Of all the reasons women come see me in my office, they panic the most about their breasts. Not their size, per se (can't do anything about that), but either breast pain, nipple discharge, or a lump.  Even though breast cancer is relatively rare in women under the age of 40, any breast symptom makes a woman often think the worst. I'm glad that breast cancer and prevention get so much press, and all women should be having mammograms as recommended by their doctor. But the only downside of all this media mammary attention is an elevated level of worry about even benign conditions.

Bottom line? All lumps that are hard, fixed, and persist for greater than one menstrual cycle should get checked out by a physician (even though the vast majority of lumps in young women are not cancer). Fluid filled cysts and a benign tumor called fibroadenoma are much more likely culprits--more than half of all women, in fact, will have a breast cyst at some point. Breast pain itself is almost never cancer (which tends to be silent).  And the only worrisome nipple discharge is spontaneous (think staining on your bra), bloody, and unilateral (from just one side)--not the milky discharge that is most common.

I don't want to dissuade my patients from coming to me with their breast fears--it's awful lying in bed (or examining yourself in the shower) thinking that you may have cancer. I'm always glad to have them come into the office for a quick check, and most doctors feel the same way, I bet. I'm just sure to tell them all during their check-ups that if they or their partner notice something amiss in their breast, take a deep breath and call my office before immediately assuming the worst. Do any of you have any breast questions that you'd like me to answer?