There are two common types of breast cancer that occurs. They both are named after the part of the breast from which they begin.

Ductal carcinoma begins in the cells of the breast ducts under the nipples and the areola. These ducts are what supply the milk to the nipple. Close to 90% of all the breast cancers that are diagnosed is ductal carcinoma. Ductal carcinoma in situ as it is called is able to be treated very well because if this is the type of cancer that you have been diagnosed with then it is contained within the breast and is not invasive. The cancer can usually be removed with a lumpectomy as long as the tumor margins are clear of any cancer. The follow up treatment is usually radiation. But, if the ductal carcinoma has gotten into any nearby breast tissue it is now known as an invasive cancer and a mastectomy may be needed in addition to chemotherapy.

A type of cancer that begins in the lobes or glands that make the milk in the breast is known as lobular carcinoma. The lobes are deep inside the breasts and are under the ducts. Around 8% of the breast cancers diagnosed is lobular. If you have a lobular cancer this means that your cancer is confined to the lobes and has not spread outward. It is possible to remove it with a lumpectomy as long as the tumor margins are still free of any cancers. A good follow up treatment would be radiation. Lobular cancer that has spread to the nearby tissue of the breast will require a mastectomy to be performed to remove the cancer and chemotherapy is usually recommended.

Another type of breast cancer is called invasive or infiltrating breast cancer. It has the potential to spread beyond the original cancer tumor site and to spread to other areas of the breast and body. There are several types as well as subtypes of an invasive breast cancer. The rarest form of breast cancer is named mainly for its appearance. It is known as inflammatory breast cancer and is the least common but the most aggressive of all the breast cancers. It forms sheets or nests instead of lumps and usually starts in the soft tissue of the breasts close to the skin or in the skin. Unlike ductal or lobular cancer it is first treated with chemo and then there is surgery performed. If it is caught early it can be a manageable cancer and the survival rates are increasing.

There is a less common type of cancer that attacks the nipple area. It is named after Sir James Paget who was the first to notice the relationship between the changes in the nipples and underlying breast cancer.

Paget’s disease of the nipple often looks like a skin rash or just rough skin. It looks like eczema and it can be itchy. The itching and the scabs that occur if the area is scratched are signs that cancer may be under the surface of the skin and is trying to break through. This cancer is usually treated by having a mastectomy because the cancer is in the nipple areola and the milk ducts.

Mucinous carcinoma is a type of breast cancer formed from mucus producing cancer cells.

Medullary Carcinoma accounts for about 5% of breast cancer cases. It is invasive and forms between healthy and tumor tissue.

Tubular carcinoma is named because of the shape of the cell under a microscope and is an invasive form of breast cancer.

Phylloides tumors develop in the connective tissue of the breasts which makes it a sarcoma not a carcinoma. The tumors can get very large and has to be removed by surgery.

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