Breast Cancer Examinations
Lump in Left Breast :S?
This morning, I was giving a self breast examination, I realized it had been a while since my last one. I found a long lump in my left side of my left breast near the armpit. Its about an inch long and 3/4 cm in width. It hurts a bit when I touch it… I am going to see my Doc. Monday.. can anyone shed light on this situation for me? Should I worry? Breast Cancer is in my family.. 2 women have died from it within the last 20 years. Help?!
You’re seeing your doctor, which is a good thing. Here are some facts to, with luck, help you worry less in the meantime.
I see from your Q&A that you’re in your early twenties. Fewer than 0.1% of all those diagnosed are under 30 and it’s almost unheard of in under 25s.
Only 5% of those diagnosed are under 40 and 80% are over 50.
Most breast lumps, even in women over 50, aren’t cancerous. And most cancerous breast lumps don’t hurt – the majority of people diagnosed with breast cancer have felt no pain.
So… the odds are on your side
The fact that two women in your family have had breast cancer does not mean you are necessarily at increased risk. Hereditary breast cancer is rare; only 5 – 10% of all breast cancer cases are hereditary – some sources put it at 5%.
If one of your parents carried one of the two known rare faulty BRCA genes responsible for hereditary breast cancer, you would have a 50% of having inherited it. If neither carried an inherited faulty gene, nor would you
It doesn’t sound as if there is a BRCA gene in your family; a sign that any type of cancer, including breast cancer, is hereditary within a family is when several members of the same side of the family have had that cancer, especially if some of them developed it at a younger than usual age.
With one in nine women developing breast cancer, it isn’t unusual for two or more women in the same immediate or extended family to have had non-hereditary breast cancer.
Good luck on Monday
