Painful Lump In Breast: Causes, Symptoms and Treatments
Why Does My Breast Tissue Hurt?
Do you have a painful knot in your breast that hurts? The last thing you should do is panic.
While it may seem scary and make you suspect cancer, most painful lumps in breasts are actually harmless. In fact, about 80-85% of breast lumps are benign.
In this post, we'll help you understand why:
Breast lumps or breast tissue can hurt,
Why do you have breast pain or tenderness in one or both breasts,
How to differentiate between harmless or benign breast lumps and cancer,
How to treat common breast lump types.
Note: This article is only here to help educate you on breast lumps and their most common causes. Therefore, it's not meant to act as a self-diagnosis tool or substitute for a doctor's visit. You should definitely visit your OB-GYN as soon as possible to confirm.
What Causes a Painful Lump in the Breast?
Causes of breast lumps can be:
Menstrual cycle
Common infections
Menopause
Childbirth
Birth control pills
Infertility treatments
Certain medications
Trauma
Breast lumps that hurt when touched are not dangerous and most likely not breast cancer lumps. Most breast lumps come in numerous shapes and sizes and can involve tenderness, redness, or other skin changes, so don't be alarmed if what you read online differs from what you're experiencing.
Multiple breast lump types exist. Keep reading, and we'll share with you the common types.
WAVwatch Sound Frequencies for Breast Health
Common Types of Lumps on Breast And Areola That Hurts
The Standard “Cyst In Breast Tissue”
With pain, swollen glands in the breast can be caused by a breast cyst forming in breast tissue when a milk gland (lobule) fills up with fluid. Lobules in the breast hurt and can be anywhere from a couple of millimeters to a couple of centimeters, but a breast lump may also grow bigger. Also, it's typically round in shape, has a smooth exterior, and the breast lump is sore to the touch.
It can be either simple (filled with liquid only) or complex (filled with liquid and solids). While it's typically not painful, it can grow to cause immense discomfort and a throbbing lump in your breast. Although women of all ages experience breast cysts, they're most common at age 35 or older.
They usually come and go with hormonal changes and tend to be the most noticeable before the menstrual cycle. In addition, there's also a condition called fibrocystic breast disease or fibrocystic breast changes, which causes numerous benign breast lumps to appear in the surrounding breast tissue. It affects more than half of all women at some point in life, but a breast biopsy is unnecessary.
Fibroadenoma
Unlike cysts, a fibroadenoma breast dimple usually affects younger women, ages 15–35. However, they can also occur in adolescents and girls as young as ten, though such cases are rare.
In essence, a fibroadenoma is a lump that forms on the outside of the milk gland in the breast tissue. It's typically a small, marble-sized lump in the breast. Upon touching, it should move easily under the skin. Also, similar to a cyst, it can vary in size, grow and shrink over time.
Most fibroadenomas are painless but can be quite uncomfortable when big in size. You might be able to get surgery to remove them if your doctor gives the green light.
Even though they are typically noncancerous, studies have shown that women with complex fibroadenomas have an increased long-term risk of a cancerous breast lump. If you have fibroadenoma with sharp pain, you should consult your doctor.
Breast Abscess
An abscess is a lump filled with pus, usually due to a bacterial infection. It's visible and painful, causes breast changes, and has many other symptoms, such as fatigue, nausea, and vomiting.
This condition is most prevalent in breastfeeding women, developing as a side-effect of a breast infection called mastitis that affects the surrounding tissue. However, anyone can get a breast abscess regardless of age or gender.
In addition, studies have revealed a strong connection between abscesses and diabetes, obesity, and smoking. Thankfully, an average breast abscess is usually not serious and relatively easy to treat. Still, some women may experience recurrent infections, significantly reducing their quality of life.
Fat Necrosis
Trauma is the most common culprit when it comes to breast fat necrosis. That includes invasive procedures such as breast reduction surgery or implant removal, radiation treatment, infection, etc. Middle-aged women are at the highest risk of developing fat necrosis.
