In the previous article, we discussed the factors which could enhance the risk of getting breast cancer in women. In this article, we are going to examine some breast cancer studies.

Breast cancer is a tumor that develops in the breast tissues of people, predominantly women. These tumors may be small in the beginning. But they grow big with time and start affecting the neighboring cells and organs.

In old times, it was very  difficult to properly diagnose and cure breast cancer. But with time and advancements in technology and research in the field of medical science, this has now become comparatively easy.

What are the different type of breast cancer and their rate of occurrence? This is what we will discuss next.

Types Of Breast Cancer

“There are several types of breast cancer.”

There are several types of breast cancer. Some of these are common while others are not:

Invasive ductal carcinoma:

Invasive ductal carcinoma, IDC is the most commonly found type of breast cancer that occurs in women. About 85% of breast cancer cases are of IDC. IDC is a cancer that affects the ducts that carry milk to the nipples. It later breaks the walls of the ducts carrying milk to the nipples and starts affecting breast cells.

A study revealed that in the United States more than 200,000 women are yearly found to have breast cancer and most of these cases are of the IDC type.

Invasive lobular carcinoma:

Often called infiltrating lobular carcinoma, ILC is the 2nd most common type of breast cancer. In a study it was revealed that in the United States around 180,000 women are yearly diagnosed with breast cancer. Of this number 10 % cases are of the Invasive lobular carcinoma type.

ILC is a cancer that spreads through the milk-producing lobules. With time this tumor breaks the walls of these lobules and then starts affecting the other parts of the breasts.

This type of breast cancer mostly occurs in older women.

Inflammatory breast cancer:

IBC is a type of breast cancer that only rarely occurs. These cases comprise only 3% of the total breast cancer cases. It makes up for its relative rareness by being very aggressive. In this cancer, there are no lump formation. In IBC the lymph nodes of the breasts become blocked and there is no flow to and fro in the breasts. This causes swelling and reddening of the breasts. This type of cancer spreads very fast when compared to other types, so it is very necessary that it be diagnosed and treated at its early stages.

Paget’s disease of the nipple:

This type of breast cancer is very rare and represents only 1% breast cancer cases. This type of cancer develops in the breasts ducts. And later further expands to damage the aureole and nipple of the breasts.

Does Age Matter?

There have been studies showing that older women tend to be more prone to breast cancer than younger women. But that does not mean that the younger women do not get the disease. But as you age the risk of getting breast cancer increases.

The truth is that younger women are usually diagnosed with the types of breast cancers that are easy to treat. While older women develop the types of breast cancers that are rare, tough to treat and more aggressive.

Stages Of Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is categorized in stages like 0,1,2,3 etc. The stages of Breast cancer depend on various factors. These factors include the size of the tumor, if the tumor has spread to the lymph nodes and whether the tumor has spread to other parts of the body.

The main stages of the breast cancer are:

  • Stage 0: Also called pre-cancer stage. In this stage, the tumor is only the size of dot.
  • Stage 1-3: In these stages, it is acknowledged that while the size of the tumor has increased it has not spread to the lymph nodes of the armpits.
  • Stage 4: This stage means that the tumor has started affecting other body parts and is continuously growing.

Of all these stages, stage 4 is considered very dangerous and often cannot be effectively treated.