Know Benign Breast Lumps For Health Care

Breast Health Information - Benign Breast Lumps For Health Care. Most breast lumps are not cancerous (benign). Still, some may need to be sampled and viewed under a microscope to prove they are not cancer. On this article, you can read about : Fibrocystic changes information, Other benign breast lumps info, General breast cancer terms information, Carcinoma information, Adenocarcinoma information, Carcinoma in situ information, Invasive (infiltrating) carcinoma information, and Sarcoma information. See detail below here...

Fibrocystic changes
Most lumps turn out to be fibrocystic changes. The term fibrocystic refers to fibrosis and cysts. Fibrosis is the formation of scar-like (fibrous) tissue, and cysts are fluid-filled sacs. Fibrocystic changes can cause breast swelling and pain. This often happens just before a woman's menstrual period is about to begin. Her breasts may feel lumpy and, sometimes, she may notice a clear or slightly cloudy nipple discharge.

Other benign breast lumps
Benign breast tumors such as fibroadenomas or intraductal papillomas are abnormal growths, but they are not cancerous and do not spread outside the breast to other organs. They are not life threatening. Still, some benign breast conditions are important because women with these conditions have a higher risk of developing breast cancer. For more information see the section, "What are the risk factors for breast cancer?" and our document, Non-cancerous Breast Conditions.

General breast cancer terms. Here are some of the key words used to describe breast cancer.
Carcinoma
This is a term used to describe a cancer that begins in the lining layer (epithelial cells) of organs like the breast. Nearly all breast cancers are carcinomas (either ductal carcinomas or lobular carcinomas).

Adenocarcinoma
An adenocarcinoma is a type of carcinoma that starts in glandular tissue (tissue that makes and secretes a substance). The ducts and lobules of the breast are glandular tissue (they make breast milk), so cancers starting in these areas are often called adenocarcinomas.

Carcinoma in situ
This term is used for the early stage of cancer, when it is confined to the layer of cells where it began. In breast cancer, in situ means that the cancer cells remain confined to ducts (ductal carcinoma in situ) or lobules (lobular carcinoma in situ). They have not grown into (invaded) deeper tissues in the breast or spread to other organs in the body. Carcinoma in situ of the breast is sometimes referred to as non-invasive or pre-invasive breast cancer.

Invasive (infiltrating) carcinoma
An invasive cancer is one that has already grown beyond the layer of cells where it started (as opposed to carcinoma in situ). Most breast cancers are invasive carcinomas — either invasive ductal carcinoma or invasive lobular carcinoma.

Sarcoma
Sarcomas are cancers that start in connective tissues such as muscle tissue, fat tissue, or blood vessels. Sarcomas of the breast are rare.