pain with no discernable lump

[michigan]

I have stabbing pain in my left breast, behind my nipple.  I have given myself a thorough self-exam, but have found absolutely nothing out of the ordinary.  The pain covers such a large area behind and under the nipple, that if it were caused by a lump, you would think it would be discernable.  Pain is more like "target zone" pain, only hurts when, for example, I hold my baby against my chest.  I am 34 and everything has always been normal, including a good family history.  Drink lots of caffeine though!  What could cause this other than a lump?
Thanks in advance,
Liz

[Robin61]

Hi Liz, This is so weird me reading this. This same thing is happening to me right now. The left side under nipple ....large area and i am scared to death. When i hold my 9 mos old baby if she presses against it oucheeee burning pain. I was diagnosed with fibrocystic breast disease in my 20's and am now 40 and have not had any trouble with the disease in years and even when i did it wasn't like this. Email me if you wish and let me know what you find out. ***@****

[CCF-RN,MSN-JS]

Dear Liz, Breast pain is a common breast symptom.  The reason for breast pain is not clearly understood.  Breast pain is not usually associated with breast cancer.  It 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.

Breast pain is evaluated by a health care professional starting with the history of your breast pain that you will give.  A physical exam of your breasts would be the next step.  If further evaluation is needed such as mammogram and/or ultrasound may be determined based on your history and physical exam.

Caffeine avoidance is generally recommended as one of the treatments of breast pain.