Mammary Pathology area

Breast cancer is the most common type of tumour in women, in both developed and undeveloped countries. However, the majority of lumps that appear in the breast are benign.

The stage of the cancer is one of the most important factors when predicting the patient´s prognosis and chances of surviving the disease. For this, the necessary diagnostic tests are carried out in order to obtain more information about the tumour´s size, location and effect on neighbouring tissues, lymph nodes and nearby organs.

> Read more about breast cancer

The main aim of diagnostic testing is to diagnose tumours at an early stage, and therefore, guarantee a higher chance of curing it. Furthermore, these tests determine whether or not other areas have been affected.

• Mammography
• Breast Ultrasound
• MRI Scan
• Breast Biopsy
• Sentinel Node Biopsy

Other secondary tests to evaluate if the disease has spread or not include:

• Chest X-ray
• Abdominal Ultrasound
• Bone Scan
• CT Scan
• PET Scan 

The prognosis for breast cancer depends on what stage it is diagnosed in, therefore it is important to diagnose the disease early on.

The majority of patients that are diagnosed with the condition don´t have any risk factors that would suggest that they would be likely to contract the disease, and this is why it is important to remember these recommendations:

• Breast self-examination
• Check-ups for over 40 years old
  
• Menopause Care
• Genetic Risk

 Not all mammary diseases are malignant. The Mammary Pathology Department also diagnoses and treats other diseases that can appear in the mammary gland:

• Inflammatory or infectious breast diseases: acute mastitis, abscesses, fat necrosis, etc.
• Benign breast tumours such as mammary fibroadenoma and intraductal papilloma
• Fibrocystic mastopathy, the most common benign condition, specialists must be careful not to mistake this for breast cancer.