Benign breast lumps

What is a benign breast lump?
Most breast lumps are benign (non-cancerous). All women have lumpy breasts: many lumps or nodules that women find are areas of normal breast tissue which can become more prominent just before a period.
Two common causes of lumps are fibroadenomas and cysts.

Fibroadenomas
Fibroadenoma is the most common benign breast lumps seen in women under the age of 35 years. These lumps are not strictly speaking disease at all but a simple overgrowth of the lobules or the leaf of the breast tree (tissue). Usually painless, firm, solitary, mobile, slowly growing lump in the breast of a woman of childbearing years.
Most fibroadenomas are 2-3 cm in size, but may reach up to 6-7 cm. Fibroadenomas consist of epithelial and fibrous components. Branching and budding ducts are surrounded by fibrous tissue. Involution (shrinking in size) is common with increasing age of the lesion. Rarely, fibroadenomas enlarge in postmenopausal women, with or without hormone replacement therapy.
If you have a fibroadenoma, it may not need to be removed. If left alone, at least one in three of these lumps gets smaller or disappears within two years. If you are worried about the lump or it gets bigger, you can opt to have it removed.

Cysts
A breast cyst is a round or oval fluid-filled sac with distinct edges. They may be painful. You can have one or many breast cysts, often in both breasts. In texture, a breast cyst usually feels like a soft grape or a water-filled balloon, but sometimes a breast cyst feels firm. Cysts vary in size from microscopic to a few centimetres. Cysts are the most common breast masses in women aged 30 to 50 years and usually disappear after menopause, unless you're taking hormone therapy.
Cysts can be painful and may be worrisome but are generally benign. Breast cysts can be part of fibrocystic disease. The pain and swelling is usually worse in the second half of the menstrual cycle or during pregnancy.
Breast cysts don't require treatment unless a cyst is large and painful or otherwise uncomfortable. In that case, draining the fluid from a breast cyst can ease your symptoms. Cysts do not need to be drained every time. Typical treatment involves a Needle aspiration biopsy. Aspirated cysts often recur (come back); definitive treatment may require surgery.
Of every six women who develop cysts:
· three will develop only one cyst during their lifetime
· two will get between three and five cysts
· one will have more than five cysts.
The breast goes through various stages during our lifetime. It may help to think of these stages as seasons:
· During 'spring' the breast develops and this is when overgrowth of lobules (fibroadenomas) occur.
· In 'summer' the breasts live through regular menstrual cycles; women often notice pain and lumpiness immediately before their period.
· During 'autumn' the lobules of the breast tissue can become abnormal and enlarge to form cysts. Cysts are a form of ageing.

What should I do if I find a lump?
Lumps are common, and the majority are not cancerous. Nevertheless, if you find a lump in your breast, you should make an appointment for breast imaging and have the lump checked by your doctor.