Lump in Your Breast: Is it Cancer?

Breast cancer is one of the most feared diseases women can suffer. As any other cancer, breast cancer can be deadly, and it is the number one cancer cause of death in women in the US. Breast cancer is a malign tumor in one or both breasts. We can develop malign or benign tumors, the last ones are normally fat lumps that are easy controlled by regular exams, but the malign tumors are the ones that are cancerous. Cancer means that cells in an organ are growing in an abnormal way.

Doctors strongly recommend that women check their breasts regularly, trough manual self exams and visiting their providers at least yearly. Mammograms and ultrasound are tests that are successfully used to prevent breast cancer.

Let's suppose you felt a lump in one of your breasts during a manual exam. You went to your provider, and he ordered a mammogram. Some people says the mammograms are painful, that is not true, only if you have very sensitive breast the procedure can be uncomfortable, but normally is painless and fast. It is frequent that they call you after the mammogram to ask you to repeat it, sometimes it is hard to see the area, and it does not mean something is wrong.

Once the results are in, and they reveal a suspicious mass in the breast, the doctor will order a further test, a biopsy. This does not mean they detect cancer, but they want to analyze the lump to see if it is a malign tumor. You must understand that if they find cancer, in this early stage normally will be easier to treat and even cure. That is the reason you must not fear to go to your doctor at the first moment you feel an abnormality in your breast.