Symptoms of Breast Cancer: Early Signs & Warning Signals

• Most common symptom: Usually hard, painless, and irregular (but some may be soft or tender).
• Found in the breast or armpit (lymph nodes).

• One breast becoming larger or lower than the other.
• Visible distortion or swelling.

• Dimpling (like an orange peel – "peau d’orange").
• Redness, scaliness, or thickening of the skin.

• Nipple turning inward (inversion).
• Unusual discharge (bloody, clear, or yellow).
• Crusting or scaling around the nipple.

Not usually the first sign, but some experience persistent discomfort.

• Ductal Carcinoma In Situ (DCIS)
  
  • Non-invasive: Abnormal cells inside milk ducts (Stage 0).
  • Treatment: Surgery (lumpectomy/mastectomy) ± radiation.
• Invasive Ductal Carcinoma (IDC)
  
  • Invasive: Cancer spreads beyond ducts into breast tissue.
  • Treatment: Surgery, chemo, radiation, hormone/targeted therapy.

• Lobular Carcinoma In Situ (LCIS)
  
  • Not true cancer but a risk marker for future cancer.
• Invasive Lobular Carcinoma (ILC)
  
  • Grows differently (single-file cells, harder to detect on imaging).
  • Often ER/PR+, responds well to hormone therapy.

• Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC)
  
  • Aggressive & rare: Causes redness, swelling (no lump).
  • Treatment: Chemo first, then surgery + radiation.
• Paget’s Disease of the Nipple
  
  • Rare: Affects nipple skin (often with DCIS/IDC underneath).
• Phyllodes Tumor (rare, starts in connective tissue).

• ~70% of breast cancers grow in response to estrogen/progesterone.
• Treatment: Hormone therapy (tamoxifen, aromatase inhibitors).

• ~15-20% have excess HER2 protein (aggressive but treatable).
• Treatment: Targeted therapy (Herceptin, Perjeta, Kadcyla).

• ~10-15%: Lacks all three receptors (aggressive, common in younger women/BRA mutation carriers).
• Treatment: Chemo + immunotherapy (Keytruda for advanced cases).

• Triple-Positive (ER+/PR+/HER2+) – Hormone + HER2-targeted therapy.
• Male Breast Cancer – Usually ER+ (treated similarly to women).

• Metastatic (Stage IV): Spread to bones, lungs, liver, or brain.
• Recurrent: Returns after treatment (local or distant)