Cancer Center offers world-class breast cancer care, providing thorough diagnosis & advanced treatments using the latest techniques.
Medically reviewed on June 13, 2023.
UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center offers world-class care for people with breast cancer. Our experts provide thorough diagnosis and treatment options using the latest techniques.
Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer diagnosed in American women, other than skin cancer. It’s the second leading cause of cancer death in women, after lung cancer.
At UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, our compassionate breast cancer specialists diagnose and treat all stages of breast cancer. We offer the most up-to-date therapies while giving you the support you need.
Breast cancer is when cancer forms in the tissues of your breast. This cancer can also affect surrounding tissues or spread to other parts of your body.
There are two main types of breast cancer:
Many people have no symptoms in the early stages of breast cancer. As tumors grow, they may change the look and feel of your breasts.
Some common symptoms of breast cancer include:
If you have any of these symptoms, seek immediate medical care or call 911:
Breast cancer can form when breast cells grow abnormally. They continue to build up, forming a lump or growth. The cells may also spread (metastasize) to other tissues in your body.
While some breast cancer cases are genetic, researchers don’t always know exactly what causes breast cancer.
About 5% to 10% of breast cancers result from gene changes (mutations) passed from parents to children. BRCA1 and BRCA2 are the best-known gene mutations.
Certain factors can increase your breast cancer risk, including:
Women age 55 and older have a higher risk of breast cancer.
Drinking alcohol raises your risk of breast cancer. The risk increases with the more alcohol you drink.
Women who have dense breasts have a higher risk of breast cancer.
Women have increased risk of breast cancer if they started their period before age 12 or menopause after age 55.
White women are at higher risk of breast cancer than Black women. However, Black women are more likely to get a breast cancer diagnosis before age 40.
Having a mother, sister or daughter with breast cancer nearly doubles a woman’s risk.
Your breast cancer risk increases if you have your first child after age 30 or have never given birth to a child.
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) that combines estrogen and progesterone after menopause increases breast cancer risk. Birth control pills also increase your risk.
Women who aren’t very physically active, especially after menopause, have a higher breast cancer risk.
Being obese or overweight after menopause increases your chances of developing breast cancer.
Having breast cancer increases your risk of getting it again. Having non-cancerous (benign) breast conditions, such as lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) or atypical ductal hyperplasia (ADH), also puts you at higher risk.
Women who had radiation therapy to their chest as a teen or young adult have a much higher risk of breast cancer.
Women are at much higher risk of developing breast cancer than men.
At UC Davis Health, we recommend that women have regular breast cancer screening tests. That way, cancer can be detected and treated in an early stage.
Tests we suggest to help diagnose breast cancer include:
At UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, we offer complete care for people with all stages of breast cancer. We determine your treatment options based on the type, stage, size and location of breast cancer, as well as whether it has spread. We personalize your treatment plan based on what will work best for you and your unique situation.
Most women with breast cancer have surgery. A surgical oncologist may remove the breast cancer along with some healthy tissue around it (lumpectomy). A mastectomy is when they remove the entire breast.
High-energy X-rays can destroy breast cancer cells. We may use radiation therapy after a lumpectomy or mastectomy, or if breast cancer has spread to other parts of the body (metastatic cancer).
Chemotherapy (chemo) uses drugs to kill breast cancer cells. We may use chemo before surgery, after surgery or for metastatic cancer.
We can inject drugs that focus on specific parts of breast cancer cells, which cause the cells to die. We often use targeted therapy after surgery or for advanced breast cancer.
Hormone therapy prevents some types of breast cancer cells from getting hormones they need to grow. We may use hormone therapy before or after surgery, or for metastatic cancer.
We use medications that help your immune system attack breast cancer cells. We usually give immunotherapy through an intravenous (IV) infusion.
While there’s no way to completely prevent breast cancer, you can do things to help lower your risk.
Reducing or stopping your alcohol intake can reduce your breast cancer risk.
You can get regular breast cancer screenings, such as mammograms, from your physician. These screenings can help catch signs of cancer early before it spreads.
Women who breastfeed their children for at least a few months can reduce their risk of breast cancer.
Checking your breasts regularly for changes or lumps can help to detect any breast cancer sooner.
Staying at a healthy weight can help reduce your breast cancer risk.
If you’re at high risk of breast cancer, prescription medicines may reduce your risk. If you have a BRCA gene mutation, you may choose to have your breasts removed (prophylactic mastectomy).
Exercising most days of the week may help decrease breast cancer risk.
"Invasive Lobular Carcinoma (ILC)," Breastcancer.org, https://www.breastcancer.org/types/invasive-lobular-carcinoma
"Breast Cancer Risk Factors You Cannot Change," American Cancer Society, https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/breast-cancer/risk-and-prevention/breast-cancer-risk-factors-you-cannot-change.html
1 in 3Of new cancers in women each year
1 in 8Chance an American woman will develop breast cancer in her lifetime
Source: American Cancer Society: Key Statistics for Breast Cancer
Our cancer specialists provide thorough evaluations and personalized treatment plans. Learn more about how to make an appointment at UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center.
For providers in UC Davis Medical Group or our Cancer Care Network
For providers who are external clinicians
A U.S. News & World Report best hospital in cancer, cardiology, heart & vascular surgery, diabetes & endocrinology, ENT, geriatrics, neurology & neurosurgery, orthopedics, and pulmonology & lung surgery.
U.S. News & World Report ranked UC Davis Children’s Hospital among the best in neonatology, nephrology, orthopedics*, pediatric & adolescent behavioral health, and pulmonology & lung surgery. (*Together with Shriners Children’s Northern California)
Ranked Sacramento’s #1 hospital by U.S. News, and high-performing in back surgery, COPD, colon cancer surgery, gynecological cancer surgery, heart attack, heart failure, hip fracture, kidney failure, leukemia, lymphoma & myeloma, lung cancer surgery, pneumonia, prostate cancer surgery, stroke, TAVR, and gastroenterology & GI surgery.
UC Davis Medical Center has received Magnet® recognition, the nation’s highest honor for nursing excellence.
One of ~56 U.S. cancer centers designated “comprehensive” by the National Cancer Institute.
For the 13th consecutive year, UC Davis Medical Center has been recognized as an LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality Leader by the educational arm of America’s largest civil rights organization.
