checking for breast lumps
by Jenny Bryan
All women are advised to be breast aware, whatever their age. It's essential to get any lumps you find checked out by an expert.
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'Nine out of ten breast lumps are benign, but no one should ignore them,' says Nikki West, senior clinical nurse specialist at Cardiff Breast Unit.
She explains that the most common type of lump in young women is called a fibroadenoma. It's harmless and definitely not cancer. It just means that there's been some extra growth in some of the breast tissue. A fibroadenoma tends to feel smooth and slippery, like a marble, and may move around under the skin when you touch it. Some fibroadenomas are several small lumps stuck together.
Another common type of harmless breast lump is a cyst. This is a small sac in the breast which fills with fluid. It can come up quite suddenly and quickly and may hurt. There may be several cysts in one or both breasts, and they can come back. Some women get cysts several times during their life, usually between the ages of 25 and 45.
Although breast cysts are harmless in themselves, women who get them do seem to be more likely to get breast cancer. So, as with any lump, it's really important to get them checked out, even if you've had several of them before.
Just to confuse things, there's a third type of harmless breast lump which sounds like a cross between a fibroadenoma and a cyst. It's called fibrocystic disease or 'lumpy breasts'. About half of women notice that their breasts feel lumpy at different times in their menstrual cycle. They may also get tender and painful. Like cysts and fibroadenomas, lumpy breasts are harmless, but if you're worried about them, or you notice any other changes, your doctor can help you.
A cancerous lump tends not to be smooth and mobile like a fibroadenoma or fluid filled and painful like a cyst. Instead, it often feels hard, uneven and fixed.
(December 2002, resources updated January 2005)
