Lobular Carcinoma In Situ (LCIS)
Not a true cancer, but abnormal cell growth in the lobules that indicates an increased risk for developing invasive breast cancer in the future.
Know Your Breast Health
Aware, Educate, Act.
Understanding Breast Cancer
Breast cancer is a disease in which cells in the breast grow out of control, forming a tumor. These cancerous cells can then invade surrounding tissue or spread (metastasize) to other areas of the body through the bloodstream and lymphatic system. Understanding breast cancer begins with recognizing its fundamental nature – an uncontrolled cellular growth – and the various ways it can manifest.
How Does Breast Cancer Develop?
Our bodies are made of billions of cells that normally grow, divide, and die in a regulated cycle. Cancer occurs when this cycle goes awry. In breast cancer, healthy breast cells mutate and begin to grow abnormally and rapidly. These rogue cells continue to divide, forming a mass of extra tissue called a tumor. Not all breast tumors are cancerous (malignant); some are benign (non-cancerous), but they still require medical evaluation.
Over time, if left untreated, malignant breast cancer cells can break away from the original tumor. They can travel to other parts of the body through the blood vessels or lymphatic system and form new tumors, a process known as metastasis. It's this ability to spread that makes breast cancer a serious and potentially life-threatening disease.
Ask Your Doctor When You Should Begin Screening
Types of Breast Cancer:
While often spoken of as a single disease, "breast cancer" is actually an umbrella term for several distinct types, each with its own characteristics and treatment approaches.
The most common types include:
Invasive Lobular Carcinoma (ILC)
The most common type (70-80%), it starts in the milk ducts, then spreads into surrounding breast tissue and potentially to other body parts.
Ductal Carcinoma In Situ (DCIS)
A non-invasive cancer where abnormal cells are confined to the milk ducts. While not immediately life-threatening, it can become invasive if untreated.
Invasive Ductal Carcinoma (IDC)
The second most common invasive type (10-15%), it begins in milk-producing glands (lobules) and spreads to surrounding tissue. Often subtle, it can be harder to detect than IDC.
Beyond these structural classifications, breast cancers are often further categorized by their biological characteristics, which significantly influence treatment decisions:
Triple-Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC): An aggressive type, it lacks estrogen, progesterone, and HER2 receptors, meaning it doesn't respond to hormone or HER2-targeted therapies and is typically treated with chemotherapy.
HER2-positive Breast Cancer: Features excess HER2 protein, which speeds cell growth. Targeted therapies are available to block HER2, significantly improving outcomes.
Hormone Receptor-Positive (ER+/PR+) Breast Cancer: The most common type, these cancers grow in response to estrogen and/or progesterone. They are often treated with hormone therapy to block or reduce these hormones.
Understanding these different types is crucial because it highlights why treatment plans are highly personalized, tailored to the specific characteristics of each individual's cancer.
Explore Our Approach to Cancer Care
Signs & Symptoms of Breast Cancer: Know Your Normal
Being aware of your body and recognizing changes is crucial for early detection, as it significantly improves outcomes. While many breast changes are benign, always have new or unusual symptoms checked by a doctor promptly.
What to Look and Feel For:
- Lump or Thickening: A new, often hard, mass in the breast or armpit. It might be painless, but any new lump needs evaluation.
- Change in Size or Shape of the Breast: Unexplained swelling, shrinkage, or changes in breast contour.
- Skin Changes:
- Dimpling or Puckering (like an orange peel).
- Redness, Swelling, or Warmth.
- Scaling, Flaking, Crusting, or Thickening of the skin.
- Nipple Changes:
- Nipple Retraction or Inversion: A nipple turning inward or pointing differently.
- Nipple Discharge: Any discharge other than breast milk, especially if bloody or clear.
- Persistent soreness, rash, or itching on the nipple.
- Breast or Nipple Pain: While often painless, persistent pain that doesn't go away can sometimes be a symptom.
Risk Factors and Genetic Testing for Breast Cancer
Understanding breast cancer risk factors is an an important part of awareness. It's crucial to remember that having one or more risk factors doesn't mean you will get breast cancer, and many people who develop breast cancer have few or no known risk factors. However, being aware of them can help you have informed conversations with your doctor and make proactive health choices.
Risk factors are generally categorized into two groups: Non-Modifiable Risk Factors (Factors You Cannot Change) and Modifiable Risk Factors (Factors You Can Change)
By understanding both sets of risk factors, you can engage in an informed discussion with your healthcare provider about your individual breast cancer risk and the best approach to monitoring and prevention.
Non-Modifiable Risk Factors (Factors You Cannot Change):
These are aspects of your health and genetics that you cannot alter. Awareness helps you and your doctor assess your risk and guide screening.
- Age: Risk significantly increases with age, especially after 50.
- Gender: Women are far more likely to develop breast cancer than men.
