Breast Cancer
Breast Cancer OverviewBreast cancer is cancer arising in breast tissue. Cancer is simply a group of abnormal cells that have abnormal growth patterns.
The breasts are made of fat, glands, and connective (fibrous) tissue. The breast has several lobes, which are divided into lobules that end in the milk glands. Tiny ducts run from the many tiny glands, connect together, and end in the nipple.
Precancerous changes, called in situ changes, are common.
When cancers spread into the surrounding tissues, they are termed infiltrating cancers. Cancers spreading from the ducts into adjacent spaces are termed infiltrating ductal carcinomas. Cancers spreading from the lobules are infiltrating lobular carcinomas. The most serious cancers are metastatic cancers. Metastasis means that the cancer has spread from the place where it started into other tissues distant from the original tumor site. The most common place for breast cancer to metastasize is into the lymph nodes under the arm or above the collarbone on the same side as the cancer. Other common sites of breast cancer metastasis are the brain, the bones, and the liver. Medical Author:
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Breast Cancer »
Breast cancer is the most common cancer and the second most common cause of death from cancer in women.