Articles
Breast lump or breast changes: Early evaluation is essential
How breast tissue normally feels
When to consult your doctor
What to expect during a clinical breast exam
Procedures to evaluate a breast lump
Content
How breast tissue feels
When to contact a healthcare professional
What to expect during a breast exam by a healthcare professional
Procedures to study a breast lump
Imaging tests
Breast biopsy
Follow-up after breast lump evaluation
When to consult your doctor
What to expect during a clinical breast exam
Procedures to evaluate a breast lump
Content
How breast tissue feels
When to contact a healthcare professional
What to expect during a breast exam by a healthcare professional
Procedures to study a breast lump
Imaging tests
Breast biopsy
Follow-up after breast lump evaluation
When to contact a healthcare professional
Knowing how your breasts feel most of the time makes it easier to know when there's a change.
Reasons to talk with a healthcare professional include:
- Finding a new breast lump or thickness that doesn't feel the same as the tissue around it or the tissue in the other breast
- Seeing a change in the size or shape of a breast or how it looks
- Having pain in the breast, especially if it doesn't go away after the next period
- Having skin changes on a breast or in the nipple area, such as itchiness, scaling, dimpling, puckering, or redness. Redness may be harder to see on Black or brown skin
- Having a nipple that suddenly turns inside out, called an inverted nipple
- Seeing fluid come from the nipple, called discharge