Is It Breast Cancer or Something Else?
Symptoms of Breast Cancer and Benign Breast Conditions
By Julien Her RN BSN, senior quality care coordinator at Network Health
11/3/2023
Imagine waking up one morning and noticing a new lump with pain in your right breast. What would you do?
It can be easy to panic in a situation like this. After all, the American Cancer Society reports that the most common symptom of breast cancer is a new lump or mass. A lump that is painless, hard, with irregular edges is more likely to be cancerous, however, it can also be soft, round, tender or painful.
But feeling a lump or a mass does not automatically mean it is cancer. These lumps and masses can be benign, meaning noncancerous. If you do notice any new lumps, masses or changes in how your breasts feel or look, don’t panic. The recommendation is to have these changes assessed by your personal doctor, but you don’t need to jump to the conclusion that it is cancer.
Common Breast Cancer Symptoms You Should Pay Attention To
Of course, you should still take these sorts of breast changes seriously. Every 14 seconds, a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer. According to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, about 2.3 million women were diagnosed with breast cancer worldwide in 2020 and 685,000 died.
In addition to a noticeable lump or mass, here are some other possible breast cancer symptoms.
- Swelling of all or part of a breast
- Skin dimpling that may have an orange peel appearance
- Breast or nipple pain
- Nipple retraction (nipple turning inward)
- Nipple or breast skin that is red, dry, flaking or thickened
- Nipple discharge
Common Causes of Breast Lumps and Changes that Are Not Cancer
But breast changes can be caused by noncancerous conditions and diseases as well. In fact, there is a name for this known as benign breast disease. Some of these include the following.
- Breast cyst – Fluid-filled mass that could be felt as a lump
- Mastitis – Inflammation of breast tissue from bacteria or blocked milk ducts
- Fibroadenoma – Benign tumor in the breast that may feel firm, smooth and rubbery
- Lipoma – Often harmless and slow-growing fatty tissue
- Fibrocystic breasts – Breasts with lumpy, rope-like tissue texture
- Papilloma – A growth in the milk duct
Only a doctor can determine whether a growth or change is cancerous. That is why, even though you shouldn’t panic, it’s important to discuss any of these changes with your personal doctor as soon as you’re able. They may determine a mammogram or other testing is needed.
Moreover, some instances of benign breast disease may require treatment and increase your risk of developing breast cancer down the road. Cancer or not, if you feel there is something wrong, you’ll want to get it checked out.
When to Get Treatment for Breast Changes
As the American Cancer Society stresses, being aware of breast cancer symptoms does not replace the importance of screenings. Screenings, being aware of symptoms and paying attention to how your breasts feel and look play an important role in prevention, early detection and treatment.
Women with an average risk can start annual mammograms as early as 40 years old. If you are experiencing any breast cancer symptoms, notice any changes in your breasts or have questions regarding your risk, please call your personal doctor.
[Read more: When and How to Schedule a Mammogram]
If you’re a Network Health member with questions about how your health insurance plan may cover mammograms and other screening or treatments, please don’t hesitate to give us a call at the number on the back of your member I.D. card.
