This problem has been going on for around 3 years and is only happening on my right breast. It started with a small lump that I had removed, 6 months later it came back and then grew to 10cm in diameter which made a difference of 3 cupsizes between breasts. I had it removed after numerous biopsies and an mri scan. These showed that there was nothing harmful happening. After a year it came back and I went back to the hospital and was advised to wait 6 months unless it got worse which it did. I was then advised that I should have my contraceptive implant removed to see if it had anything to do with the extra hormones in my body. I've had the implant out now for a month and a half, the lump is getting a lot bigger and harder so waiting to go back to the hospital. I don't know what is going to be done next but feel as though I'm getting nowhere and no questions are being answered. Thankyou for your time with reading this.
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Hi Tara Barker
Thanks for your post and welcome to EmpowHER!
It sounds like you may be prone to breast cysts - something that some women have a lot of trouble with. It's a scary condition because of the worry that one of these cysts may be malignant even though the odds are that they are harmless.
Tara, when did you start taking your method of birth control? Was it reasonably close to the time you started getting these lumps? Is so you may need to give it more time although it's concerning that it's getting even bigger.
Can you tell us what your doctor has said about these lumps? What are they - are they cysts?
According to our Breast Cysts page, " The glandular tissue of the breasts cycles monthly with menstrual periods, enlarging to prepare for a pregnancy, and then diminishing if one does not occur. This cycling causes cysts and excess fibrous tissue to build up. Virtually all women will have some form of this condition during their reproductive years, though many will not seek treatment for it.
Symptoms
■Multiple lumps (cysts) in both breasts that cycle with menstrual periods
■Cysts may produce no symptoms or cause pain (mastalgia) and tenderness
■Although at any given time a fibrocystic lump may be difficult to tell apart from a cancerous mass, its rapid disappearance and reappearance helps distinguish this condition from breast cancer
Diagnosis
Your doctor will ask about your symptoms and medical history, and perform a physical exam. There are generally only two concerns that arise from these symptoms:
■Are you uncomfortable?
■Do you have breast cancer?
Tests may include the following:
■Mammogram (x-ray of the breasts)
■Needle aspiration of a lump
■Excisional biopsy of a suspicious area
It is important to note that mammograms alone cannot reliably distinguish between a benign cyst and a cancer. A lump that does not show significant monthly changes must be evaluated by other means.
You can read a lot more on our Page here: http://www.empowher.com/condition/breast-cysts
The left side of the page has all the medical information (including treatments) and the middle part has all the articles and questions/answers from other members.
Please take a read and let us know what you think. Are these the kind of lumps you are talking about?
Also, take a look at this recent post and tell us if this sounds like something you are going through:
http://www.empowher.com/community/share/chronic-breast-absecesss-dr-cant...
I hope to hear back from you!
April 1, 2011 - 11:01am~Susan
This Comment
Hi thanks for your reply.
April 1, 2011 - 1:38pmI've had a couple of cysts and had them removed the last time I had surgery but this is not the main lump. I say lump as I'm unsure of how to describe it to be honest, I should have put that in my post. My Dr has said its more like an overgrowth of breast tissue that doesn't know when to stop growing, it feels like a lump and is really hard too. He also said that my left breast is under developed while my right is over developed.
When I first found the lump I was pregnant with my second child 4 years ago. The following year I had a 'lump' removed. Almost as soon as I had recovered it grew bigger and bigger, I was then referred to another Dr. The year after I had the larger lump removed but still no clear answer as to why it keeps growing. It was around 6 months later I started to use the implant as a form of contraception. A few months after this I noticed more growth again. This was when I was advised to remove the implant to see if it made a difference and stopped the growth but it hasn't its just growing back the same as before. I wasn't using any other form of hormonal contraception before using the implant.
My breast is very painful and swollen that sometimes I can't lift my ARM and I'm having to continuously wear a bra for support when sleeping at night.
Also this lump never goes away like what would happen during a menstrual cycle it just continues to get bigger. And all of this is only a problem in what my Dr described as the over developed breast.
I hope this helps a little and will be happy to answer any more questions!