Symptoms and Diagnosis of Breast Cancer

In most of the cases the cancer is found even before the initial symptoms are investigated. One can easily find the abnormality in a mammography or by investigation of breast for breast lump. One can find lump under arm or above the collar bone, these lumps will not go away. Some of the other possible conditions are discharge in the breast, nipple inversion and modification in the skin overlying the breast.

For early detection of cancer mammograms is suggested so as to check for any cancer symptom. The most common symptom is painless lump, but in some cases the lumps can be painful too.

Some of the most common symptom of breast cancer are:-

A lump formation or thickening in the armpit or breast that is atypical and new. Alteration and change in size and shape of the breast. Change in skin of the breast is noticed, like a dimple or wrinkle in the skin breast. There is spontaneous discharge from the nipple. The discharge can be in form of pus or bleeding. Change in the nipple is also noticed. The nipple can be retracted or inversed. Apart from this one can notice scaling or crust formation of the nipple. The color and the skin feel changes in the breast and the area around the nipple.

Breast cancer diagnosis:-
The diagnosis the triad of clinical history along with physical examination and imaging in form of ultrasound or mammography is done. If under clinical examination a lump is detected then it will be biopsied for histological verification. This is important to see that the lump is cancerous or not.

With the result in the biopsy the presence of cancer cells is determined. In the pathology report the description of cells along with its grade and type is mentioned. It has been observed that the most invasive one is the ductal carcinoma.

The biopsy report will also throw light on the extent of cancer spread. And only on these bases the treatment is based.