5 Ways to Detect Benign Lumps in the Breasts

1. Recognize Soft, Movable Lumps

Examine your breasts each month so you can easily detect any changes. A few days after your period ends is the best time, or the same day each month if you are past menopause. If you find a lump in one or both breasts, don't panic. Most breast lumps are benign. Unlike solid tumors, benign breast lumps usually move when you press them, and the edges are smooth. You may have a simple, fluid-filled cyst, which becomes more tender around your period.

Some benign breast lumps are fibroadenomas, painless lumps that usually feel rubbery and move when you press them. Fibroadenomas result when extra milk-producing glands form in the breast. This benign condition is more common in African-American women.

2. Note the Timing

If your breasts feel lumpy and tender before your period, you may have a benign condition known as fibrocystic breasts. When breast tissue responds to seesawing estrogen and progesterone levels before menstruation, cysts that form in the milk ducts and the areas around them expand. These lumps may feel hard or rubbery, or you may detect them as thickening of breast tissue. Fibrocystic breast tissue can become more pronounced during perimenopause, the years leading up to menopause. Women in their 40s often report more fibrocystic breast changes.

3. Check for Growths Near the Nipple

Feel around the nipple carefully when you examine your breasts. Small, wartlike growths inside the milk duct near the nipple may be intraductal papillomas, which are benign. This condition may cause bleeding from the nipple. The cause of papillomas in the milk duct is unknown.

4. Know the Signs of Fat Necrosis

If you find a firm, circular lump in your breast, recall whether you've had a blow or injury to your breast that could have caused fat necrosis. A benign lump, which may or may not be painful, forms when fat tissue in the breast is damaged. Fat necrosis sometimes occurs after a car accident during which the seat belt injures the breast. Women with large breasts tend to be more prone to fat necrosis.

5. Get Checked to Ease Your Worry

Enlist your doctor's help to identify any changes in your breast that cause you concern. She will examine your breasts and may order a mammogram, ultrasound or breast MRI if needed.