Overview
Breast cancer is a kind of cancer that begins as a growth of cells in the breast tissue.
After skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in women in the United States. But breast cancer doesn’t just happen in women. Everyone is born with some breast tissue, so anyone can get breast cancer.
Breast cancer survival rates have been increasing. And the number of people dying of breast cancer is steadily going down. Much of this is due to the widespread support for breast cancer awareness and funding for research.
Advances in breast cancer screening allow healthcare professionals to diagnose breast cancer earlier. Finding the cancer earlier makes it much more likely that the cancer can be cured. Even when breast cancer can’t be cured, many treatments exist to extend life. New discoveries in breast cancer research are helping healthcare professionals choose the most effective treatment plans.
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Types
Symptoms
Signs and symptoms of breast cancer may include:
- A breast lump or thickened area of skin that feels different from the surrounding tissue.
- A nipple that looks flattened or turns inward.
- Changes in the color of the breast skin. In people with white skin, the breast skin may look pink or red. In people with brown and Black skin, the breast skin may look darker than the other skin on the chest or it may look red or purple.
- Change in the size, shape or appearance of a breast.
- Changes to the skin over the breast, such as skin that looks dimpled or looks like an orange peel.
- Peeling, scaling, crusting or flaking of the skin on the breast.
When to see a doctor
If you find a lump or other change in your breast, make an appointment with a doctor or other healthcare professional. Don’t wait for your next mammogram to see if the change you found is breast cancer. Report any changes in your breasts even if a recent mammogram showed there was no breast cancer.
