Small Breast Lump – The Lump Size Matters

Breast self-examination (BSE) is usually carried out because many women believe that BSE is an essential part of their health care. Doing breast self exam helps them learn how their breasts normally feel. By identifying a breast lump during BSE, a woman can immediately go to her doctor and ask if this is something that she should be extremely concerned about.

A small breast lump can often result in extreme panic in women. This, however, should not be the situation because it’s not healthy to assume that all lumps are cancer. Remember however that lumps in the breast, whether big or small, must be given attention. Irrespective of whether the lump is big or small, any woman with breast lumps must immediately report to a physician so that further examination can be performed.

At the beginning, the size does not mean much. However, once the doctor finds out that the small breast lump that you have is malignant, the tumor size becomes very important. After a woman has been confirmed to have breast cancer, a series of imaging exams will have to be performed. Mammograms, ultrasounds, CT scans, and MRIs will usually be performed in order to know the size and location of the lump. The size of the breast lump is an important part of staging breast cancer. Having said that, you need to know for sure what the “actual” size of your tumor is - no matter how big or small it is.

Research has shown that cancer patients with smaller tumors have higher chances of surviving cancer. Experts have identified that sixty-one percent of those who survived cancer have relatively smaller lumps than the remaining thirty-percent percent. A small breast lump has a lesser chance of metastasizing to other tissues, such as the chest wall, neighboring bones, and peripheral lymph nodes. What is more, studies also reveal that in women 65 years and older with early stage breast cancer, the shift in tumor size accounted for almost all of the improvement in survival.

Again, not all lumps are cancerous. The truth is, most breast lumps turn out to be benign. It’s important to note though that any breast lump must be given attention. Reporting immediately to the doctor is very vital, regardless of the breast lump size.