Breast Cancer

When your life has been touched by breast cancer, you deserve the very best care. At Halifax Health – Cancer Center for Hope, a first-class team of experts offer a full array of leading-edge treatment plans and technologies, providing the finest care and achieving the best outcomes.

Breast Cancer FAQs

Breast cancer is cancer that starts in the breast. It occurs when cells in the breast are changed and start to grow out of control. The ducts and the lobules are the 2 parts of the breast where cancer is most likely to start.

Breast cancer is one of the most common types of cancer in women in the U.S. Doctors don’t yet know exactly what causes it. Once breast cancer occurs, cancer cells can spread to other parts of the body, making it life-threatening. The good news is that breast cancer is often found early, when it’s small and before it has spread.

There are several common forms of breast cancer, including:

  • Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS)
  • Invasive breast cancer (ILC or IDC)
  • Triple-negative breast cancer
  • Inflammatory breast cancer
  • Paget disease of the breast
  • Angiosarcoma
  • Phyllodes tumor

There are currently five recognized possible treatments for breast cancer:

  • Surgery: Procedure where doctors physically cut out the cancer tissue
  • Chemotherapy: Uses chemicals to shrink or kill the cancer cells. These medications can be pills and/or given via IV injections.
  • Hormonal therapy: Inhibits the cancer cells from receiving the hormones they need to grow
  • Biological therapy: Works in conjunction with your body’s immune system to help fight off cancer cells or to minimize side effects from other cancer treatments
  • Radiation therapy: Uses high-energy rays to kill the cancer cells

Central Florida Cancer Care

Halifax Health – Cancer Center for Hope has produced a long list of “firsts” in oncology diagnosis and treatment. This should be a source of confidence for you, knowing we are leaders in the development of new and better ways to discover and treat cancer.