

Can you have breast cancer without a lump? This type of lump can also be found around the collarbone when a patient has breast cancer. Can breast cancer lumps be felt in an armpit?Ī lump that’s found in an armpit is likely to indicate swelling of a lymph node, and such swelling is sometimes the result of breast cancer that’s spreading (metastasizing). So it’s always a good idea to check with your health care provider when you discover a breast lump. Do breast cancer lumps move?Ĭancerous breast tumors tend to be fixed in place, but there are exceptions. However, if you experience sudden, severe breast pain or pain that persists for more than a few weeks, you should visit your doctor for a medical evaluation.

As long as your symptoms go away within a few days, you don’t need to be alarmed. During menstruation, it’s also common for both breasts to feel sore, tender or swollen. In fact, many women experience changes in their breast tissue throughout their normal hormonal cycles, especially during the week that immediately precedes a menstrual period. However, a malignancy in the breast can cause pain, discomfort and swelling in surrounding tissues. Most breast cancer lumps don’t cause pain when you touch them. However, it’s important to remember that some breast cancer lumps can be soft and smooth to the touch, so you should consult with your doctor whenever you feel a lump in your breast or armpit. Generally, breast cancer lumps tend to feel hard, firm and solid, and they have irregular edges. But the ability to feel a lump can depend a great deal on where in the breast it’s located, the size of a woman’s breast, the density of her breast tissue and other factors. In some cases, it’s possible to feel a breast cancer lump when it’s about a half-inch in diameter. In the early stages, most breast cancer lumps are too small to be detected by touch. What is the typical size and texture of a breast cancer lump? It’s also important to consider that the symptoms of some forms of breast cancer don’t include lumps at all, so you’ll want to be aware of and on the lookout for symptoms that might indicate breast cancer. Even so, you should alert your doctor whenever you discover a lump in your breast. In fact, there are quite a few common breast conditions that can cause cysts or other lumplike growths, and the vast majority of breast lump tissue that’s tested turns out to be benign (noncancerous). If you discover a lump in your breast or armpit area, it doesn’t necessarily mean you have cancer.

Instead, the ACS recommends that women rely primarily on regular mammogram screenings for early breast cancer detection, while also being aware of how their breasts normally look and feel so they can report any changes to their health care provider. Recent guidelines from the American Cancer Society (ACS) no longer recommend routine physical examination of the breast-either by a physician or the woman herself-as an effective breast cancer screening method. For many years, women were encouraged to perform monthly self-exams of their breasts, using their fingers to search for lumps that might be cancerous.
