A rare form of breast cancer, Paget’s disease of the nipple represents approximately 1% of all breast cancers. Paget’s disease develops in the milk ducts, spreads to the nipple skin, and then to the areola, the dark circle around the nipple. Many women with Paget’s disease are diagnosed at the stage of in situ carcinoma or infiltrating breast carcinoma.
The nipple and areola of a woman suffering with Paget’s disease often appear scaly, red and crusted. Bleeding and oozing from Paget’s disease are also common, as are itching and a burning sensation.
Despite these unsettling symptoms, the prognosis for women with Paget’s disease is better if a lump has not been detected in the breast tissue and a biopsy has determined that there is no invasive cancer.
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