Breast Cancer: Signs, Symptoms, Risks, and Treatment

Author: Disabled World (DW)
Updated/Revised Date: 1 Aug 2026

Table of Contents:
Synopsis - Definition - About This Section - FAQs - Publications - Subtopics

Synopsis

Learn about breast cancer in women and men, including warning signs, symptoms, risk factors, types, and treatment options, plus key statistics and facts.

At a Glance

• 1 - More than 80% of breast cancer cases are found when a person detects a lump with the fingertips.
• 2 - About 1,700 men are diagnosed with breast cancer each year, and 450 of them die from it.
• 3 - Statistics show that half of all women diagnosed with breast cancer are over the age of 65.
• 4 - Maintaining a healthy weight, drinking less alcohol, and staying active could prevent an estimated 38% of breast cancers in the US.

Topic Definition

Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is a disease in which certain cells in the breast become abnormal and multiply out of control to form a tumor. While it is far more common in women, where it ranks as the second most common cancer after skin cancer, men can develop it too. The disease most often begins in the lining of the milk ducts, known as ductal carcinoma, or in the milk-producing lobules, known as lobular carcinoma, and it becomes invasive once it spreads beyond those structures into surrounding tissue. Common warning signs include a new lump in the breast or underarm, a change in breast size or shape, skin dimpling, nipple discharge, or a newly inverted nipple. A small share of cases run in families and are tied to inherited gene mutations such as BRCA1 and BRCA2, and screening mammograms can catch the disease early, sometimes before it has a chance to spread.

Overview

Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. The most common type of breast cancer is ductal carcinoma, which begins in the lining of the milk ducts (thin tubes that carry milk from the breast's lobules to the nipple). Another type of breast cancer is lobular carcinoma, which begins in the breast's lobules (milk glands). Invasive breast cancer is breast cancer that has spread from where it began in the breast ducts or lobules to surrounding normal tissue.

The U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) has included Breast Cancer with distant metastases or inoperable or resectable as a Compassionate Allowance to expedite a disability claim.

No woman wants to hear this diagnosis from their doctor, but should you find yourself facing a breast cancer diagnosis, understand that it doesn't always mean the end. A breast cancer diagnosis can be the beginning of learning how to obtain facts, knowledge, hope and how to fight this disease.

In the United States, Breast Cancer is the form of cancer that women get most, except for skin cancer. Breast Cancer is second only to lung cancer as a cause of death from cancer for women in America. Estimates suggest that every year, almost two-hundred thousand women will face a breast cancer diagnosis; more than forty-thousand of these women will die.

Male Breast Cancer

Educational efforts have raised awareness among men, and more needs to be done. Men also get Breast Cancer, and about one thousand seven hundred men will be diagnosed with Breast Cancer each year; of them, four hundred and fifty will die from it. Evaluation of men with Breast Cancer is very similar to the evaluation methods used for women, including mammography imaging techniques.

Symptoms of Breast Cancer

Different people have different symptoms of breast cancer. Some people do not have any signs or symptoms at all. Some warning signs of breast cancer are:

• Pain in any area of the breast.
• Irritation or dimpling of breast skin.
• Thickening or swelling of part of the breast.
• New lump in the breast or underarm (armpit).
• Pulling in of the nipple or pain in the nipple area.
• Any change in the size or the shape of the breast.
• Redness or flaky skin in the nipple area or the breast.
• Nipple discharge other than breast milk, including blood.

Keep in mind that these symptoms can happen with other conditions that are not cancer. If you have any signs or symptoms that worry you, be sure to see your doctor right away.

In those with distant spread of the disease, bone pain may be swollen lymph nodes, shortness of breath, or yellow skin.

• Your Age: Statistics show that half of all women diagnosed with Breast cancer are over sixty-five.
• Your Weight: Obesity, or being overweight, increases your risk of getting Breast Cancer.
• Your Diet and Lifestyle: A Diet that is high in saturated fats, more than two alcoholic drinks per day, and lacking in physical activity increases your risk for getting Breast Cancer.
• Your Reproductive and Menstrual History: If you began menstruation early, or menopause late; had your first child at an older age, have never had a child, or have taken birth control for more than ten years if you are under the age of thirty-five - you are at an increased risk for Breast Cancer.
• Your Personal and Family History: If there is a history of Breast Cancer in your family, in your Mother or Sister in particular, or if you have a personal history of Breast Cancer in a benign form, you are at increased risk for Breast Cancer.

Some factors may increase your risk for Breast Cancer. If you have dense breast tissue, which may be identified through a mammogram, or have had past radiation therapy - these are risk factors for Breast Cancer. A history of hormone treatments like progesterone or estrogen, or gene changes including BRCA1 and BRCA2 or others; are risk factors as well.

Breast Cancer Facts and Statistics

Women may reduce their risk of breast cancer by maintaining a healthy weight, drinking less alcohol, being physically active, and breastfeeding their children. These modifications might prevent 38% of breast cancers in the US, 42% in the UK, 28% in Brazil, and 20% in China. The benefits of moderate exercise such as brisk walking are seen in all age groups, including postmenopausal women. Marine omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids appear to reduce the risk.

In the United States, breast cancer is the most common non-skin cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related death in women. The American Cancer Society's estimates for breast cancer in the United States for 2015 are:

• About 40,290 women will die from breast cancer
• About 231,840 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in women.
• About 1 in 8 U.S. women (about 12%) will develop invasive breast cancer throughout her lifetime.
• About 60,290 new cases of carcinoma in situ (CIS) will be diagnosed (CIS is non-invasive and is the earliest form of breast cancer).
• More than 2.8 million breast cancer survivors are in the United States. (This includes women still being treated and those who have completed treatment.)

Frequently Asked Questions

Can men get breast cancer?

Yes, although breast cancer is far more common in women, men can develop it too, and their evaluation uses methods similar to those for women, including mammography.

What is the difference between ductal and lobular breast cancer?

Ductal carcinoma begins in the lining of the milk ducts, while lobular carcinoma begins in the breast lobules, which are the milk-producing glands.

What does invasive breast cancer mean?

Invasive breast cancer is cancer that has spread from where it began in the breast ducts or lobules into the surrounding normal tissue.

Can breast cancer be inherited?

Yes, a small percentage of breast cancers run in families and are linked to inherited gene mutations, and these hereditary cases tend to develop earlier in life.

How can women lower their risk of breast cancer?

Women may reduce their risk by maintaining a healthy weight, drinking less alcohol, staying physically active, and breastfeeding their children.

Does a family history of breast cancer raise my risk?

Yes, a family history of breast cancer, particularly in a mother or sister, along with a personal history of benign breast disease, increases the risk.

Can breast cancer qualify for expedited disability benefits?

Yes, the U.S. Social Security Administration lists breast cancer with distant metastases or that is inoperable or unresectable as a Compassionate Allowance to speed up a claim.

Curated and edited by Ian C. Langtree, Founder & Editor-in-Chief, Disabled World. This section is maintained by the Disabled World editorial team.

Last updated: 1 Aug 2026