About Breast Lump Treatment
Breast lumps occur when there is a protuberance or swelling in the breast. Some are caused by fibrocystic changes, which means the tissue changes. They are nothing to be overly concerned about. They may also be caused by sacs filled with milk and infections, which is common in breastfeeding new mothers. If you hurt your breast, blood may collect in the bruised area, causing a lump. The swelling can also be the result of a collection of fatty tissue called Lipoma. The lumps to be the most concerned about are those caused by breast cancer. According to the Mayo Clinic, close to 85 percent of breast lumps are non-cancerous. But it's essential to seek treatment because only a doctor can determine if a lump is benign.
Fibrocystic Changes
Fibrocystic changes tend to occur in women who are of reproductive age. They are considered normal and do not increase your likelihood of developing breast cancer. However, they make it difficult to determine whether any of your lumps are dangerous. Your doctor may recommend you use over-the-counter pain medications such as ibuprofen. Hormone therapy such as birth control pills also work to diminish the bumps. You may also notice a decrease in them by eating more fiber and less fat, staying away from chocolate and caffeine and by adding vitamin B complex, evening primrose or vitamin E into your daily regime.
Warning
You should go to the doctor if you have a suspicious breast lump. This includes if you find new lumps during a self-exam or if there is bruising on your breast even though you were not injured. Also seek treatment if your breast skin is wrinkly or has dimples, resembling an orange peel. Check out your nipples if you're experiencing breast lumps. If they are unusually turned inward or you're dealing with discharge, see a doctor. It's essential to get to one soon if the discharge is pinkish or bloody.
Lumpectomy
If the breast lump is a result of infection or breast cancer, your doctor may recommend surgery. A lumpectomy or partial mastectomy removes the lump and some surrounding tissue, thus saving as much of the breast as possible. The first step is the surgery to remove the cancer and examine the lymph nodes under the arm. The next step is to undergo radiation treatment.
Mastectomy
A simple or total mastectomy is done when the breast has to be removed, but there isn't cancer present in the lymph nodes. In this procedure, the doctor removes the entire breast which includes the nipple and skin around the nipple. It takes two hours or less for the surgery if the breast is not reconstructed. The patient can go home after one or two nights in the hospital.
A modified radical mastectomy is more drastic and involves the removal of the entire breast and most of the lymph nodes in the underarm area. This is usually the preferred option if there is a large tumor and if the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes. The surgeon will spend two to four hours on the procedure and like the simple mastectomy, you will need to spend one or two nights hospitalized.
Doctors may opt for a skin-sparing mastectomy if they will be immediately reconstructing the breast. In this operation, they remove the entire breast but leave the skin intact. They can then rebuild the breast in the same time frame. This can take anywhere from two to eight hours and requires a hospital stay up to four days.
Drug Treatment
If the tumorous breast lump is large, or has attached to the muscles in your chest wall, your doctor may recommend chemotherapy before surgery. In addition, following surgery, if there are cancer cells that have spread outside the breast, your doctor may want you to undergo the drug treatment to kill them. Chemo is given in pill form or through an IV.
In cases of a lumpectomy, expect to undergo radiation therapy which uses powerful X-rays to shrink tumors and kill cancer. An oncologist will also recommend this course of treatment if there are many lymph nodes containing cancer cells or if the breast tumor is large at the time of a mastectomy.
Tags: lymph nodes, breast cancer, breast lump, doctor recommend, entire breast, your breast
