Breast Cancer Types and Symptoms

This is the most common type of breast cancer. It begins in your ducts. About 1 in 5 new breast cancers are ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). This means you have cancer in the cells that line your ducts, but it hasn’t spread into nearby tissue.

You may not notice any symptoms of ductal carcinoma. It can also cause a breast lump or bloody discharge.

This kind begins in the glands that make milk, called lobules. It’s the second most common type of breast cancer. Symptoms include:

Fullness, thickening, or swelling in one area

Nipples that are flat or point inward (inverted)

Breast cancer that’s spread from where it began into the tissues around it is called invasive or infiltrating. You may notice:

• A lump in your breast or armpit. You might not be able to move it separately from your skin or move it at all.
• One breast that looks different from the other
• A rash or skin that’s thick, red, or dimpled like an orange
• Skin sores
• Swelling in your breast
• Small, hard lymph nodes that may be stuck together or stuck to your skin
• Pain in one spot

Without treatment, breast cancer can spread to other parts of your body, including other organs. This is called metastatic, advanced, or secondary breast cancer. Depending on where it is, you may have:

• Bone pain
• Headache
• Changes in brain function
• Trouble breathing
• Belly swelling
• Yellow skin or eyes (jaundice)
• Double vision
• Nausea
• Loss of appetite and weight loss
• Muscle weakness

Breast cancer is called triple-negative if it doesn’t have receptors for the hormones estrogen and progesterone and doesn’t make a lot of a protein called HER2. This kind tends to grow and spread faster than other types, and doctors treat it differently.

Triple-negative tumors make up 10% to 15% of breast cancers. They cause the same symptoms as other common types. Get an overview on triple-negative breast cancer symptoms and treatment.

About 1% of breast cancers happen in men. Because it’s so rare, you may not pay attention to the symptoms until the cancer has grown. Watch for:

A lump or thick spot in your breast or armpit

Changes in the skin of your breast or nipple, such as redness, puckering, scales, or discharge

Learn more about breast cancer in men.

This type often happens along with ductal carcinoma. It affects the skin of your nipple and areola. Symptoms may look like eczema and include:

Nipple skin that’s crusted, scaly, and red

Bloody or yellow discharge from the nipple

A flat or inverted nipple

Burning or itching

Read more on the causes and symptoms of Paget’s disease.

Inflammatory breast cancer is a rare type that causes symptoms similar to an infection. They include:

A breast that’s warm, swollen, and red

Skin that’s dimpled, leathery, or ridged

A nipple that turns inward

Unusual nipple discharge

This is a very rare type of ductal cancer. It’s named for the tiny lumps, or papules, on the tumor. Common symptoms include:

• A small, hard cyst
• Bloody discharge from the nipple

Fewer than 2% of breast cancers are angiosarcomas. These start in the cells that line your blood vessels or lymph nodes. Angiosarcoma may cause:

• A lump in your breast
• A purple area of skin that looks like a bruise
• Skin that bleeds easily when scratched or bumped
• Pain in one area