Every Type of Breast Cancer, Explained

[Well1501]

"No two cases of breast cancer are the same—but understanding the kind you've been diagnosed with gives you clues on what's to come.

By Abigail Libers

Aug 15, 2018

Women run in breast cancer marathonGETTY IMAGESAE PICTURES INC.

Getting a breast cancer diagnosis is scary, but knowing what type you have can help ease some of your fears—and understanding the type will help you and your doctor determine the best treatment for you.

When it comes to figuring out the type of breast cancer and how to treat it, there are usually three factors to consider, says Adam Brufsky, MD, PhD, professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh and co-director of the Comprehensive Breast Cancer Center. “Is it invasive? And is it hormone receptor positive or HER2 positive? Once you have those three factors together, you can figure out how to treat it,” he explains.

Most breast cancers are carcinomas, which means they start in cells that line organs and tissues throughout the body, according to the American Cancer Society. Breast cancers tend to fall into two categories: “in situ,” which means it hasn’t spread to surrounding tissue and is therefore more treatable, and “invasive,” which means it has spread to surrounding tissue. There’s also “metastatic” breast cancer, which indicates that it has spread to other parts of your body, most commonly the lungs, bones, liver, or brain.

Here are the types of breast cancer you need to know about.

Jump to:

In situ breast cancers: ductal carcinoma in situ, lobular carcinoma in situ

Invasive breast cancers: invasive ductal carcinoma, invasive lobular carcinoma

Rare breast cancers: Inflammatory breast cancer, phyllodes tumor, angiosarcoma of the breast

Breast cancer subtypes: Hormone receptor positive (luminal) breast cance, HER2-positive breast cancer, triple negative breast cancer"

You can read the rest of the article, here at prevention.com/health/healt...