Male, 34 - Need Clarification on Breast Lumps

[njrand]

Thanks for reading this.  A little background:  I am scheduled for a mammo and CT of my left axilla tomorrow.  I had a small raised patch on my nipple (told it was nothing), then my nipple started retracting.  Not sure if it would be considered inverted, but when relaxed, there would be a line in the center of the nipple - overall it would still point out, but with the line.  I would also get what's best described as a stinging sensation in my nipple/areola, an increased sensitivity.  It would come and go.  Again, told it was nothing.  Now, I have a lump under my arm.  Thw whole time, I never felt a lump under my nipple or in my breast area.

But, here are my questions:  Do lumps always feel round and hard?  I've heard people mention like a pea or a marble.  Can you actually feel around the whole lump to know it's perfectly round?  Now, when I feel in the upper outer quadrant, I feel what is like a swollen vein.  For lack of a better term, it's like a speedbump - flat, then raised, then flat.  But, I don't feel a completely round thing.  It is more like a worm more than a marble.  If I feel in my other breast, I do feel something similar in the same area, although it's not as pronounced (raised or swollen).  Could cancer lumps present themselves that way?

Also, with the lump under my arm, can you help in describing what is hard vs. rubbery, fixed vs. movable?  When I push down on it, it will kind of pop to one side of my finger, but doesn't "float" around freely under my arm.  Not sure if that's considered fixed?

Thanks in advance for your attention and responses!!!

[CCF-RN,MSN-rf]

Dear njrand:  Lumps are not usually perfectly round but they are often described that way.  Often the article used to describe how it feels (pea, marble) is referring more to size than precise shape.  Although cancer can present in a variety of ways, the description you give of a "worm-like" feeling is not a typical presentation for breast cancer (male or female).  A hard lump generally refers to a lump that feels hard (like a marble) to touch.  A rubbery feel would indicate that there is some "squishyness" to the lump.  A fixed lump generally feels attached to other structures and does not move.  A moveable lump moves around under the fingers.  Of course, none of the characteristics of feeling a lump are diagnostic, they only further characterize the lump.  Regardless, it is important to have any unusual finding evaluated.

[njrand]

Thanks for your response!

As a follow-up, I had the mammogram and ultrasound of my breast and so far my BIRAD was a 2.  They indicate that there is a nodule or calcification there that is believed to be benign.

I am waiting for pre-certification so I can have the CT scan of my axilla.  That might provide a clearer picture.  But, to me, the lump that is under my arm seems hard and fixed.  Good news is it does not seem like it has gotten any bigger.

Regardless, I intend to follow-up with a breast specialist and I thank you for taking the time to respond to my original questions.  As a man, I felt somewhat in the drk on this abnd appreciated your assistance.

[selinaoz]

I can only give you the description of the lump that I found myself in my left breast.  I woke up one morning, not having a lump before, with a hot feverish egg shaped knot on the right side of my my breast just past my areola and it would pop around my fingers when I would push on it.  In my situation it was malignant but I had it removed before it had a chance to go into my lymph nodes.  My breast had sharp pains in it for two weeks while being diagnosed, but pain subsided and then I had a biopsy, lumpectomy, then a mastectomy.  Hope you have better luck.