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Breast cancer

  • Home
  • Types
    • Ductal carcinoma in situ
    • Lobular carcinoma in situ
    • Early breast cancer
    • Paget's disease of the nipple
    • Inflammatory breast cancer
    • Locally advanced breast cancer
    • Metastatic breast cancer
  • Statistics
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  • Symptoms
    • Ductal carcinoma in situ
    • Lobular carcinoma in situ
    • Early breast cancer
    • Paget’s disease of the nipple
    • Inflammatory breast cancer
    • Locally advanced breast cancer
    • Metastatic breast cancer
  • Awareness
  • Diagnosis
    • Tests
      • Triple test
    • Stages of breast cancer
    • Receiving a diagnosis
    • Diagnosis of early breast cancer
      • What the pathology report means
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      • What the DCIS pathology report means
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    • Questions to ask
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      • Breast-conserving surgery
      • Mastectomy
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      • Surgery for metastatic breast cancer
      • Breast reconstruction
      • Choosing a surgeon
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      • Early breast cancer
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      • How does chemotherapy work?
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    • Hormonal therapies
      • Hormone receptors
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      • Deciding about hormonal therapies
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    • Targeted therapies
      • HER2 receptors
      • Types of targeted therapy
      • Questions to ask
    • Complementary & alternative therapies
      • Complementary therapies
      • Questions to ask
      • Where to find more information
    • Metastatic breast cancer palliative care
      • What is palliative care?
      • Accessing palliative care
      • Questions to ask
    • Ductal carcinoma in situ
    • Lobular carcinoma in situ
    • Early breast cancer
    • Paget's disease of the nipple
    • Inflammatory breast cancer
    • Locally advanced breast cancer
    • Metastatic breast cancer
    • Follow-up
      • Physical examinations
      • Breast imaging tests
      • Questions to ask
    • Advanced disease
      • When treatment stops
      • Facing the possibility of dying
      • Putting your affairs in order
      • Questions to ask
    • Recurrent and secondary cancer
      • What makes spread more likely
  • Living with
    • Practical aspects of diagnosis
      • Costs of treatment and prostheses
      • Travel schemes
      • Questions to ask
      • Choosing a cancer treatment
    • Physical changes
      • Body image
      • Menopause
      • Fertility
      • Lymphoedema
    • Emotional changes
      • How you might feel
      • Effects on partners
      • Effects on children
      • Effects on family and friends
    • Physical changes – metastatic
      • Pain
      • Symptoms and treatment side effects
    • Emotional changes – metastatic
      • Common feelings
    • Practical aspects - metastatic
      • Work
      • Financial support
      • How to access support at home
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  • Life after
    • Health
      • Fatigue
      • Poor sleep
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      • Questions to ask your health fund
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    • What happens in a clinical trial?
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  • Health professionals
    • Menopausal symptoms
    • Screening
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    • Ductal carcinoma
    • Lobular carcinoma
    • GP guides and resources
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    • Breast cancer Qstream
  • Home
  • Types
    • Ductal carcinoma in situ
    • Lobular carcinoma in situ
    • Early breast cancer
    • Paget's disease of the nipple
    • Inflammatory breast cancer
    • Locally advanced breast cancer
    • Metastatic breast cancer
  • Statistics
  • Risk factors
  • Symptoms
    • Ductal carcinoma in situ
    • Lobular carcinoma in situ
    • Early breast cancer
    • Paget’s disease of the nipple
    • Inflammatory breast cancer
    • Locally advanced breast cancer
    • Metastatic breast cancer
  • Awareness
  • Diagnosis
    • Tests
      • Triple test
    • Stages of breast cancer
    • Receiving a diagnosis
    • Diagnosis of early breast cancer
      • What the pathology report means
    • Diagnosis of ductal carcinoma in situ
      • What the DCIS pathology report means
    • Diagnosis when breast cancer spreads
    • Questions to ask
  • Treatment
    • Treatment team
      • Members of the team
      • Talking with health professionals
      • Questions to ask
    • Deciding about treatment
      • Travelling
      • Pregnancy
      • Tips for making decisions
      • Questions to ask
      • MammaPrint ® (70 gene signature) test
    • Surgery
      • Breast-conserving surgery
      • Mastectomy
      • Surgery to the armpit (axilla)
      • Surgery for metastatic breast cancer
      • Breast reconstruction
      • Choosing a surgeon
      • Questions to ask
      • Care after surgery
    • Radiotherapy
      • Early breast cancer
      • Metastatic breast cancer
      • Questions to ask
      • Skin care
      • Travelling
    • Chemotherapy
      • How does chemotherapy work?
      • Type of chemotherapy
      • What does chemotherapy involve?
      • Side effects
      • Questions to ask
    • Hormonal therapies
      • Hormone receptors
      • Types of hormonal therapy
      • Side effects
      • Menopause and oestrogen production
      • Deciding about hormonal therapies
      • Questions to ask
    • Targeted therapies
      • HER2 receptors
      • Types of targeted therapy
      • Questions to ask
    • Complementary & alternative therapies
      • Complementary therapies
      • Questions to ask
      • Where to find more information
    • Metastatic breast cancer palliative care
      • What is palliative care?
      • Accessing palliative care
      • Questions to ask
    • Ductal carcinoma in situ
    • Lobular carcinoma in situ
    • Early breast cancer
    • Paget's disease of the nipple
    • Inflammatory breast cancer
    • Locally advanced breast cancer
    • Metastatic breast cancer
    • Follow-up
      • Physical examinations
      • Breast imaging tests
      • Questions to ask
    • Advanced disease
      • When treatment stops
      • Facing the possibility of dying
      • Putting your affairs in order
      • Questions to ask
    • Recurrent and secondary cancer
      • What makes spread more likely
  • Living with
    • Practical aspects of diagnosis
      • Costs of treatment and prostheses
      • Travel schemes
      • Questions to ask
      • Choosing a cancer treatment
    • Physical changes
      • Body image
      • Menopause
      • Fertility
      • Lymphoedema
    • Emotional changes
      • How you might feel
      • Effects on partners
      • Effects on children
      • Effects on family and friends
    • Physical changes – metastatic
      • Pain
      • Symptoms and treatment side effects
    • Emotional changes – metastatic
      • Common feelings
    • Practical aspects - metastatic
      • Work
      • Financial support
      • How to access support at home
      • How to access support outside home
      • Questions to ask
  • Life after
    • Health
      • Fatigue
      • Poor sleep
      • Lymphoedema
      • Menopause
      • Pain
      • Diet
      • Exercise
    • Feelings
      • Finding a new ‘normal’
      • Fear of recurrence
      • Feelings of loss
      • Isolation
      • Anxiety and depression
      • Not sure how you feel?
    • Relationships
      • Partners
      • Children
      • Friends
      • Colleagues
    • Practical issues
      • Returning to work
      • Talking to colleagues about breast cancer
      • Questions to ask your health fund
  • Support
  • Clinical trials
    • What happens in a clinical trial?
    • What are the phases of a clinical trial?
    • Advantages and disadvantages
    • Questions to ask about clinical trials
    • When to find more information
  • Health professionals
    • Menopausal symptoms
    • Screening
    • Breast cancer diagnosis
    • Early breast cancer
    • Metastatic breast cancer
    • Ductal carcinoma
    • Lobular carcinoma
    • GP guides and resources
    • Follow-up care
    • Breast cancer Qstream

