Breast Cancer Symptoms

What Is Breast Cancer?

Breast cancer is a common disease where cells can grow uncontrollably [¹]. 2.3 million women received a diagnosis in 2020 with this disease across the world, with 2,620 men as well [²]. A diagnosis of breast cancer takes place every 14 seconds among women. Men are more likely to get diagnosed at a later stage due to a lack of awareness.

Types of Breast Cancer

Here are the types of breast cancer that might occur [³]:

Infiltrating Ductal Carcinoma: Breast cancer starts in the milk ducts. Then, it breaks through the walls to spread around the tissue. 80% of all breast cancers are of this type.
Ductal Carcinoma in Situ: Some consider this pre-cancerous or Stage 0 since the cells haven’t spread beyond the milk ducts. It is quite treatable with prompt care to prevent it from turning into an invasive type.
Infiltrating Lobular Carcinoma: It forms in the breast’s lobules, where milk production takes place. Then, it spreads from there to the surrounding tissue. 10-15% of all breast cancers are of this type.
Lobular Carcinoma in Situ: This is the pre-cancerous stage where cells just stay in the lobules of the breast. It can be a marker for breast cancer in the future, so it is important to get it checked regularly with mammograms and breast exams.
Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC): It is a challenging breast cancer type, and 15% of all cases are TNBC. It doesn’t have the three markers that exist in other breast cancer types, which can make treatment and prognosis difficult.
Inflammatory: This type of breast cancer is similar to an infection, and it is aggressive and rare. Patients might notice pitting, swelling, dimpling, or redness on the skin’s surface. The cause is obstructive cancerous cells in the lymph vessels of the skin.
Paget’s Disease: Cancer persists in the areola and the nipple.

How Is Breast Cancer Diagnosed?

There are different tests for bladder cancers, but not every patient takes all of them. The following factors help get a diagnosis:

Symptoms and signs
The suspected type of cancer
General health and age
Results from earlier tests
Here are the tests for breast cancer diagnosis [⁴]:
Breast exam
Mammogram
Breast Ultrasound
Biopsy
MRI

Breast Cancer Staging

The breast cancer stage depends on the size of a tumor and its area of spread. There are five stages of cancer, from 0 to 4 [⁵]. The higher the stage of the cancer, the more the tumor has spread. The stage of the cancer is determined during the diagnosis stage. For example, if you have Stage III cancer and it returns, having spread to the bone, it means you are at Stage III with metastasis to the bone.

Breast cancer stages are under the TNM system too:

T= Tumor size (measured in centimeters)
N= Number of lymph nodes nearby with cancer
M= Whether the breast cancer has metastasized to other organs

Is Breast Cancer Hereditary?

Yes, breast cancer is hereditary. 5-10% of cases are hereditary that come from gene changes passed from parents [⁶]. The most common types of breast cancer that are hereditary are through the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene.

Breast Cancer Symptoms

Different patients might have different symptoms and signs of breast cancer. Some may not experience any at all. If you are genetically predisposed to breast cancer, you should get regular checkups even if you do not experience any symptoms.

What Are the Symptoms of Breast Cancer?

Symptoms of breast cancer could include [⁷]:

New lump(s) in the breast or armpit (underarm)
Swelling or thickening in any breast’s part
Dimpling or irritation of the skin of the breast
Flaky or redness in the breast or nipple area
The nipple has turned in
Pain in the nipples or areola
Nipple discharge, like blood, other than milk
Changes in shape and size of the breast
Pain in the breast

These symptoms may also occur due to other conditions that aren’t cancerous, so if you notice them, you should schedule an appointment with a doctor.

What Are Some Signs of Breast Cancer?

The first sign that a patient has breast cancer might be a painless lump. You might not be able to feel it, but routine mammogram screenings can help detect it. In many cases, patients may not have any signs of breast cancer when diagnosed [⁸]. When tumors are small, they aren’t noticeable to the naked eye or touch. Hence, mammograms are quite important.

