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The change most often noticed is a lump that causes no pain. Most lumps that are found turn out to be benign.
This page lists the changes that are worth having looked at, and says what each one usually turns out to be. Written by Dr Swapnil Sharma, MBBS, MS, FMAS, DrNB (Surgical Oncology), Consultant Surgical Oncologist, at Apollo Hospital International Ltd, Bhat, Gandhinagar.
If a change has already been assessed and cancer confirmed, the treatment routes are set out separately. The wider picture sits on the breast cancer surgery page.
Breast symptoms are common and breast cancer is not the usual explanation for them. Clinics see far more fibroadenomas, cysts, cyclical thickening and infections than cancers. Reading a symptom list is useful for knowing what to take to a doctor. It is not a good way to work out what you have.
The point of noticing early is that early breast cancer is very treatable, and the earlier it is found the more often the breast can be kept.
| Change | What it usually is | Worth an examination when |
|---|---|---|
| A lump in the breast | Most often a fibroadenoma, a cyst, or ordinary thickening | It is still there after one monthly cycle, or it is growing |
| A lump in the armpit | Often a reactive lymph node after an infection | It persists beyond a few weeks |
| Skin dimpling or puckering | Sometimes previous surgery or a healed injury | It is new and has no explanation |
| Orange-peel skin texture | Uncommon; usually needs assessment | Always worth being seen |
| A nipple newly turned inwards | Some nipples are inverted lifelong, which is normal | It is a change from how it used to be |
| Blood-stained discharge from one nipple | Often a benign growth inside a duct | It is one-sided, one duct, and happens without squeezing |
| Persistent redness or an ulcer | Usually infection, particularly while breastfeeding | It does not settle with treatment |
| Breast pain alone | Hormonal, and very rarely cancer | It is in one fixed spot and constant |
Pain in both breasts that comes and goes with the monthly cycle is hormonal, and is very rarely caused by cancer.
Pain in both breasts that comes and goes with the monthly cycle is hormonal. General lumpiness that you have always had is normal breast tissue. Itching, and a stitch-like pain that lasts seconds, are not symptoms of cancer.
Deodorants, underwired bras, mobile phones kept in a bra and breast injuries do not cause breast cancer. These come up often and none of them is supported by the evidence.
Some breast cancers produce nothing that can be felt and show up only on a mammogram. That is why screening exists.
Some breast cancers produce nothing that can be felt and are picked up only on imaging. That is the argument for screening mammography from around the age of forty to forty-five, and earlier where there is a strong family history.
A normal mammogram last year does not explain away a new lump this year. A new change is assessed on its own.
An examination of both breasts and both armpits, then an ultrasound, and a mammogram as well over about forty. If those leave a question, a core needle biopsy under local anaesthetic answers it. Most women stop after the scan.
How each of those tests works is set out on the diagnosis page, and what to make of a lump specifically is on the breast lump page.
A lump that causes no pain, in the breast or the armpit. That said, most lumps found are not cancer, so a lump is a reason to be examined rather than a reason to conclude anything.
It can be, though more often it is not. Breast pain on its own, especially pain in both breasts that comes and goes with the monthly cycle, is very rarely caused by cancer. Pain is a poor guide either way.
Dimpling or puckering, skin that looks thickened like orange peel, persistent redness over one area, or an ulcer that does not heal. These are worth an examination.
Milky discharge from both nipples, or discharge that only appears when the nipple is squeezed, is usually not. Discharge that is blood-stained, comes from one duct on one side and appears without squeezing is the kind that should be looked at.
Yes, though it is uncommon. A firm lump behind the nipple in a man should be examined rather than assumed to be ordinary breast tissue enlargement.
Yes. Some breast cancers are picked up on a mammogram before anything can be felt. That is the reason screening exists for women over a certain age.
Arrange an examination and a scan rather than searching for more symptoms. A change still present after one monthly cycle is the sensible point to be seen. Call +91 63555 64601 to fix a time at Apollo Hospital International Ltd, Bhat, Gandhinagar.
Send any scan or report you already have, then call to fix a time.
Dr Swapnil Sharma — MBBS, MS, FMAS, DrNB (Surgical Oncology)
Consultant Surgical Oncologist
Consultations and surgery: Apollo Hospital International Ltd, Bhat, Gandhinagar
Appointments: +91 63555 64601 · WhatsApp
Last updated: 24 September 2026. Reviewed by Dr Swapnil Sharma, MBBS, MS, FMAS, DrNB (Surgical Oncology), Consultant Surgical Oncologist.
This page is for information. It is not a substitute for an examination and a personal opinion.
