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.
checking for breast lumps | testing, testing | getting rid of lumps | be breast aware | help and info
getting rid of lumps
A breast cyst will usually go away when the specialist takes the fluid out.
A fibroadenoma may need a small operation to remove it. Some women don't bother with surgery, while others prefer to have it taken out. If it isn't removed, it may get bigger, stay the same, or it may shrink and go away over a period of months or years.
if it is cancer
A small number of breast lumps do turn out to be cancerous and need an operation to remove them. Surgery needs to be carefully planned to be sure that all the cancer is taken away. Most small lumps can be removed without taking away a lot of the breast. This is called a lumpectomy operation. But sometimes it is necessary to take away the whole breast (mastectomy).
Whether it is a lumpectomy or a mastectomy, the surgeon will usually also remove one or more of the lymph nodes under the arm on the same side as the affected breast. When these and the cancerous lump are examined in the laboratory, the doctors can assess how aggressive the cancer is and how far it may have spread. The results of these tests will decide whether further treatment with radiation (see radiotherapy in the 'abc of body') and/or anti-cancer drugs (see chemotherapy in the 'abc of body') is needed.
(December 2002, resources updated January 2005)
