Lump on breast

[marysw]

Hello, 2 days ago i touch my left breast, and i felt there is a tiny lump, but the surface of my skin still pretty flat (not bumpy). It is very tiny that i can not see it with my eyes. I can only know there's something 'thickened' part if I touch it with my finger. Do you think this is dangerous or somethin related to cancer? I can not stop thinking about this and worrying. I told my mom about this and asked her to touch and feel it and she said it's gonna be okay but she's not a doctor so i can not 100% percent trust her. What is the sign of breast cancer? I dont feel any pain and there's no discharge or something on my breast. Thank you

[Heather]

Do you have a doctor you see for general healthcare? Can you see them if, as it sounds, you have found something in your routine breast self-exams that has you concerned?

[marysw]

No, i dont see doctor for general healthcare. Its the first time i'm checking my breast so unfortunately i don't know my breast texture in the past. In addition, i'm on period right now. I found some articles saying that period hormones can make lumpy breast too. But i can see a doctor if it's really not okay for me. What do tou think? I need opinion because i am so confuse what this is.

[Heather]

In general, all of us with breasts want to do regular self-exams to check for lumps. But to know what kind of lump we don't need to worry about and when we might want to check in with a doctor, we have to have done it for a while. Breasts are often fibrous, and thus lumpy, in spots sometimes, so chances are that at your age, this isn't anything to worry about.

But if you don't have regular checkups for your whole health with a healthcare provider at least every couple of years, sounds like now is a good time to start. They can also show you how to do a self-exam for the future. Do you know how to access healthcare?

[marysw]

Currently I live in LA and go to UCLA. I dont know if my college has the doctor that I can check my breast. There's a women health doctor, is that the doctor that you mean? If not, do you know where can i access the doctor? Thank you for helping me Heather

[Heather]

Student health services would be the way to go! Breast exams are something any kind of doctor can do, so if you just make an appointment for a general check-up, you should be good to go.

[marysw]

Thank you, i will make an appointment immediately. However, do you know what's the sign of breast cancer? I heard it's only common for women in their 40s but you know the fact that there's a thickened part on my breast really makes me worry. I hope that's not something harmful for me.

[Heather]

Since you couldn't provide your own cancer treatment right now even if you could self-diagnose, that's an avenue of conversation that just isn't sound. Save unusual lumps someone finds during self-exams based on existing patterns - which, as we have discussed, won't work for you since you have not done self-exams at all yet - breast cancer isn't something with "signs," nor something someone could diagnose themselves.

Again, this is not likely your issue, given your age, but all you can do right now is make that healthcare appointment and then see what the healthcare provider has to say.