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Dr. Jay Harness
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VIDEO: Dr. Harness - Invasive Ductal Breast Cancer, What Is This?

Dr. Harness describes invasive ductal breast cancer.

Dr. Harness, M.D.:
Invasive ductal breast cancer is where the cells that are abnormal inside the ductal system like a straw, have now gone beyond the in situ phase and certain molecular changes are going on that allow the cancer to literally grow through the wall of the ductal system and then invade into the surrounding tissue. As the cancer invades into the surrounding normal tissue, it can then shed off cells that can go elsewhere in the body.

So for most invasive cancers, we know that we have to treat the whole body, and understanding this process of how cancers invade through the walls of the duct is an area of research interest. And then patients and people coming to the website need to understand that concept that the cells can shed off, sort of like throwing grass seed out of the window, and those cells can circulate elsewhere in the body.

About Dr. Harness, M.D.:
Dr. Jay Harness, M.D., is the Director at St. Joseph Hospital Comprehensive Breast Center. Practicing medicine for 35 years, Dr. Harness specializes in general surgery and medical oncology. Graduating medical school from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, he conducting his internship and residency at the University of Michigan Medical Center. Recognized nationally and internationally for his work in breast and endocrine surgery, Dr. Harness is the immediate past-President of The American Society of Breast Surgeons and is President-elect of Breast Surgery International. Dr. Harness can assist patients in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese.

Visit Dr. Harness at St. Joseph Hospital

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