8 Major Symptoms and Types of Breast Cancer You Need to Know

Breast cancer is a type of cancer that starts in the breast where cells grow out of control and form a tumor. This type of cancer targets women, but men can get breast cancer too.

While in Egypt, breast cancer is the most common type of cancer among women, as 32.4% out of female cancer patients are diagnosed with Breast Cancer.

Questions like: What are the types of breast cancer and what are the differences between them? Here is the answer.

Types of Breast Cancer:

1. Non-Invasive

DCIS

This type of cell means that the cancer cells are formed in the breast but haven’t moved nor spread into nearby breast tissues. While this might seem comforting, DCIS is usually a sign of future invasive ductal cancer.

LCIS:

Similar to DCIS, this type of cancer isn’t life-threatening but it’s a sign that cancer cells have been formed in the breast and might turn into future invasive lobular cancer.

2. Invasive

Common

IDC:

it’s the most common invasive breast cancer with 70-80% of all invasive breast cancers. The tumor is formed in the tubes that carry milk and it’s usually irregular and has a hard texture.

ILC:

The second most common type of breast cancer that comes after IDC with 5-10% of all invasive breast cancers. The tumor is formed in the Lobules and its texture is usually slightly firm too hard and appears in file shape.

This type of cancer is a little harder to be detected on mammograms. But 1 in 5 women with ILC can have both breasts affected.

Rare

IBC:

It’s a type of Invasive ductal cancer that is rare as it targets only 1-5% of all breast cancers. But Inflammatory breast cancer is known for its aggressiveness. Its name comes from the fact that affected breasts often look “inflamed”, red, and swollen. This type of cancer spreads rapidly in the body in a matter of weeks or months- and is either stage III or IV.

Paget disease of the nipples

Comes second in the rare division of breast cancers as it affects only 1-4% of all breast cancers.

This type of cancer affects only one breast and is usually accompanied by more than one tumor in that same breast.

It involves the nipples hence, the name and the dark area around it, where the infected area itches, tingles and is often red.

Angiosarcoma of the breast:

another rare type of breast cancer that affects 1-2% of all breast cancers. It’s more common in older people, 70 and above and it appears often after 8-10 years of previous radiation therapy to the breast.

Metastatic(stage IV):

This is by far the rarest type of breast cancer as it affects less than 1% of them all. It’s a stage IV breast cancer that has spread to other parts of the body like the lungs, liver, brain, and bones. The tumor tends to be larger and usually triple-negative (ER, PR, and HER2 negative).