How does breast cancer spread?

Circulation: Most breast cancers begin in the breast ducts, where milk is transported to the nipple. Invasive cancers break out of the duct and spread to the adjacent supportive tissue within the breast, where the lymphatics and blood vessels are found. These cancer cells may enter these vessels and travel anywhere in the body.

3 Basic Ways: Breast cancer can spread in 3 basic ways - it can grow larger and larger, invading into the skin or muscle; it can invade into the blood vessels and then travel to other areas of the body (most commonly liver, lungs, bone and brain), and it can invade into the lymphatic vessels and travel to the lymph nodes under the arm and other areas of the body.

Lymphatics: Breast cancer spreads through your lymphatic system.

Circulation: Most breast cancers begin in the milk-producing ducts and lobules. These cancer cells break out of these ducts and lobules and enter into the supporting tissue of the breast--that's why it's called invasive. Lymphatics and blood vessels are found within this supportive tissue. If the cancer cell enters these vessels, they can circulate throughout the body and take up residence in another organ.

3 ways: It spread through lymphatic organ ( lymph glands) , through blood circulation and direct invasion to the adjacent organ such as skin, chest wall etc.

Lymphatics: Breast cancer spreads through your lymphatic system.

Lymphatic: Most common route is through lymph node. Some form of breast cancer can spread through blood stream quickly. Most common organs breast cancer spread to are lung, liver and bone.

Lymphatics and blood: Breast cancer can advance locally in the breast, to the skin and to the chest wall. It can spread regionally through the lymphatic channels to the lymph glands in the axilla (armpit), below and avove the collar bone and to the side of the neck. It can spread through the blood stream to distant organs such as bones, liver, lung, brain and othe organs. This is called distant metastasis.