Breast Lump: What should you do next?

Breast Lump:

Have you noticed a swelling, bulge or protuberance in your breast? It can be a breast lump. You may experience many such lumps in your life due to hormonal changes. Although most of them turn out to be harmless, there are chances that they can be malignant or cancerous. Here are some quick facts on these lumps and what you should do when you spot one.

80% to 90% of breast lumps are generally benign (non-cancerous), yet it’s better to be sure and safe rather than regret later. Visit your general physician or gynaecologist immediately for the further examination. Your doctor may suggest you certain tests like mammography, MRI scan, and an ultrasound scan for complete analysis and surety. So don’t hesitate and don’t get overwhelmed by these tests. Get them done as soon as possible in order to detect any malicious lump well in time.

The good news is that these lumps are not the only sign of breast cancer. Keep a lookout for other cancer symptoms too:

1. White discharge from the nipples
2. Rash around the nipples
3. Constant pain the breast and/ or the armpits
4. A sudden alteration in the shape of the breast
5. A bulge in or near the armpit
6. A sudden change in the appearance of the nipples

Going by the statistics you might assume that a lump tends to be malicious only if it occurs to women above 50 years of age or who are done with their menopause. But this is just a myth. Even though you might be young, age is no parameter to determine a lump’s malignity for certain. Apart from cancerous lumps, breast lumps can be of the following types which are mostly benign:

1. Fibroadenoma: a hard lump more common among younger women.
2. Breast Cyst: a fluid-filled lump.
3. Breast Abscess: a painful lump that contains pus.

Post-diagnosis you can be asked to consult a specialist for further examination in case of a cancerous lump. When it comes to the non-cancerous ones, the small lumps generally don’t need any treatment as such. If the lump is too painful and big it can be removed through a simple surgical procedure called lumpectomy. For lumps with fluid in them, a procedure called aspiration is used. It’s nothing but draining out the fluid from the lump in a pain-free manner.

If you would like to know more or have a breast lump that you’d like to get checked, do visit our specialists at Apollo Spectra.