"All breast lumps need to be evaluated by a physician, regardless of your age or where in your breast you feel the lump," says Dr. Joshi. "More often than not, breast lumps are harmless.
Shape and size of a breast lump
A tumor may feel more like a rock than a grape. A cancerous lump is usually hard, not soft or squishy. And it often has angular, irregular, asymmetrical edges, as opposed to being smooth, Dr. Comander says.
Breast cysts are fluid-filled sacs inside the breast. They are usually noncancerous (benign). You may have one or multiple breast cysts. A breast cyst often feels like a grape or a water-filled balloon, but sometimes a breast cyst feels firm.
Fibroadenomas are solid, smooth, firm, noncancerous (benign) lumps that are most commonly found in women in their 20s and 30s. They are the most common benign lumps in women and can occur at any age. They are increasingly being seen in postmenopausal women who are taking hormone therapy.
Reasons to consult a health care provider include: Finding a new breast lump or thickening that feels different from the surrounding tissue or the other breast. Noticing a change in the size, shape or appearance of a breast. Having breast pain that doesn't go away after the next period.
A breast lump that's painless, hard, irregularly shaped and different from surrounding breast tissue might be breast cancer. Skin covering the lump may look red, dimpled or pitted like the skin of an orange. Your breast size and shape may change, or you may notice discharge from the nipple.
The lumps are milk ducts and tissues around them that have grown and widened to form cysts. These enlarge quickly in response to hormones released near your period. The lumps may be hard or rubbery and could feel like a single (large or small) lump. Fibrocystic changes can also cause breast tissue to thicken.
Lumps in a woman are most often either fibroadenomas or cysts, or just normal variations in breast tissue known as fibrocystic changes. Fibrocystic changes are painful, lumpy breasts. This is a benign condition that does not increase your risk for breast cancer.
What typically differentiates a benign breast lump from a cancerous breast lump is movement. That is, a fluid-filled lump that rolls between the fingers is less likely to be cancerous than a hard lump in your breast that feels rooted in place. Another rule of thumb has to do with pain.
Generally, breast cancer lumps tend to feel hard, firm and solid, and they have irregular edges. However, it's important to remember that some breast cancer lumps can be soft and smooth to the touch, so you should consult with your doctor whenever you feel a lump in your breast or armpit.
The most common symptom of breast cancer is a new lump or mass (although most breast lumps are not cancer). A painless, hard mass that has irregular edges is more likely to be cancer, but breast cancers can be also soft, round, tender, or even painful.
Commonly developing from the mammary glands or ducts, such malignant lumps generally (about 50 percent) appear in the upper, outer quadrant of the breast, extending into the armpit, where tissue is thicker than elsewhere.
Around 95 out of every 100 women (around 95%) survive their cancer for 1 year or more after diagnosis. Around 85 out of every 100 women (around 85%) will survive their cancer for 5 years or more after diagnosis. Around 75 out of every 100 women (around 75%) will survive their cancer for 10 years or more after diagnosis.
With most breast cancers, each division takes one to two months, so by the time you can feel a cancerous lump, the cancer has been in your body for two to five years.
Bumps that are cancerous are typically large, hard, painless to the touch and appear spontaneously. The mass will grow in size steadily over the weeks and months. Cancerous lumps that can be felt from the outside of your body can appear in the breast, testicle, or neck, but also in the arms and legs.
See your GP if:
your lump lasts more than 2 weeks. a lump grows back after it's been removed. you have a lump in the breast or testicles. you have a swelling on the side of your neck, armpit or groin that does not go down.
Normal breast tissue often feels nodular (lumpy) and varies in consistency from woman to woman. Even within each individual woman, the texture of breast tissue varies at different times in her menstrual cycle, and from time to time during her life.
A moveable lump means that you can easily move it beneath the skin with your fingertips.
If you feel the same lumpiness in both breasts, or there isn't one lump that's firmer than the others, it's most likely your normal breast tissue. That said, if you find a lump that feels harder, in only one breast, or one that just feels different than what you usually feel, address it with your doctor.
Both benign and malignant masses can be rounded and mobile. Only when cancers are quite advanced are they fixed to skin or the underlying chest wall, and not moveable. Any new, persistent, or changing lump in your breast should be evaluated by your physician.
A lump or mass in the breast is the most common symptom of breast cancer. Lumps are often hard and painless, although some are painful.
A 2019 study analyzed data on women who'd been diagnosed with breast cancer between 2010 and 2013. The researchers found that those with tumors located near the periphery of the breast (including the upper outer quadrant) had better outcomes than those with tumors located near the nipple.
A doctor may use an ultrasound to examine a cyst or tumor located deep within the body. Ultrasound imaging can often show whether a lump is hollow, fluid-filled, or a collection of cells. In some cases, a doctor may request a biopsy, which involves removing the lump or cells from it.
Sometimes breast lumps develop that are benign (noncancerous). Only 3% to 6% of breast lumps are due to breast cancer. 1 Self-exams each month may be helpful in identifying the lumps, but an exam done by a healthcare provider is needed to find out for sure what's going on in your breast.