Breast Cancer Pictures - Illustrations

These pictures show the parts of the breast and the lymph nodes and lymph vessels near the breast.

 This picture shows ductal carcinoma in situ.

This picture shows cancer that has spread outside the duct and has invaded nearby breast tissue.

In breast-sparing surgery, the surgeon removes the tumor in the breast and some tissue around it. (Sometimes an excisional biopsy--which removes all of the tumor--serves as a lumpectomy. Biopsy is described in the Diagnosis section.) Occasionally, some of the lining over the chest muscles below the tumor is removed as well. Some lymph nodes under the arm may also be removed.  

In modified radical mastectomy, the surgeon removes the whole breast, most or all of the lymph nodes under the arm, and, often, the lining over the chest muscles. The smaller of the two chest muscles also may be taken out to make it easier to remove the lymph nodes.