Breast Lumps in Young Women

A 25-year old lady, who as a result of her frequent self-examination discovers a lump in one of her breasts, can become anxious, sad and depressed about what it all means.

She begins with questions like “Do I have cancer?”, “Does this mean I am going to die soon?”

This is like trying to solve a problem by worrying or attacking a problem from an unknown point; neither yields a good result.

There are various medical terminologies that have been used to describe different forms of breast lumps. A lump literally is a collection of tissue in an abnormal location; the tissue can either be normal or abnormal. Diverse diseases and situations can cause breast lumps or swellings (lumps can also be referred to as swellings). Common causes include:

1.  Fibroadenoma: This is the commonest non-cancerous growth in the breasts of young women. It is usually as a result of the effect of hormones. It is usually firm and painless, it may be movable and its edges are usually distinct.

Fibroadenomas can grow in size or may just remain as the same size. Most fibroadenomas are removed by surgeons but they could also be left behind if confirmed that they are fibroadenomas and not growing in size.

2. Fibroadenosis (also referred to as Benign Mammary Dysplasia): This is common in women between 20-years of age and often both breasts are affected. They may have granular small lumps in one or both breasts and breast pain which occurs shortly before the menstrual period.

They are treated by reassurance, use of pain relieving drugs and sometimes excision.

3. Breast Cysts: These are usually painless (painful in a few women) breast lumps that occur in women but are more common about the age of 40. They are usually due to fluid collection within a cavity in the breast tissue. These cysts can be diagnosed by ultrasound of the breast in young women.  Mammograms may also detect them in women over 40.

Cysts can simply be treated by needle aspiration.

4.  Lactational Mastitis: This occurs as a result of breastfeeding in some lactating mothers. Milk engorgement when infected can lead to a breast swelling. This usually occurs when there is a small crack in the nipple. The breast swelling is painful and red/shiny, sometimes with production of pus.

5. Fat Necrosis: This is usually seen in middle aged women and could occur following minor sometimes unnoticed injuries to the breast. The breast lump is usually painless and could be confused with breast cancer and in some cases only be differentiated by clinical investigations.

6. Carcinoma of the Breast (Breast Cancer): Although this is more common in older women, it could also occur in young ladies and recently, the number of cases in young ladies has been increasing, especially in those with a family history of the disease. In this, the breast lump is also painless (and this is the significance of self breast examination in detecting the lump at an early stage). There may be changes over the skin of the breast, blood stained nipple discharge, or retraction of the nipple.

Unless it has spread to other parts of the body, there may be no other symptom.

The singular most important point is that with a breast lump, any of the above conditions and many more are possible. Seeking medical help early is the gold step to take.

The medical team collects data by asking some specific questions, streamline the options and carry out examinations and tests in order to arrive at a definite diagnosis. The diagnosis is then attacked head on with different forms of therapy depending on the particular disease condition.

Not all breast lumps are cancerous; this certainty however lies in seeking medical help and seeking it early makes the outcome better.

Let’s all help to curb Breast Cancer in our country Nigeria

Oyende Olamide E.

CurbCancer Nigeria