One of the most frequently occurring types of breast cancer is ductal breast cancer. This type of breast cancer that starts developing from the milk ducts has been found to be diagnosed in almost 78% of breast cancer cases. Due to this, a lot of people have been doing their researches regarding this disease. You can read about the important facts regarding breast cancer below:
1. The Different Types
You can either be diagnosed of non-invasive ductal breast cancer or ductal carcinoma in situ or invasive ductal breast cancer. Non-invasive types of breast cancer have the breast cancer cells localized only on the milk ducts. They could respond well to treatment but there is a high probability of recurrence. On the other hand, when you say invasive, it means that the cancer cells have spread beyond the milk ducts of the breasts. An invasive type of breast cancer is less responsive to treatment although they all depend on the stage and progression of the disease.
2. The Signs and Symptoms
It is important that you are aware of the different types of ductal breast cancer and be able to distinguish them yourselves. The signs of symptoms of this type of breast cancer are similar to that of any kind of breast cancer but they have some distinct characteristics. The invasive type usually appears as a moveable and irregularly shaped lump below the areola. On the other hand, the non-invasive type develops without presenting signs and symptoms and is usually just observed as a lump.
3. Your Treatment Options
There are various treatment options that are available for people who are diagnosed with this kind of disease. The treatment is actually individualized and will depend on the cancer stage because the responses are different.
a. Surgical Intervention
This is usually the first option for carcinoma in situ where the lump or the breast will be removed depending on the affectation of the cancer cells. Surgery is seldom advised for cases of metastasis for it is difficult to contain.
b. Radiotherapy
Radiotherapy is usually done in combination with the other treatment options and it usually destroys the remaining cancer cells left from the other types of treatment.
c. Hormonal therapy
Hormonal therapy may not be an applicable treatment to all types of breast cancers as it is only indicated to those cancer cells that have hormone receptors.
d. Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is basically the induction of drugs that aims to destroy the cancer cells in the body. This is usually done when metastasis has been suspected.
Having the right information is one of the weapons that you can possess against cancer. Ductal breast cancer can be treated with early detection and prompt treatment.