feel a lump in your breast, see your doctor or nurse right away. Breast lumps can be caused by conditions that are not cancer. But you should have any lumps checked out.

Is there a test for breast cancer?

Yes. Doctors use a special kind of X-ray called a "mammogram" to check for breast cancer. If a mammogram finds a spot that looks like it could be cancer, doctors usually follow up with other imaging tests. These might include an ultrasound or MRI scan.

In some cases, another test called a "biopsy" will be done. During a biopsy, a doctor takes 1 or more small samples of tissue from the breast. Then, they look at the cells under a microscope to check for cancer.

What is breast cancer staging?

Cancer staging is a way in which doctors find out how far a cancer has spread. The right treatment for you will depend, in part, on the stage of your cancer.

How is breast cancer treated?

Most people with breast cancer have 1 or more of the following treatments:

Surgery – Breast cancer is usually treated with surgery to remove the cancer. Many people with breast cancer can choose between 2 types of surgery
Mastectomy is surgery to remove the whole breast. (If you choose this option, you might have to decide whether to have surgery to reconstruct your breast and when.)
Breast-conserving surgery is surgery to remove the cancer and a section of healthy tissue around it. This is also called "lumpectomy." People who choose this option keep their breast. But they usually need to have radiation therapy after surgery.
Radiation therapy – Radiation kills cancer cells.
Chemotherapy – Chemotherapy is the medical term for medicines that kill cancer cells or stop them from growing. Some people take these medicines before surgery to shrink the cancer and make it easier to remove. Some take these medicines after surgery to prevent cancer from growing, spreading, or coming back.
Endocrine therapy – Some forms of breast cancer grow in response to the hormone estrogen. "Endocrine therapy" means treatments that block estrogen or prevent your body from making estrogen.
Targeted therapy – Some medicines work only on cancers that have certain characteristics. Your doctor might test you to see if you have a kind of cancer that would respond to this therapy.
Immunotherapy – This means medicines that work with the body's infection-fighting system to stop cancer growth. Immunotherapy might be used with chemotherapy to treat certain types of advanced breast cancers.

Breast Cancer

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