An Introduction to Breast Cancer
This content originated with the education and advocay nonprofit, Breast Cancer Action.
Overview
Breast cancer is both all too common and incredibly individual. It’s the most common cancer (excluding skin cancer) diagnosed in women living in the U.S. Although nearly 300,000 people are diagnosed with invasive breast cancer each year, no two people have the same experience. Each breast cancer diagnosis is unique and deeply personal.
There are many other resources that define medical terms and explain cancer biology, and this overview does not replace those. Rather, this resource contextualizes the evolving science of breast cancer and provides a perspective that is not available elsewhere.
Accurate, unbiased information allows patients to make well-informed decisions about available treatments based on personal needs. We believe that breast cancer screening, treatment, and research must be patient-centered and responsive to the needs of those at risk of and living with breast cancer, and should not reflect corporate or industry bias that puts profits over patients.
Dramatic increases in the incidence of breast cancer in recent decades are a serious public health concern. And disparities in who develops and dies from breast cancer make it an important health justice issue.
As a grassroots organization committed to social justice, we recognize that the commonalities in experiences of breast cancer are often reflective of larger systemic issues. At the same time, we honor the diversity of lived experience and respect that each person’s perspective is valid.
Seven out of eight women will not get breast cancer in their lifetime.
What is Breast Cancer?
Breast cancer has been around for thousands of years. The word cancer comes from the Greek word carcinos, meaning crab, and early descriptions of diseases likely to be breast cancer can be found in ancient Egyptian and ancient Greek texts.
Cancers are usually identified by the organ in which they first develop. Even though breast cancers all originate from breast tissue, there are many different types of breast cancer. Understanding the specific subtype of breast cancer is important for knowing what it means for a person’s treatment and outcomes.
The breast itself is a non-vital organ, which is to say that people can live without breasts, and cancer that stays in the breast is unlikely to be fatal. However, sometimes breast cancer cells spread (metastasize) to other parts of the body. When this happens, someone may have breast cancer in their lungs, brain, liver, or bones.
When dealing with a new breast cancer diagnosis, there is a lot to learn about the specific type and stage of the disease. Data and statistics about the characteristics and extent of the cancer can help guide treatment decisions. But no statistic can predict with certainty what will happen in an individual case or how a person will respond to treatment. Each person is different, and treatment decisions are extremely personal.
Although nearly 300,000 people are diagnosed with invasive breast cancer each year, no two people have the same experience.
More from this toolkit
Screening and surveillance are terms to describe looking for early signs of breast cancer in people who do not have symptoms. Neither screening nor surveillance can prevent breast cancer, but both aim to catch the disease in its early stages, when it is sometimes more treatable.
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There are several ways to categorize different kinds of breast cancers. Each helps to give a better understanding of how a specific breast cancer behaves and what treatments are most likely to be effective.