How to tell the lump in your breast is cancerous

What are breast lumps?

A breast lump is a mass that develops in the breast. Depending on the type, breast lumps may be large or small and may feel hard or spongy. Some lumps cause pain, while others go unnoticed until identified during an imaging test.

A lump may be discovered by a woman doing a breast self-exam or her health care provider during a physical exam. Suspicious lumps may also be detected during annual screening mammography. Although uncommon, breast lumps can occur in men.

It is important to become familiar with how your breasts normally look and feel so that you can report any changes to your doctor.

How are breast lumps diagnosed?

Most breast lumps are benign (not cancer). Proving that a lump is not cancer often involves imaging tests.

Various classic distinguishing factors play a role in clinically differentiating the cancerous from the non-cancerous(benign). Read on to know more about breast cancer lumps:

Cancerous lumps can grow much in a short while and can show irregularities in the size and shape of the affected breast, compared to the normal breast. Benign lumps being generally very regular and slow to grow, mostly don’t alter the breast size drastically.

In a benign lump, the skin overlying is normal. However, the skin overlying a cancerous lump over a period of time shows ulcers, colour change, increased blood vessels or the classic “orange peel appearance.

The nipple of the breast affected by a benign lump doesn’t show any particular change. However, in malignancy, the nipple may look retracted (in drawn), and many times shows evidence of altered discharge.

The presence of an additional lump in the armpit (Axilla) in cancers and infections, the lymphnodes may become secondarily enlarged. They may present as a lump in the axilla (armpit). In infections, they may be generally painful. However, in breast cancer, the axillary lymphnode enlargement goes unnoticed until doctors’ evaluation, as they are generally painless.