Many women may develop lumps in their breasts while they are expecting a baby. It is during these months that the body produces prolactin, estrogen and progesterone, and in very large quantities. As a result, large seals can be felt inside the chest. After some time after childbirth, the level of hormones decreases, and everything passes. Formations on the skin of the chest are different, as well as inside it. More about them.
Reasons
Very often, breast pain and masses are noticed by mothers who are breastfeeding. This is due to blockage of the milk duct or when an inflammatory process occurs. Such a problem in the medical field is called mastitis. If this diagnosis is established, then the size of the formation can reach a rather large one, since an infiltrate always accumulates around the inflammation.
Of course, seals appear not only during lactation, but also during:
- mastopathy;
- kiste;
- thrombophlebitis;
- neoplasms of various etiologies.
Inside the mammary glands, formations may occur due to injury or when wearing uncomfortable underwear. Improper functioning of the thyroid gland and organs that are responsible for reproduction also negatively affects the condition of the breast. Abortion, the onset of menopause at an early age and constant stressful situations quite often provoke the development of compaction in the chest.
Symptoms
Cancer itself is a very insidious disease that is difficult to detect in its early stages. It practically does not manifest itself and does not manifest itself, so it is very difficult to determine the first signs of a tumor in the chest. But if one of the symptoms was noticed, you should immediately go to a specialist for diagnosis.
- When a painless, but at the same time dense formation in the chest appears, it is necessary to sound the alarm.
- In case there is a change in the shape of the breast.
- If wrinkling or tightening of the skin in the chest area has occurred.
- Discomfort or pain.
- Nipple swelling or tightness is also a signal.
- Red highlights appear.
- Swollen lymph node in armpit.
In no case should you ignore all these symptoms, even if the appearance of changes in the body does not cause you discomfort, you should not think that everything will pass without a trace, because, perhaps, thisis the first sign of the onset of cancer, which is difficult to diagnose in the early stages. If you have a suspicion, you should immediately contact a specialist for diagnostics.
Formations inside the breast can be divided into two groups: they are benign and malignant.
Benign growths
If we talk about the benign appearance of seals, then they are characterized by slow growth and almost complete absence of aggressiveness. They are arranged in such a way that nearby tissues remain intact. They always appear in he althy tissue and in the future cannot cause the development of oncology.
In some cases, these nodules in the breast can significantly increase the risk of developing a malignant tumor.
Tumor types
According to the histological classification, several types of breast tumors are distinguished.
- Fibrous formation in the breast is of glandular origin, that is, it is based on connective tissue. Usually only one ball becomes noticeable, and its size sometimes reaches 7 centimeters. Some may have several. The risk group includes young girls. The main feature of the focal formation in the chest is associated with the complete absence of any symptoms. Changes in the chest can only be detected when examined by a specialist.
- Cystic formation in the chest - a cavity enclosed by walls and filled with liquid components. Appearance relateddirectly with blockage of the ducts of the mammary gland. With cystic formation in the chest, there are practically no symptoms, so only a specialist will help to identify changes. If we talk about treatment, then special medications are first prescribed, and in the future, a puncture may be required.
- A tumor in the breast with a loose consistency is called a lipoma. When probing with fingers, it does not cause pain and does not change its position. It can increase, but it happens very slowly. Almost always, a lipoma remains a benign formation. Only in units it degenerates into liposarcoma. The greatest risk extends to people over 50 years of age. In any case, doctors advise to carefully monitor the compaction. If it has increased significantly, then you will have to resort to a radical method, that is, a sectoral resection.
- Papilloma is manifested by certain symptoms, so it can be cured at an early stage of development. In most cases, it affects the skin around the nipple. If you do not start treatment, then after a while the formation turns into oncology. The most pronounced symptom of this disease is associated with the release of bloody fluid, and when pressed, severe pain is felt. Papilloma cannot be cured by conservative methods, so the specialist recommends a sectoral resection. In other words, it is simply cut out with surgical instruments.
- Malignant tumors of the breast are characterized by a high risk, since quite often the disease leads to a fatalexodus. Modern medicine does not stand still, and now specialists can accurately diagnose oncology even at an early stage. It occurs due to hormonal failure in the female body.
Cancer Factors
Breast cancer is the world's leading cancer. Based on the statistics cited by WHO, every day doctors detect about 1 million cases of the development of just such a disease.
Doctors name a number of factors that provoke the occurrence of this he alth problem. These include:
- cigarette smoking;
- inability to get pregnant and give birth;
- being overweight;
- diabetes mellitus of any type;
- late menopause;
- hereditary predisposition;
- excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages.
Malignancies
In medicine, more than 15 varieties of breast cancer have been identified. Most often, it affects the ducts and individual lobes of the breast.
In total, there are 4 degrees of cancer development, and there is also one preliminary.
- Precancerous condition, that is, a seal appears, but it has not yet passed to the organs located nearby. If the doctor identified the presence of a problem, then the patient had a predisposition to the disease.
- The 1st stage is represented by an invasive form, that is, the disease gradually spreads to nearby tissue. Usually affected cells quickly enoughgo beyond the main focus. It is important to carefully monitor your he alth and not neglect routine examinations with a doctor. If it is possible to detect cancer at this stage, then appropriate measures will be taken. During this period, the formation can grow up to 2 centimeters.
- At the 2nd stage, the size increases to 5 centimeters and there is a lesion of the lymph nodes located in the armpits. When adhesions appear with he althy tissues, another stage of the course of the disease begins.
- From the 3rd stage, you can visually notice the first symptoms, that is, the mammary gland changes its shape, and red spots appear on the skin.
