I am a 50 year old female on HRT for the past 10 years.
For about 6 months I have been having a good deal of pain in the left breast area plus the breast is very warm and hurts. The pain has moved to under my left armpit and lymph nodes are swollen. The pain at times has been so severe that taking 4 advil tablets does not touch it. Also, there is a stabbing pain in the left breast and feeling of heaviness and something just not quite right. Anyway, I had a mammogram that showed a mass and then an ultrasound that showed a cyst. The doctor said that it was a cyst as it was fluid-filled and not to worry about it. Just come back in another year and have another mammogram. I informed him that I have had lots of pain in the area of the cyst and it has gotten worse in the last month.
My question is??? Should I have it aspirated by a surgeon and can a cyst turn into breast cancer?
Thank you.
breast pain can be referred to the shoulder area, even the arm sometimes. It's not likely to be causing numbness in the hand, however; that raises the quesion of a pinched nerve somewhere. Typically when a cyst is drained, the pain goes away. in your case, since it sounds like there's a question about what it is exactly, it's very important that, assuming fluid is indeed found, there's a plan to follow up on the image of concern to see if it went away. Likewise, if a cyst is drained but pain persists, it needs followup.
Dear Kay5673: Breast cancer is not generally painful and cysts can be very painful. Having said that, your pain sounds pretty severe, even for a cyst. If the cyst is aspirated, the pain should go away if it is related to the cyst. If the pain does not go away, you should see your doctor.