A lot of us have heard a lot about breast cancer, but what exactly is it? Breast cancer is a lump of cells that rapidly grow and divide in various parts of the breast and breast tissue. 80% of breast cancer is formed in the hollow areas of the mammary ducts, the other 20% occurs in the lobules. Cancerous tumors usually grow very slowly and can actually be present for 10 years before being detectable by a self examination. However, a lump does not necessarily mean you have evasive cancer. It is very important to understand the difference between carcinoma in situ and invasive breast cancer.

Carcinoma in situ is an abnormal cell growth/development inside either the milk ducts or the lobules without spreading to surrounding tissue, hence the term “in situ” which means “in place”. As long as the abnormal cells remain in the milk ducts or lobules the condition is classified as carcinoma in situ. Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) are the two primary sub-categories that we will examine.

Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is the growth of abnormal cells that are isolated in hollow areas of the mammary ducts and have not spread to surrounding tissues. However these abnormal cells look very similar to the cells that compose invasive cancer. DCIS can still turn into invasive cancer if it is not detected therefore it is very important to perform frequent self examinations.

LCIS is a disease where abnormal cell growth takes place in the hollow areas of the lobules. LCIS differs from DCIS in the fact that LCIS cells do not have the potential to become invasive cancer. However, women that have LCIS are at a much higher risk of getting invasive cancer.

If these abnormal cells in the mammary ducts or the lobules spread outside of that area, the disease is reclassified as invasive cancer. Invasive cancer has the ability to spread outside the origin area and affect the surrounding breast tissue, lungs, liver, and bones. Early detection is imperative to ensure a more successful treatment probability. Success rates dramatically decline as cases progress without treatment.

If a woman finds a lump, it is extremely important to get it checked out, the odds of it being invasive cancer is about 20%. She can do this by either getting a mammogram or a biopsy. The mammogram will provide additional information about the size and severity of the tumor. And if necessary, a biopsy will be taken, which can give a physician definitive answers on what type of cancer and its severity.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 27th, 2008 at 12:06 am and is filed under Diseases. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.