Swelling and tenderness
Your breasts change all the way through your menstrual cycle each month because of your hormones. At least half of all women who have periods will have some pain, tenderness and lumpiness in their breasts. This usually occurs in the week before your period. It quickly goes when your period starts. It is more common in women aged 30-50.
Infection
A lump caused by infection is fairly common in women who are breast-feeding. The ducts that carry the breast milk can become blocked. Bacteria, or germs, can enter through cracks in the nipple and lead to the development of an abscess in the breast. Warm compresses and antibiotics may be needed.
Infection can also appear in women who are not breast-feeding.
During a breast self-exam, you may notice lumps or a change in texture. Knowing the difference between harmless and harmful breast lumps is important to your health.
There are three kinds of benign breast lumps:
- Cysts
Cysts are more common in women approaching menopause although they can occur at any age. A cyst is a fluid-filled lump. They are usually oval or round lumps that are smooth and firm. They tend to move slightly when pressed. A cyst can move around and can change in size during your menstrual cycle. It is common for them to appear within two weeks prior to your period and then resolve soon after the period. It can be located near the surface, or deeper inside, close to your chest wall.
Treatment of breast cysts typically involves draining the fluid in them by using a thin needle inserted into your breast by the doctor. This procedure removes the fluid from inside the cyst, which deflates and most likely will not return.
- Fibroadenomas
This is a non-cancerous breast lump that usually occurs in women under the age of 40. They are made of fibrous and glandular tissues. They usually feel like round, firm, and rubbery lumps. They usually move slightly under the skin when they are pressed.
Sometimes they can disappear of their own accord.
They also tend to go after the menopause. However, they can be removed, if needed, with a lumpectomy, a ablation, or cryoablation. If there is some doubt about the fibroadenoma, it can biopsied, to make sure that it is harmless.
- Pseudolumps
Pseudolumps are kind of breast lump that may be a scar tissue, hardened silicone, necrotic (dead) fat, or a rib bone pressing into breast tissue and compressing it. They can be located near the surface, or deeper inside the breast, close to the chest wall. They can feel quite hard and usually doesn’t change shape or size during a menstrual cycle. A pseudolump may or may not be movable, depending on what it is actually composed of.
To be sure that a pseudolump is risk-free, get a mammogram and ultrasound, and if those are not clear, ask for a needle biopsy and have it surgically removed.
- There is one type of malignant breast lump and it is a breast cancer
It is made of abnormal breast tissue cells, growing in an uncontrolled way. It will have an irregular shape with a rocky surface and will be very hard. It can be located near the surface, or deeper inside the breast, close to the chest wall. It can also occur in the armpit area!
It may not be movable during a breast self-exam, however the tissue around it may move. A clinical breast exam and a mammogram will help to clear up the diagnosis. A needle biopsy would be needed.
This might be treated with one, or a combination of therapies such as surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, and hormone suppression therapy.