Breast Lumps

The first thing a woman thinks when she discovers one or more breast lumps is that she has breast cancer. A breast lump is probably one of the most feared things a woman can have, even if she finds later on that it is not cancerous. But finding a lump in breast situations are usually not cancerous at all, but all lumps need to be treated as such to rule it out. If it is, the early the detection of the cancer, the higher the survival rate and less chance there will be of a mastectomy or chemotherapy.

Lumps in breast usually are felt during a breast self-exam or during a mammography-screening test. Tissues of varying consistency will be found during the breast exam, with surrounding fat tissue feeling soft. Their differences will be more pronounced right before the menstrual cycles—especially in the upper, outer region in the armpit area. These tissues also change as a woman ages, with less denseness and more fat tissues developing. Any breast lump information shows that any breast related situations regarding the breast area will change as the women's age advances.

Benign breast lumps are very common in most women--especially during pregnancy, their menstrual cycles, or aging. Lumps in thin women or women with small breasts are more noticeable, but not necessarily more cancerous. The important thing is that over 80% of women who do find a lump will find that it is not cancerous, even if it requires a biopsy for further diagnosis. Doctors and medical specialists with detailed breast cancer screening are the only ones qualified to find out if the lumps in breast screening is cancerous or not—malignant (cancerous) or benign (not cancerous).

Even though most women's lumps are benign breast lumps, it is important to research breast cancer, recognizing that the risks are higher for women who have never had children, have irregular periods, or have a family history of breast cancer. Women who take birth control pills or overweight are also at risk, while women who are of childbearing ages have more problems with the benign breast lumps. And it is important to recognize that there are many types of breast lumps and many benign conditions.

Since the average person does not know how to recognize cancerous breast lumps, it is advisable to immediately go to a doctor when finding a breast lump, redness, swelling, or any type of skin change. But more than half of all women have a situation called "fibrocystic changes" as they age, not cancerous breast lumps—which are lumpy, thickened tender areas. This consists of cells, which are multiplying within breast glands and overgrowth of fibrous tissue (fibrosis tissue), in supporting tissue of the breast. The forming cysts will blend into the surrounding breast tissue, and when pressed will move slightly or increase lumpiness or tenderness as hormones change, especially during menstrual cycles or menopause. As the estrogen or progesterone levels drop, the condition improves. But up until then, women can change their lifestyle or take medication to deal with the fibrocystic changes. Self care options include supportive bras, pain relievers such as acetaminophen, ibuprofen, oral contraceptives, and danazol (a male hormone testosterone which is used rarely).

Pictures of breast lumps or tumors, anatomical breast lump pictures, benign breast lump pictures, breast lump that moves, painful lump in breast, pictures lump on breast, or superficial breast lump are other associated terms which can help visually connect a women with the different types of lumps.