Search form

  1. Home
  2. Types
  • Ductal carcinoma in situ
  • Lobular carcinoma in situ
  • Early breast cancer
  • Paget's disease of the nipple
  • Inflammatory breast cancer
  • Locally advanced breast cancer
  • Metastatic breast cancer

Types of breast cancer

  • A|A

There are several different types of breast cancer.

Find out more about the different types of breast cancer by clicking on the links below:

  • Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is a non-invasive breast cancer that is confined to the ducts of the breast.
  • Lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) is a non-invasive breast cancer that is confined to the lobules of the breast.
  • Early breast cancer is an invasive breast cancer that is contained in the breast and may or may not have spread to lymph nodes in the breast or armpit. Some cancer cells may have spread outside the breast and armpit area but cannot be detected. 
  • Paget’s disease of the nipple is a rare form of breast cancer that affects the nipple and the area around the nipple (the areola), and is commonly associated with an invasive cancer elsewhere in the breast.
  • Inflammatory breast cancer is a rare form of invasive breast cancer that affects the lymphatic vessels in the skin of the breast, causing the breast to become red and inflamed. 
  • Locally advanced breast cancer is an invasive breast cancer that has spread to areas near the breast, such as the chest wall. 
  • Metastatic breast cancer (also called advanced breast cancer) is an invasive breast cancer that has spread from the breast to other parts of the body.
  • Last Updated
  • Relevant Links
updated: Wed, 27/09/2017 - 15:23
  • Australian Cancer Trials

Related information

What is cancer?
What is cancer?

Cancer is a disease of the cells, which are the body’s basic building blocks.

Treatment and side effects
Treatment and side effects

The treatment that your doctors recommend will depend on the type of cancer you have, how advanced it is, and other personal factors.

Living with cancer
Living with cancer

A diagnosis of cancer marks the beginning of a journey full of emotional, psychological, physical and practical challenges.

Life after cancer
Life after cancer

While looking forward to finishing their cancer treatment and getting on with life, for some people, the end of treatment can also be a confusing or worrying time.

A-Z List of Cancer Types

Information on more than 70 types of cancer

  • Bladder cancer
  • Bowel cancer
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  • Breast cancer
  • Breast cancer in men
  • Breast cancer in young women
  • Cervical cancer
  • Children's Cancer
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  • Fallopian tube cancer
  • Gestational trophoblastic disease
  • Gynaecological cancers
  • Head & neck cancers
  • Kidney cancer
  • Leukaemia
  • Liver cancer
  • Lung cancer
  • Lymphoma
  • Melanoma of the skin
  • Mesothelioma
  • Myeloma
  • Neuroendocrine tumours
  • Oesophageal cancer
  • Ovarian cancer
  • Pancreatic cancer
  • Prostate cancer
  • Sarcoma
  • Stomach cancer
  • Testicular cancer
  • Thyroid cancer
  • Unknown primary
  • Uterine sarcoma
  • Vaginal cancer
  • Vulval cancer

About Cancer Australia

Cancer Australia was established by the Australian Government in 2006 to benefit all Australians affected by cancer, and their families and carers. Cancer Australia aims to reduce the impact of cancer, address disparities and improve outcomes for people affected by cancer by leading and coordinating national, evidence-based interventions across the continuum of care.

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