It’s not enough to know that you have breast cancer, you should also know about the breast cancer types. For this the doctor uses a sample gathered during a biopsy or an older sample in case you already had a surgery.
Based on the type, the doctor will know which approach to use in your case.
Invasive or noninvasive kind of breast cancer
Knowing this kind of information, your doctor will be able to determine whether there is the possibility that the cancer had spread to other tissues as well. He or she will also know about the kind of treatment you need and whether there is the risk of developing cancer in the same breast or the other one.
This is one of the types of breast cancer that is also known as in situ and it means that the cancer cells remained where they originated from; they didn’t spread to the tissues of the lobule or duct.
The most common breast cancer of this kind is the ductal carcinoma in situ, and this attacks the milk ducts. In case of this type of condition, the cancerous cells will not have spread beyond the walls of the milk duct. Doctors call this condition cancer at stage 0.
This type of breast cancer is known as infiltrating cancer because it spreads outside the point of origin. According to this the cancerous cells can be transported to the other parts of the body, like the lymph nodes. In case the breast cancer that you are faced with is of stage 1, 2, 3, or 4 you are facing invasive breast cancer.
Where did it start?
The types of breast cancer are also determined by their point of origin and this also influences the way that they behave.
This is also known as ductal carcinoma and it is considered to be the most common type of breast cancer. In this case the cancerous cells originate from inside the lining of the milk duct. This duct transports the milk produced in the glands to the nipples.
Milk producing lobules
This one of the breast cancer types is known as lobular carcinoma since it starts in the lobules. This is where the milk is produced. These are connected to the ducts.
It is quite rare for the breast cancer to start in the connective tissues made of muscles, blood vessels and fat. This kind of breast cancer is also known as sarcoma. Such sarcomas include angiosarcoma and phyllodes tumor.
Other names for types of breast cancer
DCIS has been mentioned before, meaning ductal carcinoma in situ, but there is also DCI, referring to invasive ductal carcinoma, ILC standing for invasive lobular carcinoma, inflammatory breast cancer, LCIS for lobular carcinoma in situ and so on.
In case you would like to have more information regarding different kinds of breast cancer, you should ask your doctor, because he or she for sure will be able to tell you more about these kinds of conditions.