Cancer is a common disease worldwide. The cause of cancer is quite simple. A natural system of our healthy bodies controls body cells’ growth, division, and death.
When this natural system doesn’t work right, it can lead to excessive cell growth. As a result, there is more cell growth than cell death. This rapid multiplication of body cells can form a tumour that becomes cancer.
The cancer cells disturb the proper functioning of our body. It mostly affects one organ by reducing the oxygen supply there. There are many types of cancer. Among these types, breast cancer has become the common leading cause of death.
Read on to get a general overview of what breast cancer is, is breast cancer hereditary, what its types are, how many stages it has, and what causes it.
What Is Breast Cancer?
Breast cancer occurs when there is uncontrollable growth and division of your breast cells.
Like every other cancer, breast cancer can also spread into the tissues surrounding the breast. As a result, it can travel to other organs of your body.
Cancer in the breast region tends to grow gradually. You are at a higher risk of developing this cancer if you have a family history of breast cancer.
Types Of Breast Cancer
Different types of breast cancers depend on which breast cells have turned into tumours. As a result, there are seven types of breast cancer. They are:
- Invasive ductal cancer
- Invasive lobular breast
- Triple-negative breast cancer
- Angiosarcoma of the breast
- Ductal carcinoma in SITU
- Lobular carcinoma in SITU
- Paget’s breast disease
Invasive ductal cancer and Invasive lobular breast are the most common types of breast cancer.
Invasive Ductal Cancer
Invasion ductal cancer is a breast cancer that occurs in the milk ducts. It happens when the cells of milk ducts start growing abnormally. This is the most common type of breast cancer in women.
Invasive Lobular Cancer
Invasive lobular cancer is not very common. This cancer starts with the rapid growth of cells in milk glands called “Lobules.” These glands are responsible for milk production. Hence, lobular cancer can easily spread throughout the body’s lymph system and bloodstream.
Stages of Breast Cancer
The stages of breast cancer are commonly explained through a number on a scale of 0 to IV. The stages are determined by the breast cancer’s characteristics, how far it has spread and whether it has hormone receptors.
Stage 0
The first stage is described as Stage 0, where the tumour cells are within the part of the breast in which they occur.
Stage I
This stage is the early stage of breast cancer, where the tumour cells have started to spread across surrounding breast tissues within 2 cm.
Stage II
In this stage, the tumour has started to spread throughout the lymph nodes within 5cm. Early detection of this stage is curable.
Stage III
Cancer has spread in eight to nine axillary lymph nodes, and the armpit glands have extensive involvement.
Stage IV
This stage means the breast cancer has invaded the other parts of the body, such as the lungs, liver, colon, etc. Hence, it is not curable at this stage.
Conclusion
Getting to know you have a genetic breast cancer gene can be ground-breaking and stressful. However, knowing what to expect – from causes to diagnosis- can empower you to control it.