Cancerous lumps can be either invasive, meaning the cancer has spread, or non-invasive, meaning it has not. Most women diagnosed at this stage can expect a full recovery. At this point, it has the potential to spread to other parts of the body through the lymphatic system and bloodstream. There are also many other rarer types of breast cancer. Most of the breast cancers seen in women can occur in men.
Doctors encourage women to check their breasts regularly for signs of the disease.
Advice on self-examination can be obtained from GPs and cancer organisations. An area that feels different to the rest Discharge from the nipple Nipple inversion Pain Discharge from the nipple will sometimes contain blood and is more common in men with the disease. A mammogram or ultrasound scan can detect the presence of cancerous growths. There are a number of risk factors, most of which cannot be changed. Being a woman is the greatest risk factor - breast cancer affects 1,170 women per million of the population.