Breast changes may be noticed by you or identified during an examination by a healthcare professional. Knowing what is normal for your breasts and reporting a new or persistent change can help your care team determine whether a clinical examination, breast imaging or another evaluation is appropriate.
What Is a Clinical Breast Examination?
A clinical breast examination is a physical examination performed by a healthcare professional who looks at and feels the breasts and surrounding areas for changes or abnormalities. An examination may be appropriate when you notice a new lump, nipple or skin change, localized discomfort or another breast concern, or when your healthcare provider determines that an examination would be useful based on your individual risk or health history.
A clinical breast examination and breast imaging provide different types of information. An examination can help your provider assess changes that can be seen or felt, while mammography, ultrasound and other imaging methods can provide information about structures within the breast. Your care team can determine whether imaging or additional evaluation is needed based on what is found.
When Should a Breast Change Be Evaluated?
You do not need to wait for your next routine mammogram if you notice something new or unusual in your breast. Many breast changes are caused by benign conditions, but a new or persistent change should be evaluated so your care team can determine what it represents and whether additional testing is appropriate.
A New Breast Lump or Area of Thickening
A breast lump can feel different from the surrounding tissue and may be firm or soft, smooth or irregular, painful or painless. How a lump feels cannot reliably determine whether it is benign or cancerous, so a new or persistent lump should be evaluated by a healthcare professional.
Changes in the Breast, Skin or Nipple
Changes in breast size or shape, swelling, skin dimpling or puckering, persistent redness or other skin changes may warrant evaluation. New nipple changes, including unexpected discharge or a nipple that has recently become inverted, should also be discussed with your healthcare provider.
Persistent or Localized Breast Pain
Breast pain is common and is often unrelated to cancer, but pain that is new, persistent or focused in one area should be discussed with your healthcare provider. An examination can help determine whether imaging or another evaluation may be useful.
What Happens After a Breast Examination?
What happens next depends on the reason for your examination and what your healthcare provider finds. Some breast changes may not require additional testing, while others may be evaluated with breast imaging such as mammography or ultrasound. Breast MRI may also be appropriate in selected circumstances when additional information is needed.
If imaging identifies an abnormality that cannot be fully understood through examination and imaging alone, your care team may recommend a breast biopsy. A biopsy removes tissue from the area so a pathologist can determine whether cancer or another breast condition is present. Most breast findings do not automatically lead to biopsy, and needing additional evaluation does not mean that you have breast cancer.
At the Margie Petersen Breast Center, patients with a new breast concern can contact the Breast Clinic for prompt evaluation rather than waiting for their next routine screening appointment. When additional testing is appropriate, the team can help coordinate the next steps based on the findings and your individual needs.
Breast Self-Awareness
Breast self-awareness means becoming familiar with how your breasts normally look and feel so you are more likely to recognize a change. You do not need to follow a particular examination technique or schedule. Changes are often noticed during everyday activities such as bathing, dressing or looking in the mirror.
Breast self-awareness does not replace recommended mammography or evaluation by a healthcare professional. Its purpose is to help you recognize when something appears different for you and bring that change to the attention of your care team.
What Breast Changes Should I Pay Attention To?
Breasts can naturally change over time, and many changes are not caused by cancer. What matters is recognizing something that is new, unusual or persistent for you. Changes worth discussing with your healthcare provider may include:
- A new lump, firm area or thickening in the breast or underarm
- A noticeable change in the size, shape or appearance of a breast
- Swelling, persistent redness or warmth
- Dimpling, puckering or another new change in the skin
- A newly inverted nipple or other unexpected nipple change
- Unexpected nipple discharge, particularly bloody discharge
- New or persistent pain focused in one area of the breast
What Should I Do If I Find a Breast Lump?
Finding a breast lump does not mean that you have breast cancer. Many breast lumps are caused by benign conditions, but it is not possible to reliably determine what a new lump represents by how it feels alone. Contact your healthcare provider or the Breast Clinic so the area can be evaluated and imaging can be performed when appropriate.
Do I Still Need Regular Mammograms?
Yes. Breast self-awareness and clinical examination do not replace mammography when breast cancer screening is recommended for you. Mammography can identify abnormalities within the breast that cannot necessarily be seen or felt, while examination and self-awareness provide different information about changes that may need evaluation.
Can a Clinical Breast Exam Replace a Mammogram?
No. A clinical breast examination and a mammogram serve different purposes and provide different types of information. Your healthcare provider can help determine which screening and evaluation methods are appropriate based on your age, breast cancer risk, health history and any symptoms or breast changes you may have.
Breast Cancer Screening Methods and Myths Webinar
Learn more about breast cancer screening and evaluation with Janie Grumley, MD, FACS, Breast Surgical Oncologist and Director of the Comprehensive Breast Program at the Margie Petersen Breast Center. This webinar discusses breast examinations, mammography, ultrasound, MRI and biopsy while addressing common questions and misconceptions about breast cancer screening.
Janie Grumley, MD, FACS, Breast Surgical Oncologist and Director of the Comprehensive Breast Program, Margie Petersen Breast Center, provides an overview of breast cancer screening methods and common patient questions.
Talk With Our Breast Clinic Team
The Breast Health Clinic can be reached at (310) 582-7209. If you have questions about a new breast symptom, need an evaluation or would like help determining your next step, call and a member of our team can assist you.
