Breast pain is something that worries a lot of women. This is because many people think breast pain means they have cancer. Most of the time breast pain does not mean cancer. A lot of women feel discomfort, in their breasts. This usually happens when their hormones are changing. For example, this can happen during menstruation. When they are pregnant or when they are going through menopause. Breast pain is pretty common. It is not usually a sign of cancer. Women experience breast pain for different reasons and breast pain is often related to hormones.
Common causes of breast pain:
People split breast pain into two categories like cyclical and non-cyclical.
• Cyclical pain comes and goes with the woman’s menstrual cycle and usually affects both breasts at once.
• Non-cyclical pain is not tied to the periods and can come from a mix of things, cysts, muscle strain, bras that do not fit, an injury, infections, or even some medications.
Incase a woman is breastfeeding, infections like mastitis can show up. That brings pain, redness and swelling. Non-cancerous conditions can also make breasts sore or tender.
Don't ignore these symptoms or signs:
• A new lump in the breast or armpit
• Changes in breast shape or size
• Skin that starts to look dimpled or thicker than usual
• Any nipple discharge, especially if it is bloody-pain that sticks around in just one spot
• Nipples turning inward, or redness or swelling that would not go away.
If the patient experiences any symptoms from this list along with pain, it is important to get checked out promptly. To determine the source of the pain, doctors typically begin with a physical examination and inquire about the patient’s medical history.
Based on their findings and the age, the doctors may recommend imaging tests such as a mammogram, ultrasound, or occasionally an MRI. If they detect any unusual lumps, they will likely perform a biopsy to examine it more thoroughly.
Treatments for breast problems are available.
These treatments include:
• Hormone problems that cause pain can get better with changes, like wearing a good bra taking medicine you can buy at the store and changing some things you do every day.
• If you have an infection you will need to take antibiotics.
• Sometimes doctors can drain fluid from cysts.
• If you have breast cancer you might need surgery, chemotherapy, radiation or special medicine for cancer.
The main thing to remember is that finding out about breast problems on really helps you get a good result. Breast cancer and other breast problems can be treated if you find out about them early.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are of the author and not of Health Dialogues. The Editorial/Content team of Health Dialogues has not contributed to the writing/editing/packaging of this article.
