This topic is for people who have been diagnosed with breast cancer for the first time. If you are looking for information on breast cancer that has spread or come back after treatment, see the topic Breast Cancer, Metastatic or Recurrent.

Health tools help you make wise health decisions or take action to improve your health. Decision Points focus on key medical care decisions that are important to many health problems. Should I have breast - conserving surgery or a mastectomy to treat earl

Learn about breast cancer and factors that increase risk.

The first sign of breast cancer is often a painless lump. However, early breast cancer is often found on a mammogram before a lump can be felt. Other symptoms of breast cancer may not appear until the cancer is more advanced.

Breast cancer occurs when cells in the breast grow abnormally. As the breast cancer grows, it can spread to nearby tissues and lymph nodes. Advanced breast cancer can affect the bones, liver, and brain.

Although the exact cause of breast cancer is not known, most experts agree that there are several factors that increase your risk of breast cancer.

The most common symptom of breast cancer is a painless lump. However, early breast cancer is often found on a mammogram before a lump can be felt.

The earlier breast cancer is found, the more easily and successfully it can be treated. The most common methods for detecting breast cancer include mammogram, clinical breast exam, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the breast.

Breast cancer is usually treated with surgery, medications, and radiation therapy.

Learn about breast cancer and risk factors that can be avoided.

During treatment for any stage of breast cancer, you can use home treatment to help manage the side effects that may occur with cancer treatment. Home treatment may be all that is needed to manage the following common problems.

Read about drugs used to treat breast cancer.

Most people with breast cancer have surgery to remove the cancer. In most cases, a few of the lymph nodes under the arm are also removed and examined under the microscope to see whether cancer cells are present.

Radiation therapy is the use of high - energy X - rays to destroy cancer cells and shrink tumors. It is used after breast - conserving surgery and sometimes after mastectomy, depending on how advanced your breast cancer is at the time of your surgery. You

Check this list of resources for information on and treatment of breast cancer.

A list of links to information related to Breast Cancer.

A list of resources for information on breast cancer.

This list of authors contributed to the topic on breast cancer.