breast pain and lump

For the past week and a half I've had pain off and on  in my left breast and armpit.  I had this pain before, about 6 months ago and had a mammogram and was told everything was ok.  I haven't had it since and then it has come back and this time it hurts even worse what can and should I do?

[PaulMD]

Hi.

There are several structures in the breast that can give rise to pain.  One of the common reason is that of proliferative changes in the breast tissues as a result of response to the female hormones.  A woman may notice increased tenderness and pain in the breasts which is maximal a few days before the onset of menses.  This pain would then gradually subside after each menstrual cycle.

Other explanations would include muscular pain as a result of stress, or trauma to the area involved.  I believe that this should warrant a clinical breast examination performed by your doctor in order to rule out any pathology.

Regards.