Breast Cancer Resources Center

. Lump or mass present in the armpit.

. Presence of a breast mass or breast lump, on examination, which is generally painless, has no regular borders and is firm to hard to the touch.

. A nipple discharge which is abnormal in that it is usually green, bloody or clear to yellow fluid or may look like pus.

. A change in appearance or any sensation of the nipple, that is, if there is any itching, any enlargement or the nipple is retracted.

. Enlargement, pain in the breast, or any discomfort on only one side.

. Change in the feel or color of the skin of the nipple, or areola or the breast itself, that is, a redness, veins on breast surface are accentuated, scaly; dimpled or puckered and a retracted appearance.

. Some symptoms of an advanced case of the disease are weight loss, bone pain, skin ulceration and swelling of one arm.

Of the above-mentioned symptoms there are some that most women are not aware of that are actually symptoms of breast cancer. They are:

. An itchy breast

. A breast that constantly feels warm or hot to the touch - This is a symptom of the rare and dangerous breast cancer known as inflammatory breast cancer.

. A flat or an inverted nipple - Sometimes individuals have an inverted nipple from birth, this does not count as a symptom.

. The skin is dimpled around the breast or has the appearance of an orange peel - Most individuals feel embarrassed about this condition to show it to a physician. Most women think it is cellulite, which is not the case.

. A constant swollen and tender breast and/or a sudden increase in breast size - Women should consult their physician if they notice a sudden increase in breast size and also if there is constant swelling and tenderness in the breast other than when a woman is menstruating as it is fairly common for a woman's breast to get swollen and feel tender during her period.

. Breast is red - This is often a symptom of inflammatory breast cancer, which usually can go undetected by self-breast examination and mammogram.

Some common symptoms of breast cancer in men:

Even though breast cancer is more common amongst women, men too can get breast cancer. It is estimated that over 1600 men in the United States alone get breast cancer each year. Some symptoms of breast cancer in men include:

. Swelling in breast, chest wall or nipple

. A lump

. A discharge from the nipple

. Inversion of the nipple, that is, the nipple turns inward

. Dimpling or puckering of the skin of the breast

. The skin of the breast or the nipple has a reddish appearance or it has a very scaly and dry appearance.

By the 1880s, William Halsted started performing mastectomies. His procedure became known as the Halsted Radical Mastectomy and it remained a popular procedure in the fight against breast cancer right up to the 1970s.

Breast cancer is a cancer of the glandular breast tissue and is found in both male and female patients. Worldwide breast cancer accounts for almost 1% of all deaths, is the fifth most common form of cancer and the most common form found in women.

Although breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer in women in the United States, it is only the second most common cause of cancer death in women (after lung cancer). U.S. women have a one in eight lifetime chance of developing invasive breast cancer and an almost 3% chance of breast cancer causing their death. Due to our modern lifestyle the ‘experts’ claim and have also noted, a significant increase in the number of cases since the 1970s.

The breast is composed of identical tissues in males and females. Therefore breast cancer also occurs in males, though it is less common. Although men have a lower risk of developing breast cancer, this risk appears to be rising. There seems to be an increased incidence of breast cancer in men with prostate cancer.

The notable point about male breast cancer is that the prognosis is worse in men than in women and treatment of men with breast cancer is similar to that of the treatment given to older women. Because the male breast tissue is confined to the area directly behind the nipple, treatment for males has usually been a mastectomy.

On a more positive note, most breast cancer symptoms do not turn out to represent underlying breast cancer. These normally turn out to be benign diseases of the breast and only represent the more common symptoms similar to breast cancer itself. However, any appearance of new breast symptom should be taken very seriously by patients and doctors; because of the possibility of an underlying breast cancer that can develop at any age.

As with all types of cancer, the detection and treatment of breast cancer has a far greater chance of a positive outcome by detecting it earlier rather than later.