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Breast cancer
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Breast cancer shows up when cells in the breast start growing without control and gather into a mass, which is what we call a tumor. That mass can stay where it began or reach other parts of the body.
Inside the breast there are two places where it usually starts, and that is where its name comes from. If it begins in the ducts, the tubes that carry milk, it is called ductal cancer. If it begins in the lobules, the clusters where the milk is produced, it is called lobular.
One boundary matters a great deal here. As long as the abnormal cells stay confined within those ducts or lobules and have not spread into the other tissues of the breast, it is called carcinoma in situ, which means in place. Once they have crossed over and spread into the neighboring breast tissue, they are called invasive. It is the same house seen before and after the door was opened.
In brief
Breast cancer happens when cells in the breast grow out of control and form a mass called a tumor that may spread elsewhere in the body.
The name depends on where it starts: cancers beginning in the ducts are called ductal cancers, and those beginning in the lobules are called lobular cancers.
While the abnormal cells remain within the ducts or lobules and have not spread to other tissues in the breast, the condition is called carcinoma in situ; invasive cancers have already spread into surrounding breast tissue.
Sources (1)
- National Cancer InstituteWhat Is Breast Cancer?
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
Updated