What are the hidden symptoms of breast cancer?
Here are a few subtle signs of breast cancer to be aware of.
- You notice a lump under your arm or on your collarbone.
- You find a dimpled area on your breast.
- Your nipples look red or flakey.
- You have any sort of discharge from your nipple.
- The size of one breast changes subtly.
- The skin of your breast is irritated.
What was your first breast cancer symptom? A lump in your breast or underarm that doesn’t go away. This is often the first symptom of breast cancer. Your doctor can usually see a lump on a mammogram long before you can see or feel it. Swelling in your armpit or near your collarbone.
Do you feel sick with breast cancer? Some general symptoms that breast cancer may have spread include: Feeling constantly tired. Constant nausea (feeling sick) Unexplained weight loss and loss of appetite.
What does the pain feel like when you have breast cancer? Breast or nipple pain
Although breast cancer is often painless, it is important not to ignore any signs or symptoms that could be due to breast cancer. Some people may describe the pain as a burning and tender sensation. Learn more about what breast cancer feels like here.
What are the hidden symptoms of breast cancer? – Additional Questions
Does breast cancer show up in blood tests?
Blood tests are not used to diagnose breast cancer, but they can help to get a sense of a person’s overall health. For example, they can be used to help determine if a person is healthy enough to have surgery or certain types of chemotherapy.
Is breast cancer more common in left breast?
Fact 6: Breast cancer is more common in the left breast than the right. The left breast is 5 – 10% more likely to develop cancer than the right breast. The left side of the body is also roughly 5% more prone to melanoma (a type of skin cancer).
What kind of breast pain indicates cancer?
The most common symptom of breast cancer is a new lump or mass (although most breast lumps are not cancer). A painless, hard mass that has irregular edges is more likely to be cancer, but breast cancers can be also soft, round, tender, or even painful.
Is breast cancer pain continuous?
Pain caused by breast cancer is typically gradual. Anyone who experiences breast pain, especially if it is severe or persistent and not linked to the menstrual cycle or any other cause, should consult a healthcare professional.
How does breast cancer affect the body?
Sometimes breast cancer spreads, or metastasizes, through the bloodstream to other parts of the body. It can lead to tumors in your brain, bones, liver, lung, and elsewhere. Complications may include blocked blood vessels, bone fractures, and pressure on the spinal cord.
How long can you have breast cancer without knowing?
Breast cancer has to divide 30 times before it can be felt. Up to the 28th cell division, neither you nor your doctor can detect it by hand. With most breast cancers, each division takes one to two months, so by the time you can feel a cancerous lump, the cancer has been in your body for two to five years.
How quickly does breast cancer spread?
Each division takes about 1 to 2 months, so a detectable tumor has likely been growing in the body for 2 to 5 years. Generally speaking, the more cells divide, the bigger the tumor grows.
Where is the first place breast cancer spreads?
The lymph nodes under your arm, inside your breast, and near your collarbone are among the first places breast cancer spreads. It’s “metastatic” if it spreads beyond these small glands to other parts of your body.
Can you have breast cancer and feel fine?
What do you feel like when you have breast cancer? Most often, it doesn’t feel like anything at all. You feel perfectly healthy and normal. We have been told most emphatically on more than one occasion – “it can’t be breast cancer – I feel fine”!
Will a doctor tell you if they suspect cancer?
Doctors need the information about grade and stage to plan your treatment. It may take a few days before your doctor has the results of all the tests. They will then be able to tell you whether you have cancer, and talk with you about your treatment options.
How can I be sure I don’t have cancer?
What are some general signs and symptoms of cancer?
- Fatigue or extreme tiredness that doesn’t get better with rest.
- Weight loss or gain of 10 pounds or more for no known reason.
- Eating problems such as not feeling hungry, trouble swallowing, belly pain, or nausea and vomiting.
- Swelling or lumps anywhere in the body.
Where in the breast are most cancers found?
(Eighteen percent of breast cancers occur in the nipple area, 11 percent in the lower out quadrant, and 6 percent in the lower inner quadrant.) ANY change in size, shape, texture or nipple that occurs in one breast only is more dangerous than if such changes happen simultaneously in both breasts in the same position.
Which breast is bigger right or left?
Your Left Breast Is Bigger Than Your Right
“While a woman’s nipples and areolas tend to be consistent on both breasts, the left breast itself is usually larger than the right.” Other differences may include one being higher or rounder than the other.
What happens after breast biopsy is positive?
If you have a biopsy resulting in a cancer diagnosis, the pathology report will help you and your doctor talk about the next steps. You will likely be referred to a breast cancer specialist, and you may need more scans, lab tests, or surgery.
Why Does My breast hurt when I press it?
This sensitivity is known as cyclic mastalgia or fibrocystic changes. Around 50 percent of all women over the age of 30 experience this. Right before your period starts, your breasts may feel especially tender if you press on them, or they may ache.
When should you worry about breast pain?
Talk to your doctor about your breast pain if you are worried, particularly, if you have a lump in the area of pain that does not go away after your period, redness, swelling, drainage from the area (signs of infection), nipple discharge, or if your breast pain is not clearly associated with your menstrual cycle, lasts
Why does one side of my breast hurt?
Hormonal fluctuations are the number one reason women have breast pain. Breasts become sore three to five days prior to the beginning of a menstrual period and stop hurting after it starts. This is due to a rise in estrogen and progesterone right before your period.