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Breast Cancer (Expert Forum)
Breast Lump or Cyst -- Feel Different on Palpation?
Questions posted in the Breast Cancer Forum are answered by medical professionals from The Cleveland Clinic. Topics include Breast Biopsy, Chemotherapy, Hormone Therapy, Lumps, Lumpectomy, Lymph node dissection, Lymphedema, Mammograms, Mastectomy, Radiation Therapy, Reconstruction, Self Breast Exam, and Surgery.
Breast Lump or Cyst -- Feel Different on Palpation?
by iduj, Aug 13, 2001 12:00AM
Thank you for the wonderfully informative site. I've read that cysts and other benign masses feel soft or rubbery and are generally regular and/or round in shape. Does a malignant palpable breast mass generally feel differently than a benign breast mass and does the shape of a malignant mass generally differ from the shape of a benign mass? Thank you very much.
Doctor's Answer
by CCF-RN,MSN-JS, Aug 14, 2001 12:00AM
Dear query, A woman’s breasts often have some “lumpiness” to them. When doing a breast exam there may be a dominant lump that may feel different and these are rarely subtle. This could be either a malignant or benign (non-cancerous) lump. You would know that is something different, this is why many breast cancers are found by the woman herself – the lumps are so clearly different from the rest of the breast tissue. However, until the lump is further evaluated, and ultimately biopsied would you be able to know for sure whether it is cancerous or not.
