Breast Cancer Medical Reference

It can be scary to learn you have HER2-negative advanced breast cancer. Learn what this diagnosis means and how this cancer can be treated.

Ready to tell friends and family about your advanced breast cancer diagnosis? Use these tips to share your news, your way.

Stage IV and square one: What you can control after a metastatic breast cancer diagnosis.

Learn what metastatic breast cancer means and what to do if your cancer has spread.

When cancer spreads, so do myths. Learn the metastatic breast cancer facts you can trust.

A rare form of breast cancer can give you a rash and make you feel sore. But don’t panic! Many other less severe problems can cause these symptoms too.

Some kinds of cancer need hormones to grow and spread. If yours does, that can affect your treatment plan.

Mastectomy is the main treatment for men with breast cancer. WebMD tells you how this procedure works and what to expect afterward.

Breast cancer can come back after treatment. Find out what you should watch for and how to know if this happens.

Find out what metastatic breast cancer is, what signs and symptoms you might have, how it’s diagnosed, and more.

If your breast cancer is "metastatic," it could affect what treatment you need.

This information is produced and provided by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The information in this topic may have changed since it was written. For the most current information, contact the National Cancer Institute via the Internet web site at http://cancer.gov or call 1-800-4-CANCER.Breast Cancer Treatment

Male breast cancer is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the tissues of the breast.Breast cancer may occur in men. Men at any age may develop breast cancer, but it is usually detected (found) in men between 60 and 70 years of age. Male breast cancer makes up less than 1% of all cases of breast cancer.The following types of breast cancer are found in men:Infiltrating ductal carcinoma: Cancer that has spread beyond the cells lining ducts in the breast. Most men with breast cancer have this type of cancer.Ductal carcinoma in situ: Abnormal cells that are found in the lining of a duct; also called intraductal carcinoma.Inflammatory breast cancer: A type of cancer in which the breast looks red and swollen and feels warm.Paget disease of the nipple: A tumor that has grown from ducts beneath the nipple onto the surface of the nipple.Lobular carcinoma in situ (abnormal cells found in one of the lobes or sections of the breast), which sometimes occurs in women, has not been

Screening is looking for cancer before a person has any symptoms. This can help find cancer at an early stage. When abnormal tissue or cancer is found early, it may be easier to treat. By the time symptoms appear, cancer may have begun to spread.Scientists are trying to better understand which people are more likely to get certain types of cancer. They also study the things we do and the things around us to see if they cause cancer. This information helps doctors recommend who should be screened for cancer, which screening tests should be used, and how often the tests should be done. It is important to remember that your doctor does not necessarily think you have cancer if he or she suggests a screening test. Screening tests are given when you have no cancer symptoms. If a screening test result is abnormal, you may need to have more tests done to find out if you have cancer. These are called diagnostic tests. See the following PDQ summary for more information about cancer

Recurrent breast cancer is cancer that has recurred (come back) after it has been treated. The cancer may come back in the breast, in the chest wall, or in other parts of the body.

Treatment of triple-negative breast cancer may include the following:Chemotherapy followed by surgery (breast-conserving surgery, total mastectomy, or modified radical mastectomy) and lymph node dissection.A clinical trial of combination chemotherapy with drugs that are often used to treat breast cancer and drugs that are not usually used to treat breast cancer.A clinical trial of PARP inhibitor therapy.Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's list of cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with triple-negative breast cancer. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.

Breast cancer is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the tissues of the breast.The breast is made up of lobes and ducts. Each breast has 15 to 20 sections called lobes. Each lobe has many smaller sections called lobules. Lobules end in dozens of tiny bulbs that can make milk. The lobes, lobules, and bulbs are linked by thin tubes called ducts. Anatomy of the female breast. The nipple and areola are shown on the outside of the breast. The lymph nodes, lobes, lobules, ducts, and other parts of the inside of the breast are also shown.Each breast also has blood vessels and lymph vessels. The lymph vessels carry an almost colorless fluid called lymph. Lymph vessels carry lymph between lymph nodes. Lymph nodes are small bean-shaped structures that are found throughout the body. They filter substances in lymph and help fight infection and disease. Clusters of lymph nodes are found near the breast in the axilla (under the arm), above the collarbone, and in the chest.Sometimes

Breast cancer is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the tissues of the breast.The breast is made up of lobes and ducts. Each breast has 15 to 20 sections called lobes. Each lobe has many smaller sections called lobules. Lobules end in dozens of tiny bulbs that can make milk. The lobes, lobules, and bulbs are linked by thin tubes called ducts. Anatomy of the female breast. The nipple and areola are shown on the outside of the breast. The lymph nodes, lobes, lobules, ducts, and other parts of the inside of the breast are also shown.Each breast also has blood vessels and lymph vessels. The lymph vessels carry an almost colorless fluid called lymph. Lymph vessels carry lymph between lymph nodes. Lymph nodes are small bean-shaped structures that are found throughout the body. They filter substances in lymph and help fight infection and disease. Clusters of lymph nodes are found near the breast in the axilla (under the arm), above the collarbone, and in the chest.The most

Treatment of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) may include the following:Breast-conserving surgery and radiation therapy with or without tamoxifen.Total mastectomy with or without tamoxifen.Breast-conserving surgery without radiation therapy.Clinical trials testing breast-conserving surgery and tamoxifen with or without radiation therapy.Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's list of cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with ductal breast carcinoma in situ. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.

Cancer prevention is action taken to lower the chance of getting cancer. By preventing cancer, the number of new cases of cancer in a group or population is lowered. Hopefully, this will lower the number of deaths caused by cancer. To prevent new cancers from starting, scientists look at risk factors and protective factors. Anything that increases your chance of developing cancer is called a cancer risk factor; anything that decreases your chance of developing cancer is called a cancer protective factor.Some risk factors for cancer can be avoided, but many cannot. For example, both smoking and inheriting certain genes are risk factors for some types of cancer, but only smoking can be avoided. Regular exercise and a healthy diet may be protective factors for some types of cancer. Avoiding risk factors and increasing protective factors may lower your risk but it does not mean that you will not get cancer. Different ways to prevent cancer are being studied, including:Changing lifestyle

For men with locally recurrent disease (cancer that has come back in a limited area after treatment), treatment is usually either:Surgery combined with chemotherapy; orRadiation therapy combined with chemotherapy.

The PDQ cancer information summaries are reviewed regularly and updated as new information becomes available. This section describes the latest changes made to this summary as of the date above.Editorial changes were made to this summary.

Call 1-800-4-CANCERFor more information, U.S. residents may call the National Cancer Institute's (NCI's) Cancer Information Service toll-free at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237) Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Eastern Time. A trained Cancer Information Specialist is available to answer your questions.Chat online The NCI's LiveHelp® online chat service provides Internet users with the ability to chat online with an Information Specialist. The service is available from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Eastern time, Monday through Friday. Information Specialists can help Internet users find information on NCI Web sites and answer questions about cancer. Write to usFor more information from the NCI, please write to this address:NCI Public Inquiries Office9609 Medical Center Dr. Room 2E532 MSC 9760Bethesda, MD 20892-9760Search the NCI Web siteThe NCI Web site provides online access to information on cancer, clinical trials, and other Web sites and organizations that offer support

This information is produced and provided by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The information in this topic may have changed since it was written. For the most current information, contact the National Cancer Institute via the Internet web site at http://cancer.gov or call 1-800-4-CANCER.Male Breast Cancer Treatment

Recurrent breast cancer is cancer that has recurred (come back) after it has been treated. The cancer may come back in the breast, in the chest wall, or in other parts of the body.