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Return to Breast Cancer: General Information Overview
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- A Gift for the Women of Northern Manhattan: Columbia University Medical Center Receives Avon Foundation Gift for Health Scholar
- Avon CEO Andrea Jung to Receive Award for Distinguished Service from Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center
- Avon Foundation Breast Imaging Center and Research Lab Open at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and Columbia University Medical Center
- Columbia University Medical Center, With Support From Women at Risk, Aims To Identify and Train Future Leaders in Breast Cancer Surgery
- Columbia University Medical Center Receives $10 Million Department of Defense Grant to Study Racial Disparities in Breast Cancer Treatment
- Columbia University Medical Center Researchers Reveal Tamoxifen May Lengthen Lives of Women at Very High Risk of Breast Cancer
- Dr. Anne Moore, New York Weill Cornell Physician, Receives Award from Lawyers' Breast Cancer Group
- NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital Has the Largest Hospital Team in Race for the Cure® with 500+ Participants
- Weill Cornell Physicians Rebut Recent Criticisms on Value of Mammography
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Return to Breast Cancer: General Information Overview
More on Breast Cancer: General Information
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Return to Breast Cancer: General Information Overview
More on Breast Cancer: General Information
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Return to Breast Cancer: General Information Overview
More on Breast Cancer: General Information
Breast Cancer: General Information
The body is made up of various kinds of cells, which normally divide in an orderly way to produce more cells only when they are needed. Cancer is a group of diseases - more than 100 types - that occur when cells become abnormal and divide without control or order.
What is a tumor?
When cells divide when new cells are not needed, too much tissue is formed. This mass of extra tissue, called a tumor, can be benign or malignant.
benign tumors:- are not cancerous
- can usually be removed
- do not come back in most cases
- do not spread to other parts of the body and the cells do not invade other tissues
- are cancerous
- can invade and damage nearby tissues and organs
- metastasize - cancer cells can break away from a malignant tumor and enter the bloodstream or lymphatic system to form secondary tumors in other parts of the body
What are the different types of breast cancer?
There are several types of breast cancer, including:
- The most common type begins in the lining of the ducts and is called ductal carcinoma.
- Another common type, called lobular carcinoma, occurs in the lobules.
When breast cancer metastasizes, or spreads outside the breast, cancer cells are often found in the lymph nodes under the arm. If the cancer has reached these nodes, it may mean that cancer cells have spread to other parts of the body.
Cancer that spreads is the same disease and has the same name as the original, or primary cancer. When breast cancer spreads, it is called metastatic breast cancer, even though the secondary tumor is in another organ. This may also be called "distant" disease.
Types of breast cancer, in alphabetical order, are:
| adenocarcinoma ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) infiltrating (or invasive) ductal carcinoma (IDC) infiltrating (or invasive) lobular carcinoma (ILC) inflammatory breast cancer lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) (also called lobular neoplasia) | medullary carcinoma mucinous carcinoma Paget's disease of the nipple phyllodes tumor (also spelled phylloides) tubular carcinoma |
Hospital News
- A Gift for the Women of Northern Manhattan: Columbia University Medical Center Receives Avon Foundation Gift for Health Scholar
- Avon CEO Andrea Jung to Receive Award for Distinguished Service from Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center
- Avon Foundation Breast Imaging Center and Research Lab Open at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and Columbia University Medical Center More
