- Breast Cancer Facts
- Breast Awareness
- Diagnosis
  - Visiting a breast clinic
  - Benign breast conditions
  - Types of primary breast cancer
  - What further tests might I have?
  - Staging and grading
- Treatment
- Secondary Breast Cancer
- Family History
- FAQs

Benign breast conditions

Not all breast abnormalities are cancer.

There are several other conditions including cysts, fibroadenomas, fibrocystic disease, lipomas and breast pain. About one in five women develop some form of benign breast disease at some point in their life. To find out more visit the Breast Cancer Care website.

Only a few of these conditions increase the risk of developing breast cancer.

Conditions that increase cancer risk are those that cause your breast cells to grow too much – a state known as proliferative – or make them look abnormal, a condition that doctors call atypical. You can learn more about proliferative benign breast conditions in our booklet: Breast Cancer Risk Factors: The Facts (517 kb)

If you have any worries at all about your risk of breast cancer, visit your GP.

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£3 a month over a year could buy 20 flasks used by our scientists to grow breast cancer cells in the laboratory.

£5 a month buys 100 microscope slides needed to look at cells in great detail under a microscope – enabling scientists to better understand breast cancer and develop new treatments.

£10 a month buys storage containers for blood samples used in the Breakthrough Generations Study. These samples will help scientists discover the causes of breast cancer.