Signs of Breast Cancer

Oftentimes there are no significant signs of breast cancer that you can see or feel. If there are any significant signs, the more common ones are lump, which is an area of thickening, or a dimple in the breast. Less common signs include breast swelling up and inflammation or an fleshed out underarm lymph node.

However. it doesn't mean that you have breast cancer even if you have one or more of these signs. Most breast lumps turn out to be benign (not cancerous).

It is still very important that you consult your doctor immediately if you're worried that you might have breast cancer. Having your doctor's diagnosis will ease your worry, and if anything is found, you'll be able to take care of it promptly.

Physical examination of the breast is one way to uncovering breast cancer. Specific symptoms associated with breast cancer are

* lumps, redness, scaliness, or thickening of the nipple or breast skin
* nipple changes, nipple pain or the nipple turning inward
* cysts, nipple discharge other than breast milk
* breast pain, swelling of all or part of the breast and skin irritation or dimpling

These changes can be signs of less serious conditions that are not cancerous, such as an infection or a cyst. Early breast cancer usually does not cause pain.

A lump may be too small for you to feel or to cause any unusual changes initially. Normally, an unusual area turns up on a screening mammogram (x-ray of the breast), which results to further examination.

Commonly, the first sign of breast cancer is a new lump or aggregate in the breast that one can feel. A lump that is painless, hard, and has uneven edges is more plausible to be cancer. But sometimes cancers can be tender, soft, and rounded. So it's important to have anything abnormal ascertained by your doctor. Statistics show that 9 out of 10 breast lumps (90%) are benign.

Inflammatory breast cancer can look red and inflamed which could also cause soreness. Another rare type of breast cancer surfaces as rashes on and around the nipple. It is known as Paget's disease which appears a bit like eczema and is occasionally misidentified as that at first.

And you can read more about the breast cancer causes.