- At the 4th stage, there is practically no point in treating, since during this period most of the organs are already affected by cancer cells.
Diagnosis
Inside the mammary gland, a seal may appear, and this happens to women of any age. If you detect changes in the chest in time and contact a specialist, you will be able to significantly increase the chances of a complete cure. The specialist must prescribe a complete examination, and then select the appropriate treatment method.
In modern medicine, the method of diagnosing seals in the chest has been greatly simplified. A fairly large number of devices have now been developed, which in a matter of minutes will give an answer to any question.
All patients with breast mass are sent for examinations such as:
- x-ray (young age makes it difficult to read the picture correctly, as in the chestthere is a large amount of glandular tissue);
- ultrasound;
- galactography, which is a type of mammography (a specialist injects a contrast X-ray drug into the milk duct and reveals seals from the inside);
- biopsy or puncture helps to accurately identify the nature of the formations (the doctor makes a small sample of breast tissue and sends it for further research).
It is worth remembering that if the formation in the chest is anechoic, then it is not displayed on ultrasound. It does not give in to sound vibrations. An anechoic formation in the chest is quite difficult to diagnose. But it develops into malignant only in rare cases.
In turn, with a hypoechoic formation in the woman's chest, black spots appear on the picture.
If we talk about seals in the chest, then this is not always an oncological disease. In many cases, these symptoms indicate a cyst or fibrocystic disease.
Treatment
It is worth being aware of the fact that self-medication in this matter can have an extremely detrimental effect on the female body. That is why it is necessary to contact a specialist who will conduct an examination, collect an anamnesis, find out the patient's medical history, get acquainted with the problems of heredity, conduct an examination, learn about internal disorders, and only after that plan a treatment complex.
Depending on what characteristics the seal has, the therapy will be determined. Therefore, in the event of the appearance of a neoplasm inIt is not recommended to engage in self-treatment of the breast area, because only a specialist can establish a benign tumor or it has extremely dangerous consequences.
Lactostasis is one of the types of diseases of the mammary glands, in this case the doctor recommends various compresses, for example, based on camphor oil or Vishnevsky ointment.
If mastitis was diagnosed, in this case it is necessary to take antibiotics, if an abscess has formed, they resort to surgical intervention. This disease should never be started.
If a woman was diagnosed with mastopathy, then it will be necessary to remember the fact that it is necessary to visit a doctor every six months in the future in order to monitor the dynamics of the disease, in parallel with this it will be necessary to take a complex of medications.
Also, doctors recommend that young girls visit a mammologist once every 2 years to conduct an examination and, if any seals are detected, immediately proceed to diagnosis and treatment. For older women, it is recommended to do this once a year, as well as undergo an ultrasound.
What are the different treatments?
When sealing in the mammary glands, various hormonal and non-hormonal drugs are prescribed. If the formation is diffuse, then the therapy will be based on the cause of the pathology. After all, it was this reason that caused the dysfunction of the pituitary gland, and a failure occurred in the ovaries. In this case, treatment begins with the therapy of reproductiveorgans. Normalize their work, improve the functioning of the liver and nervous system. In this case, hormonal drugs, androgens, oral contraceptives are prescribed, they are designed to inhibit the production of mammotropin.
If "nodular mastopathy" was diagnosed, then in this case drugs intended for immunotherapy are prescribed.
In most cases of mastopathy, surgical treatment is prescribed. In this case, the surgeon is engaged in removing the nodes. But with nodular mastopathy, a non-hormonal method is also used, it is aimed at vitaminization, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are taken, as well as drugs that improve blood circulation.
The patient is recommended to consume antioxidants, phospholipids, they help reduce the load on the liver. Important at the time of treatment of such mastopathy is a properly selected bra. In no case should you visit saunas, a solarium, you need to minimize exposure to the sun.
If a cyst of 0.5 mm was found, then in such cases a very conservative treatment is prescribed, first of all, the woman's hormonal background is normalized. In order for a single-chamber cyst to resolve, it is necessary to perform a puncture. The specialist performs a puncture, pumps out the liquid, injects a special solution that will destroy the capsule. But if an atypical cyst was found, then in this case it is necessary to perform an operation and remove the affected tissue, and then send it for a histological examination to rule out cancer.
Common use casesaspiration method. A special device is introduced into the cyst cavity, which pumps out the fluid, and if traces of blood are visible in this fluid, then an additional study is prescribed. Drug therapy in this case is hormonal, drugs are also used that can strengthen the immune system.
If a disease, induration or tumor is detected in time and immediately referred to a specialist, in many cases it will be possible to cure it without surgical intervention. Timely diagnosis helps to avoid serious consequences. In the early stages, tumors can be cured with pharmacological preparations, herbal medicines, ointments and compresses.
Prevention
In order to prevent the disease and not give it any chance to develop, it is necessary to adhere to several principles.
- Breast exams should be done regularly.
- During self-examination, evaluate skin color, if there is a change, then you need to go to the doctor.
- Pay attention to the nipples, they should not be retracted, should not differ in color.
- Breasts should be evenly soft during the absence of menstruation.
- If any lumps appear in the breast tissues, you should consult a doctor.
- During breast self-examination, palpation should be done both horizontally and vertically.
- In order to conduct a complete examination of the entire breast and not miss the slightest seal, the breast must be conditionally divided intozone.
- After the chest has been palpated, it is also necessary to check the armpits, assess their size and fix the density of the lymph nodes.
- As soon as any seals and signs of a mass appearing in the breast are found, it is necessary to immediately go to a specialist.
