Breast Diseases (Print Version)

Most women experience breast changes at some time. Your age, hormone levels and medicines you take may cause lumps, bumps and discharges.

If you have a breast lump, pain, discharge or skin irritation, see your health care provider. Minor and serious breast problems have similar symptoms. Although many women fear cancer, most breast problems are not cancer.

Some common causes of breast changes are

Fibrocystic breast condition - lumpiness, thickening and swelling, often associated with a woman's period
Cysts - fluid-filled lumps
Fibroadenomas - solid, round, rubbery lumps that move easily when pushed, occurring most in younger women
Intraductal papillomas - growths similar to warts near the nipple
Blocked or clogged milk ducts
Milk production when a woman is not breastfeeding
Injury

National Cancer Institute

Start Here

Non-Cancerous Breast Conditions(American Cancer Society) - http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_6X_Non_Cancerous_Breast_Conditions_59.asp?sitearea=
Understanding Breast Changes: A Health Guide for All Women(National Cancer Institute) - http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/understanding-breast-changes/

Overviews

Breast Lumps(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/breast-lumps/MY00165/METHOD=print&DSECTION=all
Detecting and Treating Breast Problems(American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists) - http://www.medem.com/medlb/article_detaillb.cfm?article_ID=ZZZU73BK27C&sub_cat=326

Diagnosis/Symptoms

Breast Awareness and Breast Self-Exam(National Women's Health Information Center) - http://womenshealth.gov/faq/bsefaq.cfm
Breast Biopsy Identifies Suspicious Breast Tissue(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/breast-biopsy/WO00111/METHOD=print
Breast Cyst Aspiration(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/women/reproductive/breast/811.printerview.html
Also available in Spanish http://familydoctor.org/online/famdoces/home/women/reproductive/breast/811.printerview.html
Breast Lump(DSHI Systems) - Requires Flash Player - http://www.freemd.com/breast-lump/visit-virtual-doctor.htm
Breast Lumps - Biopsy(Patient Education Institute) - Requires Flash Player - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/breastlumpsbiopsy/htm/index.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/tutorials/breastlumpsbiopsyspanish/htm/index.htm
Breast Pain(DSHI Systems) - Requires Flash Player - http://www.freemd.com/breast-pain/visit-virtual-doctor.htm
Is It Breast Cancer? Procedures to Evaluate Breast Lumps(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/breast-lump/WO00031/METHOD=print
Needle Biopsy(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/needle-biopsy/MY00088/METHOD=print&DSECTION=all
Stereotactic (Mammographically Guided) Breast Biopsy(American College of Radiology, Radiological Society of North America) - http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=breastbixr
Also available in Spanish http://www.radiologyinfo.org/sp/info.cfm?pg=breastbixr
Ultrasound-Guided Breast Biopsy(American College of Radiology, Radiological Society of North America) - http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=breastbius
Also available in Spanish http://www.radiologyinfo.org/sp/info.cfm?pg=breastbius

Prevention/Screening

MedlinePlus: Mammography(National Library of Medicine) - - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/mammography.html
Also available in Spanish http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/mammography.html

Specific Conditions

Breast Calcifications(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/breast-calcifications/MY00101/METHOD=print&DSECTION=all
Breast Cysts(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/breast-cysts/DS01071/METHOD=print&DSECTION=all
Breast Pain in Women(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/women/reproductive/breast/571.printerview.html
Also available in Spanish http://familydoctor.org/online/famdoces/home/women/reproductive/breast/571.printerview.html
Breast Problems in Women(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/tools/symptom/519.printerview.html
Fibrocystic Breast Changes(American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists) - http://www.medem.com/MedLB/article_detaillb.cfm?article_ID=ZZZLF2SXODC&sub_cat=326
Galactorrhea(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/women/reproductive/breast/673.printerview.html
Also available in Spanish http://familydoctor.org/online/famdoces/home/women/reproductive/breast/673.printerview.html
Lobular Carcinoma In Situ(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/lobular-carcinoma-in-situ/DS00982/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print
Mammary Duct Ectasia(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/mammary-duct-ectasia/DS00751/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print
Mastitis(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/mastitis/DS00678/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print
Nipple Discharge: Rarely a Sign of Serious Disease(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/nipple-discharge/WO00093/METHOD=print

