Breast cancer is the unrestricted growth of abnormal cells in the breast. The more you know about the cancer, the better equipped both you and your doctor will be in treating it. Besides, you feel more in control of your BODY.

What are the types of breast cancer?

Cancerous (or malignant) cells in the breast develop into tumours, which, if undetected and untreated can spread to the surrounding breast tissue, lymph nodes under the arm, and other parts of the body. The tumours can begin in the milk glands, milk ducts, fatty tissue, or connective tissue of the breast. Breast cancer types include:

• Ductal carcinoma. Cancer of the milk ducts, which usually occurs within only one breast and accounts for almost 90% of breast cancer diagnoses.
• Intraductal carcinoma, also called ductal carcinoma in situ, or DCIS, a type of breast cancer caught in a very early stage.
• Lobular carcinoma. A cancer that occurs in any of the 15 to 20 overlapping sections or lobes of the breast. It can appear in both breasts. The condition called lobular carcinoma in situ is not actually a form of cancer, but a type of suspicious breast change that raises a woman risk for developing breast cancer.
• Medullary carcinoma. A form of ductal carcinoma.
• Tubular carcinoma. Very rare, appearing in less than 2% of all breast cancer cases.
• Inflammatory breast cancer. A cancer that causes the breast to become red and inflamed. Tends to spread quickly.
• Paget disease of the nipple. Signs include eczema-like changes (dryness, flakiness) in the skin of the nipple.

A full 99% of people who develop breast cancer are women and most of them are in the age group of 30 to 80. A womans risk increases as she ages. No one knows for certain what actually causes breast cancer. But, a number of factors are thought to increase your personal risk. If you or someone else in your family has a history of breast, colon, uterine, or ovarian cancer, or if you have ever had a breast biopsy that revealed unusual changes such as hyper-plasia, you are at greater risk. If you began menstruating before 12, or if you went through menopause after 55; or if you've never given birth, or gave birth for the first time after 30, your risk for breast cancer is higher than average.

Even in the absence of any other risk factors, just being 50 or older puts you in the increased-risk category.Also, a high dietary fat intake seems to be linked to an increased risk. Moderate to heavy drinking (having more than one alcoholic drink per day) also appears to raise risk, but why or how is still unknown. Lack of daily exercise, or being seriously overweight (40% or more over your ideal weight) are thought to contribute as well. Environmental factors like radiation exposure (multiple X-rays or radiation treatment), exposure to pesticides and other environmental pollutants including cigarette smoke may all be factors that affect breast cancer risk.

A few drugs may, although rarely, also contribute to the development of breast cancer. Long-term use of hormones, such as the synthetic forms of oestrogen used in hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and oral contraceptives (the Pill) may slightly increase breast cancer risk. Some cases may be related to a genetic predisposition, specifically the presence of oncogenes (genes that can trigger normal cells to mutate into cancer cells).Defective genes, particularly those referred to as BRCA1 and BRCA2, are also to blame. But, gene tests can also tell a woman with breast cancer whether she is a carrier of a breast cancer gene.

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