Breast Cancer Awareness Month: Advice from a Breast Health Expert

Breast cancer is very common among women today. Data indicates that one in eight women will develop the cancer at some point in their lifetime. While cancer may be inevitable for some women, there are effective ways to mitigate its impact on breast health.

Here, Dr. Jamie Clementi, a fellowship-trained breast surgeon at Fort HealthCare, shares important information about breast health—particularly surrounding lumps in the breast and nipple discharge.

What Does a Breast Lump Mean?

One in four women will experience a lump in either one of their breasts during their life. A majority of these lumps are not cancerous—but of course are still concerning to affected women. Once a lump is detected, women should get a physical examination as soon as possible, followed up by imaging. If imaging reveals anything concerning, the next step is typically to perform a biopsy of the lump.

Examples of benign lumps include a fluid-filled cyst and fibroadenoma, which is a non-cancerous mass that is an overgrowth of the breast supporting the ligaments. Both often go away on their own, but if it is bothersome to the woman, they can be dealt with.

A third example is an abscess. “Typically, they’re hot, they’re red, they’re painful. And it might present with some breast swelling and pain as well,” explains Dr. Clementi. “If it is a big enough abscess, there’s a nice fluid collection in there, I will take a look under ultrasound so I know if I can remove it with a needle or if it would be better to go into the operating room for better anesthetic and a good clean out.”

Should a biopsy be required of a lump, Dr. Clementi wants women to know it is a simple process. Another piece of reassurance she offers is that biopsies do not spread cancer.

“There is a concern some women have that if their lesion is biopsied, it might cause the cancer to spread, and it does not. We do hundreds of thousands of biopsies across the nation every year and there’s no evidence that it spreads,” she assures. “That’s not how cancer functions.”

Understanding Nipple Discharge

Another concern many women have surrounding their breast health is nipple discharge. Again, such a presentation may be completely benign. Discharge color is important in helping to determine what might be the cause. Typically, brown, green, tan, or white indicates a benign issue. If the discharge is rust-colored or bloody, that raises concern.

“If it’s just one nipple, with bloody nipple discharge, and it is new, that raises my suspicion that we need to do some imaging to see if there’s any underlying mass or lesion, particularly in the ducts of the breast,” notes Dr. Clementi. “We can oftentimes find those on our imaging and then biopsy to make sure there’s no underlying malignancy.”

The most important thing is that women reach out to their primary care provider if they have any worries whatsoever. Then, they may be best served to see a breast health expert like Dr. Clementi.