One thing you should do is to call your doctor so that you can be examined. While you are waiting for your doctor appointment, you should try not to worry. Many women suspect the possibility of a breast tumor when they feel something in their breast. As a woman, you can take comfort that most lumps are not cancerous. If you have palpated your breast and felt a smooth lump and you can move that lump around beneath your fingertips, chances are it is a cyst and not a cancerous tumor. Tumors are usually not movable and are not smooth.
What are breast cysts?
Breast cysts are fluid-filled sacs that develop in the milk glands. Breast cysts can vary in size; cysts can be pea sized, grape sized, ping pong ball sized and any size in between. Cysts feel like a round smooth ball. It is very unlikely that a cyst will ever lead to a cancerous tumor. Approximately 1 in 1000 cysts do contain a tumor, but the tumors are almost always benign.
Women aged 40 to 60 are the most likely to develop breast cysts. Women should never assume that the lump is a cyst and ignore it. Many times when there is one cyst that you can feel, there may also be cysts that can’t be felt, which is why your doctor may want you to have a mammogram and an ultrasound done.
Will Cysts go away by themselves?
Cysts don’t usually go away; they can grow within the breast, just like a balloon being filled with water. Usually cysts are not painful, but they can become worrisome as they grow and stretch the tissue in the milk gland. If the doctor has examined you and visualized the lump with an ultrasound, and the doctor has identified the lump as a simple cyst, he/she might not recommend aspirating it. However, if you are having physical discomfort, or you are anxious about the cyst, you can have the cyst aspirated. The doctor will insert a needle into the cyst and aspirate the fluid. The cyst will disappear with aspiration. However, if no fluid is aspirated, then the lump is not a cyst and a biopsy is necessary to identify the lump as a benign or cancerous tumor. A cyst aspiration and biopsy are usually done while the doctor is being guided by an ultrasound.
It isn’t well understood why breast cysts form, but hormones seem to play a role in their formation. Women who are taking post menopausal hormone replacement therapy, and women who are taking birth control pills are more likely to develop breast cysts than women who don’t take these medications.
Can you reduce the likelihood of developing breast cysts?
If you have been diagnosed with at least one breast cyst, you will most likely develop more. If you have a breast cyst, you might want to make dietary changes to help prevent more cysts from forming. Most doctors advise their patients to decrease the amount of meat and increase amount of fish in the diet. You may be advised to lower the fat and carbohydrates in your diet, while adding lots of fruits and vegetables to the diet. The fruits you eat should include blueberries, raspberries, cherries and other berry fruits, and the vegetables should include broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and other cruciferous vegetables. You may also be advised to have at least two teaspoons of healthy fat, such as extra virgin olive oil. These types of fruits and vegetables are packed full of antioxidants which will wage war against the free radicals that cause disease. As a woman, you owe it to your breast health to maintain a healthy lifestyle and to keep berries and cruciferous vegetables in your daily diet.
