Breast Lumps
What are breast lumps?
What causes breast lumps?
Cancer isn't the most common cause of breast lumps.
The most common causes of breast lumps are:
-
Fibroadenomas, which are small, smooth, movable, painless round lumps that usually happen in women who are at an age to have children
-
Fibrocystic changes, which are general lumpiness and pain in your breasts caused by monthly changes in female hormones such as estrogen and progesterone
Less common causes of breast lumps are:
When should I go to the doctor for a breast lump?
What will happen at my doctor visit?
Doctors will ask you questions about your symptoms and health. They’ll do an exam, including a breast exam to feel the lump.
To tell if your breast lump is cancer, doctors often do more tests, such as:
-
Ultrasound (a test that uses sound waves to create a moving picture of the inside of your breast)
-
Mammogram (x-ray of your breast)
Depending on your symptoms and the results of these tests, your doctor may:
How do doctors treat breast lumps?
If your breast lumps are fibrocystic changes, doctors may:
If your breast lumps are fibroadenomas, doctors may:
If your breast lumps are breast cancer, doctors may do surgery to remove your tumor and give other types of cancer treatment, such as radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and medicine.
