What is breast cancer?
Breast cancer starts when cells in your breast grow abnormally. These cells can multiply and spread to other tissues. After skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common cancer in women today. In fact, about one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. While uncommon, men can get breast cancer too. Men make up less than 1% of all cases.
Whether you want to know your risk or you’re navigating a breast cancer diagnosis, you have many resources for prevention, detection, treatment and recovery. You have access to complete services from several areas of care across the Baylor Scott & White system—all dedicated to beating breast cancer.
Symptoms of breast cancer
One of the main signs of breast cancer is a lump, which can appear in your breast or underarm. However, lumps don’t always occur with every type of breast cancer. When they appear or are large enough to be felt, cancer may be advanced or fast-growing.
Early-stage breast cancer does not always cause symptoms. Still, it’s important to know what to look for so you can identify changes in your breasts during monthly self-exams.
In addition to breast lumps, signs and symptoms of breast cancer include:
- A nipple that pulls or turns in
- Changes in your breast’s size or shape
- Discharge from the nipple that is not breast milk
- Pain in your breast or nipple
- Skin changes in the breast or around the nipple, such as dimpling, puckering, irritation, redness, dryness or flaking
- Swelling or thickening in the breast or armpit
When to see a doctor
See your doctor as soon as possible whenever you notice concerning signs or symptoms in your breasts. Many conditions can cause similar symptoms, and your provider can help you determine the cause and the appropriate treatment.
You can stay on top of your health with monthly breast self-exams. These let you get to know the normal texture and feel of your breasts, which can help you identify changes sooner.
What causes breast cancer?
Breast cancer is caused by breast cells that grow out of control. Medical experts do not know exactly why breast cells grow out of control in some women, but it may occur because of hormones or changes in your genes that you inherit from your parents or that develop over the course of your life. Genes control how your cells grow, divide and repair problems in DNA that can lead to cancer.
Researchers have identified many genetic changes that can increase your risk of developing breast cancer, including changes in BRCA1 and BRCA2, two genes commonly associated with the disease. However, many gene changes that cause breast cancer develop after you are born and are not well understood.
Risk factors for breast cancer
Knowing your risk for breast cancer allows you to take proactive steps to care for your breast health. Some breast cancer risk factors are within your control, and healthy changes may lower your risk. Others are not, but regular screenings can help you identify cancer early when it’s easier to treat.
Breast cancer stages
Several tests are used to measure a cancer’s stage. Staging depends on the size and grade of a tumor, how far it has spread and whether it has protein receptors (also called biomarkers). The stage of your cancer will help determine your treatment.
In general, breast cancer is staged from 0 to IV. Stage 0 cancer is the lowest stage. These cancers are noninvasive and often labeled as “carcinoma in situ.” Stage IV cancers are the most advanced form of the condition and are often referred to as metastatic breast cancer, which means it has spread outside the breast to the bones, lungs, liver or brain.
