A system and method to provide a diagnosis of the breast disease state of a test breast sample. A database containing a plurality of reference SWIR data sets is provided where each reference SWIR data set has an associated known breast sample and an associated known breast disease state. A test breast sample is irradiated with substantially monochromatic light to generate scattered photons resulting in a test SWIR data set. The test SWIR data set is compared to the plurality of reference SWIR data sets using a chemometric technique. Based on the comparison, a diagnosis of a breast disease state of the test breast sample is provided. The breast disease state includes invasive ductal carcinoma or invasive lobular carcinoma disease state.