How is breast cancer diagnosed?

How is breast cancer diagnosed?

Breast cancer is sometimes found after symptoms appear, but many women with early
breast cancer have no symptoms. This is why getting the recommended screening tests
(as described in the section, "Can breast cancer be found early?") before any symptoms
develop is so important.
If something suspicious is found during a screening exam, or if you have any of the
symptoms of breast cancer described below, your doctor will use one or more methods to
find out if the disease is present. If cancer is found, other tests will be done to determine
the stage (extent) of the cancer.

Signs and symptoms

Widespread use of screening mammograms has increased the number of breast cancers
found before they cause any symptoms. Still, some breast cancers are not found by
mammogram, either because the test was not done or because, even under ideal
conditions, mammograms do not find every breast cancer.
The most common symptom of breast cancer is a new lump or mass. A painless, hard
mass that has irregular edges is more likely to be cancerous, but breast cancers can be
tender, soft, or rounded. They can even be painful. For this reason, it is important to have
any new breast mass or lump checked by a health care professional experienced in
diagnosing breast diseases.
Other possible signs of breast cancer include:
· Swelling of all or part of a breast (even if no distinct lump is felt)
· Skin irritation or dimpling
· Breast or nipple pain
· Nipple retraction (turning inward)
· Redness, scaliness, or thickening of the nipple or breast skin
· Nipple discharge (other than breast milk)
Sometimes a breast cancer can spread to lymph nodes under the arm or around the collar
bone and cause a lump or swelling there, even before the original tumor in the breast
tissue is large enough to be felt.