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What to Expect When You Find a Lump in Your Breast
November 4, 2011 by Alex Ray 
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About 40% of women will discover a breast lump during their lives. Many of these women will panic, but 80% of these lumps will be benign. It's not uncommon for women to experience breast lumps that come and go with their menstrual cycle, as hormones cause the breast tissue to fill with water.
Still, it's best not to wait and see if a lump will disappear on its own. If you find a lump, have your doctor check it as soon as possible. Your doctor can learn some things about a breast lump just be feeling it. Benign (non-cancerous) lumps often feel solid (like a grape or small water balloon), and can be moved around. A cancerous lump may feel harder and be less movable.
Your doctor will then order follow up imaging test or tests to learn more about the lump. Common tests are:
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1) A diagnostic mammography to x-ray the breast to look for abnormal tissue.
2) An ultrasound, which uses sound waves to determine differences in breast tissue. An ultrasound can determine if the lump is fluid or solid, and its size and location.
3) Computerized thermal imaging, which analyses changes in temperature through the breast to detect shifts in metabolic activity (used less commonly).
If the image of the lump looks at all suspicious, the next step is to remove some of the cells from the lump for examination under a microscope, called a biopsy. There are four methods to biopsy cells from breast lumps:
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1) Fine needle biopsy – An in-office procedure in which a very small needle is inserted into the lump to collect fluid and/or cells. If the lump is fluid-filled, it is a cyst – a fluid-filled sac which is normally benign, and doesn't require treatment unless it's large or painful. If the needle draws up tissue, a sample of that tissue will be sent to the lab for analysis.
2) Core needle biopsy – An in-office procedure using a larger hollow needle to remove a small cylinder of tissue for analysis at the lab. Several samples will be taken for comparison. You will be given a local anesthetic.
3) Incisional biopsy – A day surgery procedure in which a small piece of the lump is surgically removed to be sent to the lab for analysis.
4) Excisional biopsy – A day surgery procedure in which the entire lump is surgically removed to be sent to the lab for analysis.
Your doctor will usually make an office appointment with you to discuss your biopsy results. Most women will be told the biopsied tissue was normal, and there is no cause for concern. Others will be advised that, while the lump is not cancerous, it should be reexamined in a few months to make sure there are no changes to the tissue.
About two out of every ten women will be told that the lump is cancerous. The doctor will also tell you what type of cancer you have (for example, estrogen positive or HER-2 positive). The type of cancer, its location, and the stage it is at will determine your treatment options, but breast cancer treatment usually begins with surgery; possibly followed by radiation and sometimes oral or injected chemotherapy. You may also be given cancer medication such as hormone therapy for estrogen positive breast cancer, or biological therapy for HER-2 positive cancer.
The important thing to remember is that a breast cancer diagnosis is not a death sentence. Great strides have been made in breast cancer treatment in recent years, and the number of cancer survivors in the United States has more than doubled since the 1970s. Almost all of us know at least one healthy breast cancer survivor. Those many that have successfully battled breast cancer are a valuable source of hope and helpful information for the newly diagnosed.
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Filed under: Diagnosis and Symptoms, Diagnosis.
Tags: breast cancer treatment, cancer medication, hormone therapy, hormone therapy for estrogen positive breast cancer.
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