Focal pain in breast and underarm

[mreeves]

I am a 31 year old who started to have breast pain mostly in my right outer breast and under my arm around one and a half years ago.  I went to my doctor a year ago to get a clinical breast exam because of the pain and lumps in my breast. He diagnosed me with fibrocystic breast disease. He told me to cut out caffiene and take 800 IU of Vitamin E a day. I did this, but the pain did not stop.  About four months ago, in addition to the pain, I noticed the underarm area of the same breast was enlarged and even has the same lumpiness as my breasts do.  I went back to the doctor. He said that he still did not feel anything unusual, but sent me to have a mammogram.  The mammogram report stated no significant abnormalities.  But the pain and puffiness is still there.  The pain almost never goes away. It gets a little better and a little worse at times. Could they have missed something since I am young and my breasts are more than likely dense. Should I go see a breast specialist or is this focal pain and swelling just part of fibrocystic disease? I have also asked my doctor if my being on birth control pills for 12 years non-stop had anything to do with the pain and he said no?  I am on a higher estrogen pill Orhto-Novum 777 and have read much about breats cancer in younger people being estrogen postive. Could the pill be causing this pain?

[CCF-RN,MSN-JS]

Dear mreeves, Breast pain is a common breast symptom.  The reason for breast pain is not clearly understood, and is not usually associated with breast cancer.  Breast pain is sometimes associated with hormonal variations and is then called cyclical breast pain.  Noncyclical breast pain does not seem to be linked to hormonal variations and is often localized to one area of the breast tissue.  Noncyclical breast pain may or may not be the result of an injury to the breast.

In terms of side effects of your birth control pill breast symptoms that may be associated with it include; breast tenderness, enlargement or nipple discharge, nothing mentioned about increased lumpiness.

It may be worthwhile to have yourself checked by a breast specialist, to be sure of what you are dealing with and perhaps some suggestions for easing the symptoms.

[surgeon]

what you describe might be ectopic breast tissue; meaning, breast tissue located away from the breast. The underarm is a very common place to find it; when you get fibrocystic changes in the normal breast tissue, it can also occur in the ectopic tissue. It's not dangerous, but it can be more uncomfortable than the normally located tissue, and when it bothers a person enough, it can be removed fairly simply. Seeing a surgeon who does breast surgery would likely help to figure it out.