Breast Pain

Breast pain is a common occurrence. Most women have breast pain at one time or another, often more in one breast and in a certain area.  Since this is such a common complaint, it can't be used as an indication of whether cancer is present. Sometimes pain seems to be coming from the breast, when actually it's really coming from a nearby place, such as the shoulder or neck (usually both caused by arthritis). For this reason, the mammogram is often normal when breast pain is present.

Most women feel breast discomfort before their period (menstruation) starts.  This is because the hormones (estrogren and progesterone) stimulate the glandular tissue to practice making milk.  This causes fluid collections in the tissue, which can make the tissue feel more lumpy and uncomfortable even painful.  When the period starts, the fluid leaves the breast and the discomfort should decrease.  The underarm area drains some of the fluid from teh breast so this area may stay uncomfortable for a few extra days.

If too much fluid builds up, some may remain after the period ends. When the breast produces fluid in the next month, this fluid, combined with the leftover fluid, produces more pressure than usual, which may remain for a month or so. This can be caused by too much hormone production by your ovaries, by emotional stress, or by the intake of various medications or foods.

It has been shown that substances which contain caffeine or caffeine related products such as theobromide (chocolate) or theophylline (tea) can make the fluid retention in the breast worse.  If your breast tissue tends to retain more fluid than usual, discontinuing these substances may help decrease the fluid retention.

Injury

Injury in itself does not cause breast cancer. Occasionally when a cancer is too small to be felt as a lump, a slight injury may cause it to bleed. The blood vessels supplying cancers are not as well constructed as ordinary blood vessels, and for this reason, it's easier for cancers to bleed when injured. The area of bleeding forms a lump that can be felt. The injury, in other words, didn't cause the cancer, it just made it bleed. In this way, the injury may enable a cancer to be discovered earlier when it is easier to treat.  Most of the time when a lump forms after an injury it is due to a collection of blood, not a tumor. You should have your doctor check it, nevertheless, if it doesn't go away in a few weeks.

This page is intended as an educational resource only. It is not a substitute for professional care. Please see your physician if you have any concerns about your own health.

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