What Does Breast Cancer Feel Like? Lumps and Pain Explained

Date: Oct-14-2016 In breast cancer, abnormal genes cause breast cells to grow uncontrollably and not die off as they normally would.

If these cells grow slowly and don't invade other tissues, they cause benign tumors. These are lumps that are not usually considered dangerous to health.

When abnormal cells grow at a more rapid rate and begin to invade surrounding tissues, they form cancerous tumors. These lumps pose a serious risk and can spread, creating new tumors throughout the body.

According to BreastCancer.org, 1 in 8 women in the United States will experience invasive breast cancer over their lifetime. The National Cancer Institute estimate that in 2016, around 246, 660 women will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer. Just over 16 percent will die of the condition.

Breast cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer in American women, accounting for 30 percent of new cancer cases in 2015. Men face a much lower risk, and the lifetime risk in the U.S is around 1 in 1,000.

Contents of this article:

Symptoms and early signs of breast cancer

What do breast lumps feel like?

Breast cancer causes and risk factors

Symptoms and early signs of breast cancer

Breast cancer can often be difficult to detect in its early stages. While some with breast cancer will experience lumps, pain, swelling, and skin changes, others may experience no obvious symptoms.

The American Cancer Society report that most breast cancer cases first present as a new mass or lump. A wide range of other symptoms may also appear, including:

When breast cancer first appears, it can cause a wide range of different symptoms.

  Breast or nipple pain

  Swelling, irritation, or color change of the breast or nipple

  Nipple retraction

  A new mole or change in an existing breast or nipple mole

  A sore on the breast or nipple that will not heal

  Tender or enlarged glands under the arm or in the neck area

  Nipple discharge

  Change in the overall size, shape, or appearance of the breast or nipple

  A hoarse, persistent cough

  Change in appetite

  Difficulty swallowing

  Pain after meals

  Painful or difficult urination or bowel movements

  Blood in the urine or stool

  Unexplained weight gain or loss

  Night sweats

  General feeling of weakness or tiredness

The National Cancer Institute offer a risk assessment tool to help guide health professionals.

What do breast lumps feel like?

The feel of a breast lump depends on its cause, location, and growth. They can vary greatly from painful, hard, and immobile to soft, painless, and easily moveable.

According to BreastCancer.org, lumps are most likely to be cancerous if they do not cause pain, are hard, unevenly shaped, and immobile.

Fibroadenoma lumps tend to be painless, easily movable, smooth, rounded and can disappear on their own. Breast cysts are smooth but firm. Breast abscesses and mastitis usually cause painful, swollen lumps, and are often accompanied by a fever and or redness around the affected skin.

Most early breast cancers are diagnosed on screening mammograms before a lump can be felt. Mammograms are the most effective method available for detecting breast cancer. However, mammograms are not 100 percent.

The National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF) recommend performing self-examinations at home every month to look for breast changes in addition to getting regular screening mammograms.

The most important and difficult part of early detection is the fact that such a wide range of changes and symptoms may or may not occur. That is why regular screening is so important.

It is also important for people to have a good idea of the normal size, shape, appearance, and feel of their breasts so that they are aware of any changes.

The NBCF suggest performing a breast self-exam in three stages: in the shower, in front of the mirror, and lying down.

Self-examination tips

How to feel for abnormalities

Always seek medical attention if in doubt about possible breast symptoms.

The shower is the ideal location to check for breast lumps, but this stage of the exam can be done just about anywhere.

Using the pad of the fingers, move in a circular motion from the inside, near the nipple, outward. People should feel for changes like lumps, thickenings, or pain.

Cover the entire breast area from the cleavage line to the surrounding chest, collarbone, and armpit area. This should be done both from side to side and up and down.

Light pressure should be applied closer to the surface of the breast and nipple. Medium and firm pressure are needed to properly check deeper tissue and tissue closer to the rib cage and back muscles. The nipple should also be squeezed, checking for discharge, lumps, and pain.

The same routine should also be carried out while lying down, allowing the breast tissue to rest evenly against the chest wall.

How to look for abnormalities

Standing in front of a mirror, people should look at the overall appearance of the breasts and nipples. Here are some questions to think about:

  Are they similar in size, shape, or height?

  Is one a different color than the other?

  Are there any visible skin lesions, marks, color changes, or moles?

  Are there any signs of swelling, lumpiness, pitting, or contour changes?

  Are the nipples facing outward or inward?

People should run through this checklist with their arms both at their sides and above their head.

Next, people should press their palms firmly on their hips and flex their chest muscles. It's rare for two breasts to be identical, but it's important to look for differences between each.

Other conditions that cause breast lumps

According to the British National Health Service, the vast majority of breast lumps are noncancerous. While some can be painful and cause breast changes, benign lumps are not considered to be life-threatening. They may require treatment or surgery, however.

Benign breast lump conditions include:

  Fibroadenomas

  Fibrocystic breast disease

  Ductal or lobular hyperplasia

  Cysts, abscesses, or infection

  Mastitis

  Lipomas

  Intraductal papillomas

  Fat necrosis

  Duct ectasia

  Complex lesions or scars from past breast biopsies

Breast cancer causes and risk factors

According to the American Cancer Society, most breast cancers are ductal cancers, beginning in the cells that carry milk to the nipple. Lobular cancers, starting in the milk-producing glands, are less common.

BreastCancer.org state some 5 to 10 percent of all female breast cancer cases in the U.S. are hereditary. This means that an abnormal gene is passed on from parent to child, which is often the BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation

Having abnormal copies of these genes raises the risk of breast, ovarian, and other cancers.

Around 85 percent of breast cancer cases occur in women with no family history of the condition. In these cases, age, gender, and ethnicity are the biggest risk factors. Women's risk increases with age, and white women are at a higher risk than women of other races.

The National Cancer Institute estimate that the odds of developing breast cancer increase with age. They state that breast cancer develops in 1 in 227 American women in their 30s and 1 in 26 by age 70.

The biggest increase in these odds occurs during the period between 30 and 50, rising from 1 in 227 to 1 in 42.

Breast cancer in men

Breast cancer can also affect men.

The ACS estimate 2,600 men will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer and some 440 men will die of the condition in 2016. The rate of breast cancer in U.S. men is roughly 100 times less than in women.

Invasive male breast cancers have higher death rates than female breast cancers, however. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), around 17.7 percent of females diagnosed with invasive breast cancer died from the condition compared to 22 percent of men in 2013.

The NBCF claim this difference is likely due to a lack of awareness about breast cancer in men.

When to see a doctor

If any of the above signs or symptoms occur, people should see a doctor. While many breast lumps are harmless or the result of conditions other than cancer, only a doctor can determine this.

The most common tools used to analyze breast lumps are clinical breast exams, mammography, breast MRIs, and biopsies.

Clinical breast exams are done as part of most annual checkups. They are also the first step a doctor will take if a patient notices changes. If the doctor spots a lump, they will take note of its size, location, and characteristics.

A mammography machine uses X-rays to create an image of the breast where fatty tissues appear dark while connective tissues appear white. In younger women, breast density or the amount of connective tissue is typically higher. This makes tumors, which also appear white on the image, hard to detect.

Breast MRIs and breast ultrasounds are less frequently used tools. A doctor may also order a breast biopsy, where a needle retrieves breast tissue from inside the area of concern. The sample is then examined for cancerous cells under a microscope.

Written by Jennifer Huizen

Courtesy: Medical News Today Note: Any medical information available in this news section is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a health care professional.