breast lumps, pain and burning

[babehurley]

i went to the doctor to discuss a lump in my left breast. turns out after stopping breast feeding two and a half years ago i still have a little bit of milk. i have pain on a daily basis, and now a burning feeling. i have only leaked milk three times in the past 4 months and only a little bit. she tested my milk to find out i did have a little bit of bacteria. so i took the antibiotics and the pain and lumps did not go away. now my right breast is doing it. by the way i did have a mamogram and unltrasound that turned out clean. now i am scheduling an app. for a biopsy. there are no spealist near me they are 9 hours away. should i be concerned that this is not the right way to go. should i instead have a hormone test done and the milk tested again to see if the bacteria came back. i am a little worried. it took almost a month just to get a phone call to set up the app. for the biopsy. should i be too worried? please help my hands are tied a little and i do not want to over look anything. thank you

[Kamal S Saini, MD, MRCP (UK), DM]

Hi,
How old are you? Has the pain reduced after taking antibiotics? Is the lump getting bigger? Do you have a family history of cancer? Do you have vision problems? Since how long have you had breast pain? Is this pain worse around the time of your period?
It is quite normal for a small amount of milk to leak from the breasts several months after discontinuing feeding. However, since two and a half years have elapsed, it is better to do a serum prolactin level test also.
Doing a biopsy on a lactating, infected breast may lead to some complications, so make sure that you see a specialist doctor before the procedure is done.
The pain and burning sensation in your case is due to the infection and probably a condition called "duct ectasia".
If your ultrasound is clear, it is a reassuring sign (a mammogram is difficult to interpret in younger women and in lactating breasts). Also, let me mention that an early breast cancer is usually a painless mass.
I strongly recommend that you seek an early appointment with a breast health unit or a breast specialist.
All the best, and God Bless!

[sarju]

A related discussion, Breast Fibroadenoma was started.

[Kamal S Saini, MD, MRCP (UK), DM]

Hi,
Good luck, and please keep me posted.

[babehurley]

Thank you very much. I am 31 years old, the pain has not reduced after the antibiotics. The lump is still the same size even after the antibiotics. I have no family history of breast cancer known. I do not know my fathers side, almost everyone is deceased so i cannot ask. The pain seems to stay the same no matter what time of the month. I have had the breast pain for 6 months. Around or after the time of Aug. of last year. I came down with mersa in my toe it spread to my bone and i was on IV anibiotics which we know does not take care of infection in the breast. So i have a good chance that going to a speacialist will be the better route in this conclusion. Thank you so much i was so worried about the biopsy. My insurance wont pay for a mri on my breast which figures, that probable would have been the better route than a biopsy on an infected breast. thank you again i will call my doctor and tell her i changed my mind and want to travel to see a specialist. thank you