In early 2007, as i was absently scratching my chest, my hand accidentally felt a tiny lump in my right breast. It was located just a little above the nipple of my right breast. For a moment i didn't know what to do because i was so afraid that it might be something serious.
When I couldn't keep it to myself anymore, i told my mom about it and she immediately told me to have the lump checked. I gotta say, if i had a list of my most scary moments, the first breast lump check-up will definitely be up on top of that list (second only to being in a car accident and thinking it might be my time... but that's a different story altogether).
I first went to an Obstetrician/Gynecologist who told me to get a Sonomammogram ( Ultrasound of the breast), who then referred me to a Surgeon. The Surgeon, after checking the result of my Sonomammogram and doing some routine tests, advised that I should monitor the masses (the sonomammogram revealed that I had more than 1 breast lump) after every 6 months. He didn't advise for surgery right away because he didn't think that the lumps were something of a serious nature. He believed that the lumps most probably were all fibroadenomas (small, solid, rubbery, noncancerous, harmless lumps composed of fibrous and glandular tissue).
After I went to the doctors, I googled the terms breast lumps and fibroadenomas. I read articles about them, in order to reassure myself that everything was fine and that i'm not in a life-threatening condition. Here are some facts that I learned from my research:
Breast changes are common. From the time a girl begins to develop breasts and begins menstruating and throughout life, women may experience various kinds of breast pain and other breast changes. Some of these changes normally occur during the menstrual cycle, during pregnancy, and with aging. Breast lumps, tenderness, and other changes may occur. Most breast lumps and other changes are not cancer.
Your breast is composed of several glands and ducts that lead to the nipple and the surrounding colored area called the areola. The milk-carrying ducts extend from the nipple into the underlying breast tissue like the spokes of a wheel. Under the areola are lactiferous ducts. These fill with milk during lactation after a woman has a baby. When a girl reaches puberty, changing levels of hormones cause the ducts to grow and cause fat deposits in the breast tissue to increase. The glands that produce milk (mammary glands) that are connected to the surface of the breast by the lactiferous ducts may extend to the armpit area (axilla).
There are no muscles in the breasts, but muscles lie under each breast and cover the ribs. These normal structures inside the breasts can sometimes make them feel lumpy. Such lumpiness may be especially noticeable in women who are thin or who have small breasts.
- Lumps within breast tissue are usually found unexpectedly or during a routine monthly breast self-exam. Most lumps are not cancer but represent changes within the breast tissue. As your breasts develop, changes occur. These changes are influenced by normal hormonal variations.
- Breast pain is a common breast problem mostly in younger women who are still having their periods, and happens less often in older women. Although pain is a concern, breast pain is rarely the only symptom of breast cancer. Most breast cancers involve a mass or lump.
- Cyclic mastalgia: About two-thirds of women with breast pain have a problem called cyclic mastalgia. This pain typically is worse before your menstrual cycle and usually is relieved at the time your period begins. The pain may also happen in varying degrees throughout the cycle. Because of its relationship to the menstrual cycle, it is believed to be caused by hormonal changes. This type of breast pain usually happens in younger women, although the condition has been reported in postmenopausal women who take hormone replacement therapy.
- Noncyclic mastalgia: Breast pain that is not associated with the menstrual cycle is called noncyclic mastalgia. It occurs less often than the cyclic form. It typically occurs in women older than 40 years and is not related to the menstrual cycle. It is sometimes linked to a fibrous mass (called afibroadenoma) or a cyst.
- Breast pain or tenderness may also occur in a teenage boy. The condition, called gynecomastia, is enlargement of the male breast which may occur as a normal part of development, often during puberty.
- Breast infection: The breast is made up of hundreds of tiny milk-producing sacs called alveoli. They are arranged in grapelike clusters throughout the breast. Once breastfeeding begins, milk is produced in the alveoli and secreted into tube-shaped milk ducts that empty through the nipple. Mastitisis an infection of the tissue of the breast that occurs most frequently during the time of breastfeeding. This infection causes pain, swelling, redness, and increased temperature of the breast. It can occur when bacteria, often from the baby's mouth, enter a milk duct through a crack in the nipple. This causes an infection and painful inflammation of the breast.
- fibroadenomas - Fibroadenomas of the breast are small, solid, rubbery, noncancerous, harmless lumps composed of fibrous and glandular tissue. Because breast cancer can also appear as a lump, doctors may recommend a tissue sample (biopsy) to rule out cancer in older patients. Unlike typical lumps from breast cancer, fibroadenomas are easy to move, with clearly defined edges. A fibroadenoma is usually diagnosed through clinical examination, ultrasound or mammography, and often a needle biopsy sample of the lump.
The information I pasted in this blog is just about a 10th of everything that there is to know about breast lumps. You can read more about this topic in a lot of articles discussing breast health, breast mass and in general, how to care for your breasts.
Basically, the lumps in my breasts are solid. They are smooth in texture and they have a definite shape. The doctors have diagnosed the lumps as fibroadenomas but I still need to monitor them from time to time (through sonomammograms) just to be sure that there are no negative changes.
(my first sonomammogram: mar 2007)
(my latest sonomammogram: February 2011)
My point in all of this is that breast lumps, however scary they may seem, is not something that should be a cause of paralyzing fear for us. Instead of being scared of whatever the lump may be, the best option is always to have it checked first, before drawing any conclusions. Also, being educated about whatever condition it is that is affecting you always helps. Knowledge about something that is a concern to you can be a form of reassurance. It has been for me.
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