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Breast Cancer (Expert Forum)
lump with discharge
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.
lump with discharge
by jilllou, Mar 17, 2004 12:00AM
I am a 35yo female with family history of premenopausal breast cancer in grandmother(m). have a category 3 mammogram and ulrasound. bloody discharge unilateral with mass. two other masses found left(including mass with dicharge, and one found left. have consulted surgeon and am currently on antibiotics. what are the senarios and next steps that should be done?
Doctor's Answer
by CCF-RN,MSN-rf, Mar 17, 2004 12:00AM
Dear jilllou: A category 3 mammogram generally indicates that there is some uncertainty (although probably benign) as to the "abnormality." Appropriate follow-up depends somewhat on other factors - bloody discharge - for example and could range from a repeat mammogram in a relatively short time frame (3-6 months) to a visit to a surgeon. If this bloody discharge is spontaneous (comes out without sqeezing) and is unilateral (on one side), it needs to be evaluated regardless of the mammogram results.
Member Comments (2)
by surgeon, Mar 17, 2004 12:00AM
Unless there's good evidence of infection, antibiotics may not accomplish much. For any given lump, there's a certain amount of judgement required, as to when and if biopsy should be done, and by what method. But when there is bloody discharge, it's generally necessary to get a specific answer why it's there; and that means some form of biopsy. That can mean removing the duct from which the blood is coming, or, if it's clear that there's a mass involved, removing or sampling that mass. By far the majority of instances of bloody discharge are due to something other than cancer. But it's on the list of possibilities, and needs to be ruled out.
