Breast Cancer

Breast cancers are potentially life-threatening malignancies that develop in one or both breasts. The structure of the female breast is important in understanding this cancer:

• The interior of the female breast consists mostly of fatty and fibrous connective tissues.
• It is divided into about 20 sections called lobes.
• Each lobe is further subdivided into a collection of lobules, structures that contain small milk-producing glands.
• These glands secrete milk into a complex system of tiny ducts. The ducts carry the milk through the breast and converge in a collecting chamber located just below the nipple.
• Breast cancer is either noninvasive (referred to as in situ, confined to the site of origin) or invasive (spreading).

Risk Factors

Certain risk factors can increase the chances of developing breast cancer.

Risk factors for breast cancer include:

• being older than 55
• being a woman
• family history of breast cancer
• genetic factors
• previous radiation to the chest
• first period at an early age
• starting menopause late (after 55)
• dense breast tissue

• drinking more than 2 alcoholic beverages a day
• lack of physical activity
• weight gain after menopause
• having children after the age of 30 or not at all

Breast Health Center

Treatment