Discharge

I am a 22 year old female who has never been pregnant.  About a month and a half ago I noticed a wet spot on the left side of my bra and when I touched my left breast a pus colored discharge came out.  Since that time the discharge has become clear and it is mildly sticky.  There is very little discharge - only a few drops at a time - but I have noticed that my breast has gotten like a swollen lump in it near the nipple.  It is not like a normal cyst (I have a few - all just fluid filled) but more like a goose egg lump you would get if you bumped your head or something.  I've had one ultrasound and am schedualed for a second in about a week.  The first one didn't turn up anything new.  Given my age and family history (my mom had two young cousins with b.c. but she's one of 7 girls and neither she nor her sisters, or any of my cousins, have ever been diagnosed with b.c.) I'm not all that worried about cancer but I am wondering what it could be.  Could this all just be simply due to hormones?  And should I get a mammogram?

[CCF-RN,MSN-JS]

Dear Sonost, It is difficult to say what this discharge is, nipple discharge can be due to hormone fluctuations.  Of concern is if this discharge is spontaneous, from only one-side, sticky like the consistency of an egg white or bloody.  An ultrasound is used to try to determine if the lump is fluid filled which would be more indicative of a cyst.  A mammogram might be used but in young women, because there is a higher ratio of breast tissue to fat, the breasts are more dense and the information obtained from a mammogram might not be useful. They may opt to try to drain or take a sample from this lump to evaluate the situation further.