Breast cancer
What is it?
Breast cancer occurs most often in women, although men can also develop this disease. One in 11 women in Australia will develop the disease before the age of 75. Here, we focus on breast cancer in women and recommend that men who have been diagnosed with breast cancer speak to their doctor for information specific to them.
Breast cancer can develop at any age, but the risk of developing it increases as women get older. The majority of women who develop breast cancer are past the menopause but about 1 in 5 develop the condition below the age of 50. It is the commonest single cause of death among women in Australia. While 5% to 10% of breast cancers are related to an inherited defect in one of two genes (BRCA-1 or BRCA-2), the majority of cases develop for reasons we do not yet understand. As a general rule, those at higher risk of developing breast cancer include women whose close relatives have had the disease, women who have not had children and women who had their first child after the age of 30.
Breast cancer may be divided into three stages, reflecting the extent to which the cancer has spread in the body.
Breast cancer occurs most often in women, although men can also develop this disease. One in 11 women in Australia will develop the disease before the age of 75. Here, we focus on breast cancer in women and recommend that men who have been diagnosed with breast cancer speak to their doctor for information specific to them.
Breast cancer can develop at any age, but the risk of developing it increases as women get older. The majority of women who develop breast cancer are past the menopause but about 1 in 5 develop the condition below the age of 50. It is the commonest single cause of death among women in Australia. While 5% to 10% of breast cancers are related to an inherited defect in one of two genes (BRCA-1 or BRCA-2), the majority of cases develop for reasons we do not yet understand. As a general rule, those at higher risk of developing breast cancer include women whose close relatives have had the disease, women who have not had children and women who had their first child after the age of 30.
Breast cancer may be divided into three stages, reflecting the extent to which the cancer has spread in the body.
- Early stage breast cancer is usually confined to the ducts (which transport milk to the nipple during lactation (breast feeding)) or to the lobules (small areas of tissue where milk is produced in the breast) and is known as noninvasive cancer. If the cancer is confined to the ducts, it is called ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and if it is confined to the lobules, it is called lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS). At this stage, the cancer cannot be felt as a lump in the breast, but DCIS can sometimes be detected by mammography.
- Invasive stage breast cancer is characterised by a spread of the cancer beyond the ducts or lobules and into the surrounding areas of breast tissue. At this stage, the cancer may be detected through breast self-examination, by a clinical breast examination performed by health care professional, or by mammography.
- Metastatic stage breast cancer is cancer that has spread (metastasised) to other areas of the body, including nearby lymph nodes. At this stage, treatment requires the combined effort of several specialists, including surgeons, oncologists, and radiologists.
