Confident Care for Ductal Carcinoma on the Central Coast
Do you have an annual mammogram, a type of cancer screening? If so, you are taking the most effective step toward prevention for ductal carcinoma, a breast cancer that starts in the ducts of the breasts.
Your Dignity Health Central Coast doctor is ready to listen to your concerns about ductal carcinoma and explain the types of this breast cancer. Our award-winning doctors treat your physical, mental, and spiritual needs, and understand your best options for ductal carcinoma treatments.
Find a Doctor today to explore ductal carcinoma treatments on the Central Coast of California.
Recognizing Ductal Carcinoma at Dignity Health Central Coast
Breast cancer usually starts in one of two areas of the breast: the lobules, the glands that produce milk, or the ducts that allow milk to travel to your nipple. Ductal carcinoma refers to the type of breast cancer that starts in your milk ducts.
In the earliest form of breast cancer, the cancer cells have not spread. Such stage 0 breast cancer, or noninvasive ductal carcinoma, remains in the lining of the milk ducts. Your doctor may call it ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) because the cancer cells remain in place, or in situ, inside the duct.
The most common type of breast cancer, accounting for about 80 percent of cases, is invasive ductal carcinoma. In this type, the cancer cells start in the milk duct and then spread to other breast tissues, or outside the breast.
While there are generally no ductal carcinoma symptoms, some women with invasive ductal carcinoma may notice nipple discharge or a breast lump. Often, ductal carcinoma is detected by mammography.
In order to have enough information to make a diagnosis, your Dignity Health Central Coast doctor will likely recommend a biopsy if your mammogram shows cancer cells.
Risk Factors
Being a woman increases your risk for ductal carcinoma, since men rarely develop breast cancer. Other ductal carcinoma risk factors include:
- Genetics
- Age
- Caucasian race
- Menstrual history
- Breast condition
- Radiation
- Family history
Ductal Carcinoma Treatment
Lumpectomy and mastectomy are two types of surgery to treat ductal carcinoma. Lumpectomy surgery removes only the tumor and some surrounding tissue from the breast. It is normally followed by radiation therapy. Mastectomy removes all the breast tissue. Your doctor will work with you to determine the type of surgery you may need, based on the spread of your breast cancer.
Additional treatment options may include hormone therapy, targeted therapies, or chemotherapy. Hormone therapy medicines lower the amount of estrogen in the body. Estrogen can help tumors grow. Targeted therapies identify and destroy cancer cells, and chemotherapy kills or stops cancer cells from growing.
Contact Dignity Health today to schedule a screening for ductal carcinoma on the Central Coast of California.
Dignity Health’s trusted doctors provide personalized treatment for breast cancer, including ductal carcinoma in situ, on the Central Coast of California.