Hi, Anon. Welcome to EmpowHer, and thanks so much for your question.
Where in your breast are you feeling this lump, Anon? Does it really seem to be the size of a baseball? In other words, it's one lump that is perhaps 4" across?
Can I ask you a couple of questions?
Do you feel any pain when you press on this lump?
Does it feel soft?
By "rolls," do you mean that it doesn't seem to be attached to anything -- that you can move it back and forth?
When was your last doctor's exam or mammogram?
Did you just find this lump, or have you been keeping track of it for a while?
There are different things that cause lumps in our breast -- benign lumps like like cysts and fibroadenomas and more worrisome things like cancer. It's impossible to tell without a doctor's examination. Here are some resources that will help you:
Here's an EmpowHer video from Dr. Jay K. Harness about what to do when you find a lump in your breast:
Does one of those descriptions sound like what you have?
Anon, let me encourage you to make an appointment as soon as you can with your doctor to get this checked out. Most likely it is a cyst or something tied to PMS or your menstrual cycle, and nothing to worry about. But when it comes to our breasts, we can't be too careful.
Do you have a doctor you can ask about this? Or at least call their office and talk to a nurse or a nurse practitioner? Or do you need help finding a low-cost or free clinic?
Comment Reply
Hi, Anon. Welcome to EmpowHer, and thanks so much for your question.
Where in your breast are you feeling this lump, Anon? Does it really seem to be the size of a baseball? In other words, it's one lump that is perhaps 4" across?
Can I ask you a couple of questions?
Do you feel any pain when you press on this lump?
Does it feel soft?
By "rolls," do you mean that it doesn't seem to be attached to anything -- that you can move it back and forth?
When was your last doctor's exam or mammogram?
Did you just find this lump, or have you been keeping track of it for a while?
There are different things that cause lumps in our breast -- benign lumps like like cysts and fibroadenomas and more worrisome things like cancer. It's impossible to tell without a doctor's examination. Here are some resources that will help you:
Here's an EmpowHer video from Dr. Jay K. Harness about what to do when you find a lump in your breast:
https://www.empowher.com/media/video/video-dr-harness-lump-my-breast-what-do-i-do-now
And here's a page that compares the different kinds of lumps that we find in our breasts and how they feel and act:
http://breastcancer.about.com/od/risk/a/lump_overview.htm
Does your lump feel like one of those examples?
Here's another very good page that talks about the differences in lumps; scroll down to "Causes:"
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003155.htm
Does one of those descriptions sound like what you have?
Anon, let me encourage you to make an appointment as soon as you can with your doctor to get this checked out. Most likely it is a cyst or something tied to PMS or your menstrual cycle, and nothing to worry about. But when it comes to our breasts, we can't be too careful.
Do you have a doctor you can ask about this? Or at least call their office and talk to a nurse or a nurse practitioner? Or do you need help finding a low-cost or free clinic?
June 13, 2009 - 8:37amThis Comment
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