Fat necrosis or fatty breast tissue is when a nodule of scar tissue forms in the breast. While it's not dangerous per se, it can cause some disfiguration of the breast. As a result, women with this condition oftentimes have self-esteem issues.
However, surgery can be done to remove the nodule and improve the appearance of the breasts. Although it doesn't increase your chances of cancer, fat necrosis can easily be mistaken for a malignant tumor. That's why your doctor will most likely request a mammogram, breast cancer screening, or breast biopsy just to be sure.
Lymph Nodes
The lymph nodes are a big part of the immune system, acting as filters that remove harmful bacteria, viruses, and cancer cells from the body. They're located throughout the body but are most commonly found in the neck, armpits, and groin.
While swollen lymph doesn't necessarily indicate cancer, it can be a sign of the disease. Other possible causes of swollen nodes include infections, inflammation, and benign tumors. Regardless of the cause, you should always see a doctor if you notice any changes.
Breast Cancer
The American Cancer Society states, "Breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed among US women and is the second leading cause of death among women after lung cancer."
Inflammatory cancer is cancer cells that form in the breast tissue. Aside from the palpable lump in the breast or armpit, other signs of cancer include breast dimples and disfigurement, inverted nipples, discharge, and red patches on the skin.
According to the World Health Organization's World Cancer Report, breast cancer is the most common cancer in women, but it can affect men, too. The most common risk factors include obesity, alcoholism, older age, family history of cancer, etc.
Breast cancer is highly curable if caught early on (stage 0 or 1), so it's crucial to get a breast biopsy or breast cancer screening as soon as the breast changes or a new breast lump appears. The main cancer treatments for breast cancer are chemotherapy, radiation, hormonal therapy, and surgery (mastectomy).
What Causes Breast Tingling Sensation?
There are a few things that could be causing your breast-tingling sensation. It could be something as simple as wearing a bra that's too tight, or it could signify something more serious. Let's look at some of the most common causes of breast tingling.
1. Wearing a Bra That's Too Tight
If your bra is too tight, it can cause all sorts of problems, including a tingling sensation in your breasts. That's because your bra is too tight and cuts off circulation to your breasts. If you're experiencing breast tingling, try loosening your bra or changing to a different style altogether.
2. Pregnancy
During pregnancy, your breasts will go through a lot of changes. They'll become larger and may even feel tender or tingly at times. This is all perfectly normal and is nothing to worry about.
3. Breastfeeding
You may notice a tingling sensation in your breasts if you're breastfeeding. This is also perfectly normal and is nothing to worry about.
4. Hormonal Changes
Hormonal changes, such as those that occur during puberty, pregnancy, and menopause, can cause a tingling sensation in your breasts. Again, this is perfectly normal and is nothing to worry about.
5. Mastitis
Mastitis is a condition that can occur when your breast tissue becomes infected. Symptoms of mastitis include fever, chills, and a tingling sensation in your breasts. If you think you may have mastitis, see your doctor right away.
How to Differentiate Between a Benign Cyst and Breast Cancer
Breast Lump Chart
We’ve created a help chart that outlines common breast lump types, their properties, symptoms, and main causes.
| Lump Type |
Lump properties |
Other symptoms | Main causes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Breast cyst | round, soft or hard, depending on the location in the breast hard exterior, but filled with liquid, like a blister from a few millimeters to a few centimeters in size | none | hormonal changes |
| Fibroadenoma | round, solid to the touch moves when you touch it from a few millimeters to a few centimeters in size | none | unknown; most likely hormonal changes |
| Breast abscess | painful, accompanied by swelling of the surrounding skin | pain, swelling, fatigue, even nausea and vomiting | infection of the breast |
| Fat necrosis | typically round and firm, but it can be tender in some people | for some people, pain in the breast redness and bruising of the skin |
any kind of trauma to the skin |
| Breast cancer | multiple round lumps in the breast, painful and tender to the touch | swelling, dimpling, inversion of the nipple redness and flaky skin nipple discharge (often with blood) |
unknown, but as with any cancer, it's usually the result of an interaction between genetic and environmental factors |
How to Treat a Benign Breast Lump
Since breast lumps have many possible causes, they also require different treatment methods. If you suspect a benign cyst or cancer, going to the doctor should be your first step.