Pictures & Photographs

Nipple Dermatitis(Logical Images) - http://www.visualdxhealth.com/adult/nippleDermatitis.htm
Supernumerary Nipple(Logical Images) - http://www.visualdxhealth.com/infant/supernumeraryNipple.htm

Tutorials

Breast Lumps - Biopsy(Patient Education Institute) - Requires Flash Player - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/breastlumpsbiopsy/htm/index.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/tutorials/breastlumpsbiopsyspanish/htm/index.htm

Anatomy/Physiology

Atlas of the Body: The Breast -- Disorders(American Medical Association) - http://www.medem.com/MedLB/article_detaillb.cfm?article_ID=ZZZ3F9G56JC&sub_cat=326
Pictures of Breast Anatomy(Breastcancer.org) - http://www.breastcancer.org/pictures/breast_anatomy/index.jsp

Clinical Trials

ClinicalTrials.gov: Breast Diseases(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Breast+Diseases%22
ClinicalTrials.gov: Fibrocystic Breast Disease(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Fibrocystic+Breast+Disease%22

Journal Articles

References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

Article: Evaluation of MRI findings after polyacrylamide gel injection for breast... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18716094&tool=MedlinePlus
Article: Radiologic features of polyacrylamide gel mammoplasty. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18716084&tool=MedlinePlus
Article: The bacteriocin nisin, an effective agent for the treatment of... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18689718&tool=MedlinePlus
Breast Diseases -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=breast+diseases[majr]+NOT+(neoplasms[majr]+OR+fibrocystic+breast+disease[mh]+OR+lactation[majr])+AND+english[la]+AND+humans[mh]+AND+(patient+education+handout[pt]+OR+jsubsetaim[text]+OR+jsubsetk[text]+OR+jsubsetn[text])+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt]+OR+case+reports[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus
Fibrocystic breast disease -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=fibrocystic+breast+disease[mh]+AND+english[la]+AND+humans[mh]+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus

Medical Encyclopedia

nipple - http://vsearch.nlm.nih.gov/vivisimo/cgi-bin/query-meta?v:project=medlineplus&binning-state=group%3d%3dMedical%20Encyclopedia&query=nipple

Directories

ACOG's Physician Directory(American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists) - http://www.acog.org/member-lookup/disclaimer.cfm

Organizations

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists - http://www.acog.org/
National Cancer Institute - http://www.cancer.gov/
National Women's Health Information Center(Dept. of Health and Human Services) - http://womenshealth.gov/
Also available in Spanish http://womenshealth.gov/espanol/

Children

Breast Problems(American Pediatric Surgical Association) - http://www.eapsa.org/parents/resources/breast_disorders.cfm

Teenagers

How to Perform a Breast Self-Examination(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/teen/sexual_health/girls/bse.html
Also available in Spanish http://kidshealth.org/teen/en_espanol/sexual/bse_esp.html
I'm a Guy ... So How Come I'm Developing Breasts?(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/teen/question/just_guys/boybrst.html
Also available in Spanish http://kidshealth.org/teen/en_espanol/cuerpo/boybrst_esp.html
Why Are My Breasts Different Sizes?(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/teen/sexual_health/girls/breast_size.html
Why Are My Breasts Sore?(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/teen/sexual_health/girls/sore_breasts.html

Men

Breast Problems in Men(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/tools/symptom/520.printerview.html
Gynecomastia (Enlarged Breasts in Men)(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/gynecomastia/DS00850/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print

You may also be interested in these MedlinePlus related pages:

Breast Cancer - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/breastcancer.html
Mammography - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/mammography.html
Female Reproductive System - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/femalereproductivesystem.html
Women - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/women.html

Breast Diseases - Multiple Languages - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/languages/breastdiseases.html