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Breast cancer is the commonest type of cancer that occurs in women and, after lung cancer, it is the second leading cause of cancer death in women. In 2004 no fewer than 186,770 new cases of breast cancer were reported according to the American Cancer Society and this number appears to be rising year on year. It is also worthy of note that breast cancer is not confined only to women and that 1,815 men contracted the disease in 2004 and that 362 men died of breast cancer that year. The breasts in women are complex structures comprising fat, glands and fibrous connective tissue. They have a number of lobes which are divided into lobules and end in the milk glands and there are also numerous tiny ducts from the milk glands which connect together and culminate in the nipple. Eight out of ten breast cancer cases start in these ducts in a condition referred to as infiltrating ductal cancer. It is also reasonably common for breast cancer to occur in the lobules where it is called lobular cancer. Other forms of cancer are simply called inflammatory breast cancer. Pre-cancerous changes (referred to as 'in situ') are also common in women and are changes that have not spread from the place in the breast where they were originally spotted. When these changes occur within the ducts then the condition is called ductal carcinoma in situ or DCIS and if changes occur in the lobules they are referred to as lobular carcinomas in situ or LCIS. The most serious type of breast cancer is known as metastatic cancer which involves the spread of cancer from the place where it began. Breast cancer most commonly metastasizes into the lymph nodes above the collarbone or under the arms on the same side as the cancer which produces pain and swelling to the affected area as the lymphatic drainage system is compromised. Other common sites of breast cancer metastasis are the brain, liver and the bones. Apart from the very obvious factor of gender, age is a very important factor when considering the chances of getting breast cancer. Although breast cancer can and does develop at any age the risk of getting it increases with age. A normal woman aged 30 will generally have a 1 in 280 chance of developing breast cancer by the time she reaches 40 years of age. However, this then rises to a 1 in 70 chance of developing breast cancer when that same women reaches her forties. The risk factor for breast cancer is also affected by family history with the risk being particularly high when you have a close relative (such as a mother or aunt) who has developed breast cancer at a young age.
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