Breast Health

Please feel free to make an appointment (same day is often possible) to review a breast problem with us.  90% of what patients find themselves is benign—so please try very hard not to worry prematurely—but it is really through a careful self exam, combined with careful doctor exam and then any necessary specialized testing, that we are able to detect early cancers as well as rule out cancerous concerns.

WWE-A Yearly Well Women exam includes breast examination  and PAP and pelvic exam and referral for mammogram. There are controversies about yearly and frequency, but currently my best recommendations for most patients is to be tested yearly.

Breast Mass/lumps/nipple discharge-However, anytime a women finds a breast mass, it is important for her to come in to be evaluated.  This can include referral for a breast PAP, a breast ultrasound, a mammogram or an MRI, as well as for possible second opinion to a breast surgeon/specialist. Breast lumps or changes are a common health worry for most women. Women may have many kinds of breast lumps and other breast changes throughout their lives, including changes that occur with menstrual periods, pregnancy, and aging. Most breast lumps and breast changes are normal.Common, noncancerous (benign) breast changes include:sacs filled with fluids (cysts); generalized breast lumpiness; painless, movable, and firm round lumps (fibroadenomas); damaged fatty tissue (fat necrosis), growths inside the ducts (intraductal papillomas), enlargement of lymph nodes in the breast, breast pain (mastalgia), breast infections (mastitis) or abscesses, nipple discharge, rarely inflamed blood vessels (thrombophlebitis).

Breast development -young girls. Usually, breasts begin as small, tender bumps under one or both nipples that will get bigger over the next few years. It is not unusual for one breast to be larger than the other or for one side to develop before the other. A girl may worry that a lump under the nipple is abnormal or a sign of a serious medical problem when it is a part of normal breast development.

What causes breast cancer?

Doctors do not know exactly what causes breast cancer. But some things are known to increase the chance that you will get it. These are called risk factors. Some risk factors that you cannot change such as genetics. But we can refer you to cancer prevention specialist to manage this risk.  Some  risk factors that related to your lifestyle are:hormone therapy-type and length; lack of physical activity; being overweight;  not breast-feeding,not having children, or not having children until after age 30, ?drinking alcohol beverages.

But many women who have risk factors do not get breast cancer. And many women who get breast cancer do not have any known risk factors other than being female and getting older.

What are the symptoms?

• A change in the way the breast feels. The most common symptom is a painless lump or thickening in the breast or underarm.
• A change in the way the breast looks. The skin on the breast may dimple or look like an orange peel. There may be a change in the size or shape of the breast.
• A change in the nipple. It may turn in. The skin around it may look scaly.
• A fluid that comes out of the nipple.