Endometriosis is very much a disease of the pelvic region. Breast pain is not a symptom of the disorder.
A woman with endometriosis may not have any pain, even when the disease is widespread.
Definition
Endometriosis is a noncancerous condition. It occurs when some of the tissue that makes up the inside of a woman's uterus (called the endometrium) breaks off and grows outside the uterus.
Location
According to the Merck Manual, this renegade tissue can grow just about anywhere in a woman's pelvic region--most commonly in or on the ovaries and fallopian tubes, on the outside of the uterus or in back of it and in the space between a woman's rectum and cervix.
Endometrial tissue can also grow on the intestines and in the tubes leading from the kidneys to the bladder and the vagina, although growth in these areas does not occur as often.
In very rare cases, endometrial tissue can travel through the lymph system to distant sites and grow on the outside of the lungs or on the sac that surrounds the heart.
Endometriosis Pain
Endometriosis can be painful, but the pain--like the disease itself--is confined to the pelvic region in all but the rarest cases. The most common discomforts are severe menstrual cramps and pain during and after intercourse.
Women can experience other types of pain as well, depending on where the endometrial tissue has grown. According to the Endometriosis Association, women with the disease can also suffer from painful bowel movements and lower back pain.
Misconceptions
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists states that the amount of pain a woman experiences is not necessarily indicative of the severity of her endometriosis: "Some women with slight pain have a severe case. Others who have a lot of pain may have a mild case."
Breast Pain
According to the Mayo Clinic, if a woman has breast pain that comes and goes, it is most likely caused by the normal hormonal fluctuations that occur during a woman's menstrual cycle. These hormonal ups and downs can cause a woman's breasts to swell and become tender.
If a woman has more constant breast pain, it could be caused by a wide range of factors, including having large breasts or bruises on the breast, taking birth control pills or hormone replacement therapies, suffering from a fatty acid imbalance or, rarely, breast cancer.
In addition, the Clinic reports that some benign breast lumps cause pain. These growths are formed not by endometrial tissue, but by breast tissue.
Considerations
One of the treatments for endometriosis is hormone therapy, often in the form of birth control pills or progestin, a synthetic form of the natural hormone progesterone. These treatments can cause bloating and breast tenderness. So while a woman suffering from endometriosis won't have breast pain due to the disease itself, she could experience breast pain as a side effect from the hormones she's taking to alleviate her endometriosis.
Tags: birth control, birth control pills, breast pain, Breast Pain, breast pain, control pills, endometrial tissue