As mentioned, signs refer to clinical manifestations, something that could be noticed during medical tests or examinations. Some early signs of breast cancer could include:

Change in the color of the breast
Itchy or irritated breasts
Changes or increase in shape and size of the breast
Thickening or lumps
Pitting or redness of the skin
Changes in touch (might feel warm, tender, or hard)

Symptoms of Breast Cancer in Women Vs. Symptoms of Breast Cancer in Men*

While the tissue of the breast in men and women is similar, men have mostly stroma tissue, known as fibrous and fat tissue [⁹]. They also have fewer lobules and ducts. Hence, the incidence of breast cancer is less likely among men.

Hereditary gene mutations can increase the risk of cancer in both sexes; however, they may affect women and men differently. BRCA gene mutations can increase the risk of breast cancer among men. However, they are more likely to increase the risk of prostate cancer rather than breast cancer [¹⁰].

Women also produce more estrogen, which can increase the risk of breast cancer.

* Note that here, we are using the terms “women” and “men” to refer to female and male biological sex at birth, respectively.

Risk Factors for Breast Cancer

Some common risk factors for breast cancer include [¹¹] [¹²]:

Getting older
Being a woman
Family history of cancer
Being overweight
Dense breasts
Personal history of cancer
Exposure to radiation
Drinking alcohol or smoking
Lack of exercise
Using hormones
Menstrual history
Breastfeeding history
Pregnancy history

Breast Cancer Prevention

If you are at risk for breast cancer, there are a few steps you can take to reduce your risk for breast cancer [¹³]:

Limit the use of alcohol
Maintain weight at healthy levels
Incorporate physical activity
Breastfeeding
Avoiding hormone therapy
Quit smoking

Breast Cancer Prognosis and Treatment

The prognosis for breast cancer highly depends on the stage and type of breast cancer. Generally, breast cancer cancers caught at earlier stages (stage 0/in situ, stage 1) have a better outlook. If cancer has metastasized, treatment is more difficult, but it is important to maintain hope.

Breast Cancer Survival Rate

With more awareness and advances in cancer treatment, the survival rate of breast cancer has increased. The 5-year survival rate for women with invasive, non-metastatic cancer is 91%, while 10-year survival rate is 85% [¹⁴]. The survival rate takes the patient’s stage of cancer, age, general health, and response to treatment plans into consideration.

Breast Cancer Treatment Options

There are two main types of treatment options for breast cancer: local and systematic [¹⁵]. You might get a combination of treatments depending on the size of the tumor, stage of cancer, general health, age, and response to treatments.

Local treatments include surgery and radiation. Surgery is one of the most common types of treatment options. It is used to remove the tumor [¹⁶]. It can include a lumpectomy, radical mastectomy, partial mastectomy, and reconstruction.

Radiation therapy is where high-energy rays kill the cancerous cells. It will only target the cells in a specific part of the body (the breast) [¹⁷]. It is often used in conjunction with surgery. It can destroy any remaining mutated and cancerous cells in the region after the removal of tumors.

Systematic treatments include drugs that can target the cancer cells. They include chemotherapy, hormone therapy, targeted drug therapy, and immunotherapy. Chemotherapy slows down or kills cancerous cells, where drugs travel through the body via the bloodstream [¹⁸].

Estrogen and progesterone are natural hormones produced in the body but might cause cancerous cells to grow. In this treatment, inhibitors or blockers block such hormones if cancerous cells are stimulated by them [¹⁹].

Targeted drug therapy is a relatively new and effective treatment when compared to chemo and hormone therapy [²⁰]. It can attack the cancer cells without hurting the normal body cells. It is often used with conventional chemo but has fewer side effects than it.

n immunotherapy, patients receive medication that can boost the natural immune system of the body. This can help target and destroy cancerous cells in a more effective manner [²¹].

Conclusion

Takeaway

Breast cancer is a common disease that many people, especially women, face across the world. It is important to get regular checkups and learn how to perform breast cancer tests on yourself.