Breast Cancer: Don’t Ignore the Early Signs

Types of breast cancer

I must stress that not every breast cancer is deadly. There are two categories of breast cancer:

• Stage 0 breast cancer, or noninvasive cancer. This type of cancer has not spread from the original tissue.
• Stage 1, 2, 3, or 4 cancer, also called invasive cancer. This type of cancer has spread to the surrounding tissues.

Depending on the tissue that has been affected, there are three types of cancer:

• Sarcoma: cancer in the connective tissue of the breasts (very rare)
• Ductal carcinoma: cancer that forms in the lining of the milk ducts (the most common type of breast cancer)
• Lobular carcinoma: cancer in the lobules of the breasts (the area where milk is produced)

Men and breast cancer

Men are also potential breast cancer victims and survivors. While it is rare, it can still occur at any age, although it is more common as men age. One thing to note: men are usually diagnosed with cancer in the later stage of the disease, simply because they don’t regularly check their breasts.
Here are symptoms to watch out for:

• Lump in the breast tissue
• Nipple discharge
• Nipple that turns inward
• Thickening of the breast tissue
• Unexplained skin irritation, swelling, and redness on the breast