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What are Breast Lesions?

Dulce Corazon
Dulce Corazon

On the body, a lesion is an area with is an abnormality or alteration in the tissue’s integrity. When this lesion develops in the breast tissues, they are referred to as breast lesions. Breast lesions usually come in the form of lumps or swellings in or around the breast area, and they are frequently felt during a self breast examination or when examined by a physician. Some lesions, however, may be present but not felt. These are called non-palpable lesions, and they are mostly detected during a screening mammogram test, which is more like an x-ray of the breast.

The normal breasts have various types of tissues with different consistencies. One type of tissue found in the breasts is the glandular tissue, which is nodular and firm to the touch. Breasts also have fats that are generally soft to the touch. It is normal for the breast tissues to undergo changes such as lumpiness or tenderness, especially during the menstrual cycle. Most of these breast changes normally occur in response to hormonal changes going on in the body.

The transfer of estrogen from a mother to her newborn child may cause breast lesions on the child.
The transfer of estrogen from a mother to her newborn child may cause breast lesions on the child.

Even infants may have breast lumps caused by the transfer of the hormone estrogen from the mother to the baby during pregnancy. Young girls can also develop lumps or bumps at the start of puberty. In adult women, breast lumps are often mistaken for breast cancer, although most breast lumps turn out to be benign.

There are several factors that lead to the development of lesions. These include infections, injuries, non-malignant growths, and cancer. Infection in the breast is called mastitis, which is often seen in breastfeeding mothers.

Breast injuries may cause breast lesions.
Breast injuries may cause breast lesions.

Injuries to the breast may cause bleeding inside the breast, resulting in blood clots that may form into a lump. There are also non-cancerous growths developing in women's breast. Examples of these benign breast lesions are fibroadenoma, frequently characterized by rubbery and movable lumps, and fibrocystic changes, where lumps are often tender.

Some breast lesions, however, may turn out to be cancerous. Symptoms of breast cancer include the presence of breast lumps, changes in the skin around the breast, and discharges from the nipple, which can sometimes be bloody. Physicians often recommend that women perform regular self breast examinations in order to detect breast cancer in the early stage. Individuals at risk for breast cancer are those with history of breast cancer in the family. When breast lesions are found, further tests, such as breast biopsy and excision biopsy, are often done to see if the growth is malignant.

Discussion Comments

anon1004034

I had a malignant neoplasm in my right breast 5 years ago and I had it removed, and it was encapsulated. I am 79 and have no reason to go through all the sickness that chemo or radiation causes! My daughter had Ovarian cancer, and fought it for 4 1/2 years and towards the end said she wish she hadn't. She lacked 2 days being 45 at her passing. In July my CA125 was 39 and repeated it in 30 days and it was 34 so they are having me to wait until my 6month regular appointment to see where I stand.

I feel great with no aches, pain, lumps or anything, so what are the chances of it coming back in the breast or some place else? I have been and continue to take Arimidex daily. I don't feel like I get enough information!

anon282046

I had a papillary lesion removed about four months ago, and it came out benign. Now all of a sudden my breast is very swollen and it keeps getting bigger by the day. What could this be? I'm having an MRI done in two weeks. I do have implants, so I'm wondering if that could be the problem.

anon186527

What is a non cystic lobulated lesion?

rallenwriter

Can you tell me a little more about proliferative breast lesions? I have been looking into types of breast cancers and lumps after my good friend had a major scare (don't worry, it was just a breast cyst), but it just got both of us thinking about how little we actually know about breast lumps and tumors and what not.

I really wanted to learn more about this proliferative breast lesion thing since all I can find is written in total doctor-language, and I can't really understand it.

If you could, could somebody outline the symptoms of proliferative lesions, like what to look out for, and how they happen, and what to do about them, etc?

Thanks!

googlefanz

I was reading an article about breast imaging -- you know breast MRIs, etc -- and I read that many doctors feel that that's the only way to really diagnoze whether a lump is a breast tumor or wehther it's just a breast lesion.

Apparently with the papillary breast lesions, doctors had been doing needlestick tests to determine if the lump was cancerous or not, but a study showed that that really wasn't safe, and some women were actually being told they were OK when in actuality they had a dangerous tumor!

Now more and more doctors are combining breast exams with imaging to get the full picture, so to speak. So if you're a lady, you might want to talk to your doctor about it -- better safe than sorry.

CopperPipe

My wife found a lump in her breast a few months ago, and we were so scared because both her grandmothers had breast cancer. So she went in to have a breast cancer ultrasound check, and thank goodness, it just turned out to be a breast lesion.

Apparently she had something called a papillary lesion of the breast, a benign papilloma. It was so small that they said to do the "watchful waiting" thing for a few months, so we did, but eventually she did have it taken out, which was still an adventure in itself -- if you ever look at any papillary breast lesion pictures, you'll know what I mean.

But anyway, she recovered and is doing fine now -- I'm just glad that she was doing her self-checks!

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    • The transfer of estrogen from a mother to her newborn child may cause breast lesions on the child.
      By: LanaK
      The transfer of estrogen from a mother to her newborn child may cause breast lesions on the child.
    • Breast injuries may cause breast lesions.
      By: ArTo
      Breast injuries may cause breast lesions.
    • Breast lesions may be detected during a mammogram test.
      By: Monkey Business
      Breast lesions may be detected during a mammogram test.
    • Most breast lumps are benign.
      By: lenets_tan
      Most breast lumps are benign.
    • A breast fibroadenoma is an example of a non-cancerous growth that develops in a woman's breast.
      By: Convit
      A breast fibroadenoma is an example of a non-cancerous growth that develops in a woman's breast.
    • Breast lesions usually come in the form of lumps or swelling in or around the breast area.
      By: Arto
      Breast lesions usually come in the form of lumps or swelling in or around the breast area.