Breast lumps: Next steps after discovering suspicious breast tissue

Breast lumps: Next steps after discovering suspicious breast tissue
Here's a look at what to expect when you have a breast lump evaluated for breast cancer. Learn when more diagnostic tests or procedures might be necessary.

You've noticed a change in one of your breasts. There's no mistaking the breast lump because it feels noticeably different from the surrounding breast tissue. Finding a breast lump or some other change in your breast may stir fears of breast cancer — and understandably so.

But the odds are in your favor. Most breast lumps — as many as four out of five biopsied — are benign (noncancerous). However, you'll need to have the breast lump evaluated by a doctor to be certain you don't have cancer.

If evaluation of the breast lump reveals breast cancer, you've taken a vital step toward dealing with the disease. Early detection gives you the best chance for successful treatment.
Understand how normal breast tissue feels

During a breast self-exam, you'll feel tissues of varying consistency. Glandular tissue usually feels firm and slightly rope-like, bumpy or lumpy (nodular). Surrounding fat tissue is soft. The contrast between these two types of tissue is often more pronounced just before your period and generally more prominent in the upper, outer region of the breast — near your armpit.

Besides changes related to your menstrual cycle, breast tissue also changes as you age, becoming more fatty and less dense over time. You may find that your breast-related symptoms, such as tenderness or lumpiness, also differ over the course of your menstrual cycle and as you get older.

source : www.mayoclinic.com