In most cases, breast cysts appear and disappear on their own from the connective tissue. They usually do not require surgery or any kind of treatment for that matter. Bigger ones might need to be drained with fine-needle aspiration biopsy, but these cases are rare.
How to relieve breast cyst pain: The most common way to treat a painful breast lump is to simply apply ice to reduce the swelling and take some ibuprofen. That or try some alternative pain management methods.
You might now know that sound can actually play a role in removing your painful breast lump. It's called sound frequency therapy, and it works wonders!
Sound therapy's benefits have shown enormous promise. For instance, it has been proven to cause significant pain reduction in postoperative patients and have calming effects on the body.
Sound therapy uses sound frequencies to penetrate your body and correct imbalances. The WAVwatch is a sound therapy device that works by emitting safe and low-frequency sounds. Amazingly, they have many sound frequencies specifically for breast health and the benign deep lump in the breast.
Here's a list of sound frequencies for breast health found on the WAVwatch:
Breast Calcification
Breast Cyst
Breast Diseases
Breast Fibrocystic & Fibroid Cysts Breast Neoplasms
Breast Sore Nipples
Inflammation
Neoplasms
Breast Tumor Benign
Fibroadenoma Mammary Tumor Benign Mastitis
Bacterial and Inflammation
Fibroadenoma
Mammary Tumor Benign
Mastitis, Bacterial, and Inflammation
Hundreds of people have had success with the WAVwatch and breast lump pain. Below are a few stories from real customers on our testimonials page.
850 Sound Frequencies
The WAVWatch sound therapy device is placed on your wrist. At first glance, it looks like a smartwatch. But it's so much more!
With the WAVwatch, you can run over 850 frequencies that span common body issues like pain, detox, germs, and the Pathogens folder for breast self-health. We recommend you explore all 850 frequencies here to find what works best for you.
Another breast cancer survivor wore the WAVwatch set on Epstein Barr virus, a known breast cancer pathogen. See below for her video.
No specialist, doctor, or healthcare provider needs to help you with the WAVwatch. You can use it on the go or when you're relaxing at home!
Although it can't substitute actual medical treatment for a breast lump or a healthy lifestyle, sound therapy might contribute to your emotional and physical well-being. After all, it can't harm you in any way, so it's well worth a try.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Are tumors painful to touch?
There is no one answer to this question as each individual experiences pain differently. Additionally, some breast tumors may be more sensitive to touch than others.
What are benign soft tissue tumors?
Benign soft tissue tumors are growths that develop in the body's soft tissues, such as the muscles, tendons, and fat. These tumors are usually not cancerous and do not spread to other body parts. However, some benign tumors can become cancerous if they grow uncontrollably or invade nearby tissues.
Is breast cancer painful?
This question has no easy answer since pain is such a subjective experience. Some women report pain during and after breast cancer surgery, while others report only discomfort or no pain.
Some women undergoing treatment for breast cancer (such as radiation therapy) may experience pain from the side effects of treatment. And, of course, the pain of metastatic breast cancer can be quite severe. If you are experiencing pain from breast cancer or its treatment, talk to your doctor or nurse so they can help you manage it.
Do breast cysts hurt?
Breast cysts are fluid-filled sacs that can form in the breast. They are usually not cancerous but can cause pain and other symptoms. In some cases, a breast cyst may need to be removed surgically.
Conclusion
If you come across a lump while performing a breast self-exam, know that it's most likely nothing to worry about. Still, immediately notify your doctor to rule out cancer and get the right treatment. Alternative treatment methods, such as sound therapy, could help you manage the pain and improve the overall quality of your life.
Learn More About Sound Healing Therapy On The WAVwatch Blog or Follow The Links Below.
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