A lump in the breast frightens many women and worries them when they feel it in their breast or when the doctor detects it. Immediately the thought of breast cancer pushes itself into the foreground. But lumps in the breast are not always a sign of cancer. There are further clinical pictures, which can cause lumps in the breast. Nevertheless, it is important to have an accidentally palpated lump clarified by the gynaecologist as early as possible.
Causes
Nodules in the breast can be the result of a benign or malignant tissue change. Benign changes are caused by mastopathy, cysts and fibroadenoma. Mastopathy is a frequently occurring tissue alteration.
It is accompanied by chest pain and small nodules and usually occurs on both sides. Cysts are spherical to roundish, fluid-filled constrictions of mammary ducts that are formed by glandular tissue and cause a backlog of secretion. A fibroadenoma, i.e. a nodular change in the mammary gland lobules, usually causes no further symptoms apart from small palpable lumps. In addition to these, largely harmless lumps in the breast, there is also the malignant (malignant) tissue change, breast cancer (breast cancer). This is either caused by the milk ducts of the breast or the glandular lobes and can be hereditary or occur spontaneously.
Symptoms
A lump in the breast rarely shows special symptoms. Pain and a feeling of tightness do occur, but they play a role especially in benign lumps. If the lump in the breast is breast cancer, there is often no pain at all, but rather changes in shape or breast growth. Swollen lymph nodes or skin changes such as orange peel skin can also occur. Pulling in of the skin directly above the lump and a reduced shiftability of the nodular tissue against the surrounding tissue are also symptoms that speak for a malignant lump.
Pain
Painful lumps in the breast are even more likely to lead to a worse prognosis. But it is precisely the benign lumps that cause pain in the early stages. Mastopathies, cysts, sometimes also the fibroadenoma cause dull pain, pressure pain and feelings of tension. These pains are mainly observed shortly before menstruation, i.e. they occur depending on the cycle. Pain of a burning, itchy character in the breasts is rare, but is almost always a sign of malignant cancer and requires urgent medical attention.
All articles in this series:
