Large, painful lump in my friends breast?

Question

So, here is the thing. My friend is 26 years old. She is female, and has one child who is 7 years old.

For the past almost 2 months, a little less than 2 months, she has been having some chest discomfort. No real reason why, she has just been having it.

Well, over the weekend, she discovered a large, hard lump in her right breast. It is probably 2 inches long, not rounded, and sore when you touch it. Along with that, her whole chest is sore. When she takes Aleve, the soreness wears away some, but not completely. The Aleve makes her chest feel better, but where the lump is is still sore to the touch.

She set up a dr appointment with her GP for this week, but it isn't til Thursday.

Here are my questions...has anyone ever heard of this? Yes, it could be breast cancer, I understand that, but all things considered, what are the odds? What else could it be?

Please, I wanna ease her mind til Thursday.

Thank you all for your answers!

Also, the lump does not move. THere are no other symptoms of breast cancer at all, and this is the only lump she has found. She doesn't seem to have one in teh other breast.

Any other questions, please ask, and I will ask her.

Answer 1

It could be a lot of things. Women in their 20s frequently get cysts in their breast tissue, and some women have lumpy breasts to begin with. It's called Fibrocystic breast disease, though it's not a "disease" at all. Google it; it may provide some insight. I have it. It makes self-breast exams challenging because everything feels lumpy, all the time. But, with repeated exams you get used to how your breasts feel, so by comparison any "danger zones" would feel different than the norm.

The fact that its causing pain is actually a good sign; breast cancer tumors USUALLY do not cause pain until in the very late stages, but that's not a surefire way to diagnose anything.

Also, if it's not rounded, that's a good sign, too.

Statistics are on her side, too. A very SMALL percentage of women have breast cancer in their 20's, so her odds are good. Again, google "Breast cancer incidence" for more details. There are plenty of great resources out there.

Another possibility is a massive swollen lymph node. If her entire chest is sore, she may be fighting an infection. Everything from strep to mono to lupus can cause systemic swollen lymph nodes. If she's been feeling the vague pain for a while now, but has just discovered the lump, it's possible that it's just an infection. Some infections are "better" to have than others (lupus would be no walk in the part), but they're treatable/manageable.

Just be there for her, spend a lot of time researching the internet, and pray if you're religious. Chances are she'll be fine.

Good luck!

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

Usually breast lumps, that are cancerous are hard to touch & are not sore. Don't panic. Eighty percent of all breast lumps are benign, which means they're not cancerous. Benign breast lumps usually have smooth edges and can be moved slightly when you push against them. They are often found in both breasts.
There are several common causes of benign breast lumps, including normal changes in breast tissue, breast infection or injury, and medicines that may cause lumps or breast pain.
Breast tissue changes during a woman's entire life. It is particularly sensitive to changing estrogen and progesterone hormone levels during the menstrual cycle.

Answer 4

Cancer I think.