Is a cancerous breast lump painful? UPDATE

[DLBDS]

Never, always, sometimes? Thanks!

 

[piglet too]

If you have a lump, any lump, you should get it checked out.

ETA ~ just because it hurts, does not make it cancer.
just because it does not hurt, does that mean it is cancer

 

[Amy&Dan]

My mother had stage IV breast cancer. She waited way too long, almost too long to go in. She felt a lump around Christmas and didn't go in to have it checked out until late August. By that time it was painful, outward growing and awful looking. If I had a picture, I'd post it. My point is that had she gone in for regular mamograms (she was 66 and had never had one) or gone in at the first sign of that lump she always said it wouldn't have hurt so bad. By the time she went in, it was painful and it had spread. At the beginnng, she said it didn't hurt at all. She found it when she was rubbing some lotion on one morning. She just kept putting it off and then was too embarrassed to go in and say "look at this" and have them ask her why the hell she hadn't come in earlier. I have to say when she did go in, not one doctor ever scolded her or made her feel bad about waiting so long.

As soon as it started shrinking with chemo it hurt less. Again, I want to stress her example is extreme. This thing was literally so big it couldn't grow inside anymore. They then removed it with a lumpetectomy after she had some chemo, then gave her more chemo. After all that, her breast wasn't tender at all.

If you have a lump, please have it checked out. I don't think pain or lack thereof is a determination of whether or not its cancer.

 

[Pigeon]

Most are not. Some are. Any lump needs to be checked out ASAP.

Breast cancer survivor here. Call your doctor today, please.

 

[DLBDS]

If you have a lump, any lump, you should get it checked out.

ETA ~ just because it hurts, does not make it cancer.
just because it does not hurt, does that mean it is cancer

Don't worry about having it checked out.... I discovered a large one TODAY (painful) and have an appointment TODAY at 3:00. Scared the crap outa me! I swear this thing popped up over night! Anyway, it's really big (and sore). I'm only 39 and haven't had a mammogram yet. Thought that wouldn't happen 'til next year when I'm 40.

 

[Amy&Dan]

Good luck, I am glad you are going in. To me (I'm not a doctor) that seems more like a cyst or something. Like I said, in the early days (as in the first few MONTHS) with my mom, it didn't hurt a bit.

Let us know how it turns out. We'll all be relieved and happy right with you when it turns out to be something minor!

 

[TEENEE]

Every woman should have a baseline mammo done at 35. I had one done at 35, the next one at 40. When I had the one done at 40 I was glad they had that baseline to compare it to. The mammo at 40 showed dense tissue which raised an eyebrow with the doctor. Thankfully they were able to compare the two films and see that there were no changes.

Please get your lumo checked out for your own peace of mind.

 

[DLBDS]

Doctor seems to think it's an infection but she's not going to assume that. She prescribed an antibiotic (Cephalexin 500mg - two capsules twice per day with or without food) and told me to put HOT (as hot as I could stand) compresses on it and lightly massage the area. She also gave me a referral for a "breast specialist". I have an appointment with them for next Wednesday. She also gave me the following list. Thought it might come in handy for others new to this experience....

Conservative Measures For Breast Tenderness:

Vitamin E 400-800 IU per day
Advil 200mg twice per day
Evening Primrose Oil
Omega 3 Fatty Acids (Tuna/Salmon)
Beta Carotene Foods (carrots, spinach, sweet potatoes)
Tofu 30-50g per day
Soy milk
Low-fat Diet (less estrogen to affect breast)
Avoid Caffeine
Wear a good bra
Regular Exercise

 

[Aardvarks]

in the UK, only 1 lump in 16 is malignant.

the best place for a lump is in a bucket.......that is lumpectomy plus pathological examination. Cysts are usually drained and the asprirate sent for cytological examination.

Don't ignore a lump.....get it checked.

Best wishes

 

[HOGFAN]

There is a fairly rare form of breast ca that does cause pain. To be honest, in over 20 years of mammography, I have only seen probably less than 20 cases of it. Have seen way more cysts and mastitis than anything else. Get it checked out anyway.

 

[DLBDS]

I went to the breast doctor yesterday. I really liked her. She was kinda funny and down to earth. The bad: She was a little heavy-handed. Ouch. Turned out to be a pretty big cyst. After the physical exam she rolled out the ultrasound machine. Got to see some cool pics. Then she whipped out some needles and a purple magic marker and proceeds to draw a circle on me. (I'm being sarcastic. I wasn't really expecting this.) She tells me, "I'm gonna count to 3 and you'll feel a sting. Are you ready?". No problem. That part was simple. No different than a flu shot. So she has the needle in there, moving it all around and at the same time looking at the picture on the monitor. It's a big sucker. So then, without any warning whatsoever, she goes in for the kill. YOW!!! (Ok, I didn't really faint but that HURT!) She drained 3CC's out of that sucker. She also found another one, smaller, and got 1CC out of that one. She's sending the sample off to the lab for testing even though it was a good color and nothing seemed unusual about it. She then told me they would schedule me for a mammogram before I left. I said ok, thinking I'm gonna go for that in a week or two. So I'm sitting in a small office with her assistant while she's on the phone scheduling the mammogram. At one point she turns around and says, "How's 1:45 today?". I said, "Can it wait until tomorrow? I'm really sore." (Grabbing my breasts at the same time. ) She gets back on the phone to see what they have for tomorrow. Not much is being said so I assume they're doing a lot of checking around on a computer screen on the other end of the line. I get to thinking that I should just suck it up and get it all done so I interrupt her and say to go ahead and schedule me at 1:45. Keep in mind it's 12:15 at this point and my breast feels like it's been hit with a sledgehammer. So, that's what I did. I drive over there and I'm subjected to more poking, squeezing, pushing and pulling and another ultrasound. This time on both sides. Mammogram wasn't nearly as bad as I had envisioned. Cindy was very gentle and sympathetic to my situation. The ultrasound on the other hand was extremely uncomfortable. That lady pressed the ultrasound thing down too hard. I thought they just needed to make contact with the skin. She was diggin' for gold in there! Again...YOW! I have to go back to the breast doctor in 2 weeks to go over the ultrasound and mammogram films I have and she'll give me the results of the lab work she sent off. Whew. Just thinking about all that yesterday makes my ****s hurt! I had to take Tylenol only once....last night. They feel a lot better today. I can honestly say, I won't be worried about mammos in the future. It was easy.

Alrighty then. That's all. Thought I would post an update for those wondering how it went.

 

[minniecarousel]

Glad you got through it. Mammograms and ultrasound have come a long way! It sounds like you're OK, but it'll be good to have the follow-up.