- Genetics: Inherited mutations (e.g., BRCA1/2, PALB2, CHEK2) drastically increase risk. Genetic counseling may be advised with a strong family history.
- Family History: A close relative (mother, sister, daughter) with breast cancer, especially at a young age, increases your risk.
- Dense Breasts: Higher glandular/fibrous tissue makes mammograms harder to read and is an independent risk factor.
- Personal History of Breast Cancer: Having had breast cancer increases the risk of a new cancer in either breast.
- Certain Benign Breast Conditions: Some non-cancerous conditions (e.g., atypical hyperplasia) are linked to increased risk.
Modifiable Risk Factors (Factors You Can Change):
These are lifestyle choices and exposures you can influence. Making healthy changes can potentially lower your breast cancer risk.
- Alcohol Consumption: Regular drinking increases risk, with higher consumption meaning higher risk.
- Obesity/Weight Gain: Being overweight or obese, especially post-menopause, is linked to higher risk.
- Physical Inactivity: A sedentary lifestyle increases risk; regular exercise can help lower it.
- Certain Types of Hormone Therapy: Combined menopausal hormone therapy (estrogen and progestin) raises risk if used long-term.
- Smoking: Associated with increased breast cancer risk, especially in younger women.
- Exposure to Certain Chemicals: Emerging research suggests potential links between some environmental chemicals and breast cancer risk.
Learn About Genetic Testing
Diagnosis & Treatment
Understanding the diagnosis and treatment process can empower you on your breast cancer journey. Modern medicine offers accurate diagnostic tools and personalized treatment options.
The Diagnosis Process:
If screening or a personal observation (like a lump) raises suspicion, further tests are ordered:
- Diagnostic Imaging: More focused mammograms, breast ultrasounds, or MRIs detailed images.
- Biopsy: The only definitive diagnosis. A tissue sample is taken and examined by a pathologist to identify cancer, its type, and key characteristics (e.g., hormone receptor and HER2 status).
- Staging: Additional tests (blood work, scans) determine if cancer has spread, guiding treatment planning.
Treatment Options Overview:
Understanding that every breast cancer is unique, our approach to treatment is highly individualized. Based on your specific cancer type, stage, overall health, and personal preferences, a dedicated multidisciplinary team will collaboratively craft your tailored plan.
Treatment Planning:
Your medical team will explain all options, benefits, and side effects. Ask questions, seek second opinions, and ensure your treatment aligns with your goals.
Treatment options include:
- Surgery: Often the first step to remove the tumor.
- Lumpectomy: Removes the tumor and a small margin, often followed by radiation.
- Mastectomy: Removes the entire breast.
- Lymph Node Surgery: Checks nearby lymph nodes for cancer spread.
- Radiation Therapy: Uses high-energy rays to destroy cancer cells, often used after lumpectomy to reduce recurrence.
- Chemotherapy: Medications given to kill cancer cells throughout the body, before or after surgery, or for advanced cancer.
- Hormone Therapy: Used for hormone receptor-positive cancers, it blocks or reduces hormones that fuel cancer growth.
- Targeted Therapy: Attacks specific characteristics of cancer cells (e.g., in HER2-positive cancer), often with fewer side effects.
- Immunotherapy: Helps your immune system fight cancer, a newer option for certain advanced cases.
- Clinical Trials: Access to cutting-edge, experimental treatments.
Early Detection & Screening: Your Best Defense
When it comes to breast cancer, early detection is key. Finding cancer early, often before it causes noticeable symptoms or spreads, significantly improves treatment outcomes and survival rates. This section will guide you through the primary tools and practices for early detection, helping you be proactive about your breast health.
Why Early Detection Matters:
The goal of early detection is to identify breast cancer at its earliest, most treatable stages. Regular screening, combined with breast awareness, dramatically increases the chances of successful treatment.
Breast Health Blogs and Articles
Young Valley Mother, Physician to be Recognized During Sunday’s Arizona Cardinals Game after Personal Battle with Aggressive Form of Breast Cancer
A young Valley mother and neurologist with Barrow Neurological Institute at Dignity Health St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center will be recognized during Sunday’s Arizona Cardinals game at State Farm Stadium for her courageous battle with breast
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Young Valley Mother, Physician to Run Against Cancer after Personal Battle with Aggressive Form of Breast Cancer
A young Valley mother, avid marathon runner, and neurologist with Barrow Neurological Institute at Dignity Health St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center is running in the 12th annual Race Against Cancer 5K, a partnership between the Dignity Health
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Male Breast Cancer Cases on the Rise
The University of Arizona Cancer Center at Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center are urging men to guard against their risk for breast cancer. Commonly believed to be a women’s disease, diagnosed cases of breast cancer in men have
Read More Additional information about Male Breast Cancer Cases on the Rise