Breast Lumps in Young Women

Nipple symptoms. This symptom is the first sign that most women should see if they feel that there is something wrong with their breasts. The nipples become retracted or indented. This usually points downward instead of the normal facing straight. Women may also notice unusual and frequent discharges from the nipple.

Very often, a young woman gets misdiagnosed. She detects a lump and she is told it is just lumpy breasts and it is followed for a while until doctors realize it's something serious. Although this can be horrifying, in fact, it's quite understandable, since the vast majority of lumps in women under 35 are totally benign and the risk of cancer is very low. The fact that cancer is not diagnosed immediately doesn't mean that the young patient will die; since most breast cancers have been around 8 to 10 years, and whether it is diagnosed the minute you find it or six months later isn't the critical factor.

After finding the lump and visiting with a surgeon, even though the lump would not aspirate, the breast surgeon had it in her mind, that since I did not fit a statistic, I was to young to get breast cancer, so I should forget about it and go home - if it bothered me to come back in six months, but not to worry. "You're too young". I did wait six months and the lump doubled.

Inflammatory breast cancer, although rare, is called "inflammatory" because the breast often looks swollen and red, or "inflamed." This cancer accounts for 1 to 5 percent of all cancer cases in the United States. It tends to be diagnosed in younger women compared to non-inflammatory breast cancer. It occurs more frequently and at a younger age in African Americans than in Whites.

Breast tenderness is normal and common when young women are going through puberty. Often they ache, causing discomfort. Embarrassment can be felt by what is thought as the "overnight" growth of your breasts. "Honestly, I could swear they weren't there yesterday!". Getting used to your breasts developing, having breast tenderness, feeling uncomfortable, finding what bra is right for you, whilst going through possible confidence and self esteem issues, can be a huge ordeal!

Younger Women. Even though mammograms are not recommended for women under the age of 40, the cancer can and does develop in younger women. However, only about 7 percent of all breast cancers develop in women aged 40 and under.

Some people say that bigger breasts have a higher risk of cancer. Wrong again. What about age? Here we have some clear evidence that the age of a women is correlated with the risk of getting breast cancer. The younger you are the lower the risk. Breast cancer in women under twenty is almost non-existent. However, this does not mean that cancer can not develop at all.

Every day in October there is the National Breast Cancer Awareness Day. Millions of women worldwide are suffering from this type of tumor and, unfortunately, will continue to get breast cancer. Being aware of this can save your life. Do not just think about it in October.