Symptoms of Breast Cancer

List of symptoms of Breast Cancer:

The list of signs and symptoms mentioned in various sources for Breast Cancer includes the 28 symptoms listed below:

• No early symptoms
• Breast lump
• Breast thickening
• Lump near breast
• Hard painless breast lump
• Underarm lump
• Breast changes
  • Breast size change
  • Breast shape change
  • Breast skin ridges
  • Breast skin pitting
  • Warm breast
  • Swollen breast
  • Red breast
  • Scaly breast
• Nipple changes
  • Nipple discharge
  • Nipple tenderness
  • Nipple inverted
  • Warm nipple
  • Swollen nipple
  • Red nipple
  • Scaly nipple
• Areola changes
  • Warm areola
  • Swollen areola
  • Red areola
  • Scaly areola

Note that Breast Cancer symptoms usually refers to various symptoms known to a patient, but the phrase Breast Cancer signs may refer to those signs only noticable by a doctor.

More ways to research these symptoms: To research other symptoms use the symptom center, or to research causes of more than one symptom in combination, try our multi-symptom search.

Research More About Breast Cancer

Do I have Breast Cancer?

• Breast Cancer: Introduction
• Breast Cancer: Diagnostic Testing to confirm diagnosis
• Home Diagnostic Testing
• Alternative diagnoses and misdiagnosis for Breast Cancer
• Failure to Diagnose Breast Cancer
• How serious is it?
• Treatments for Breast Cancer
• More about Breast Cancer

Home Diagnostic Testing

Home medical tests related to Breast Cancer:

• Colon & Rectal Cancer: Home Testing
  • Home Colorectal Cancer Tests
  • Home Fecal Occult Bleeding Tests
• Breast Cancer: Related Home Tests:
  • Home Breast Cancer Tests
  • Home Breast Lump Detection

Wrongly Diagnosed with Breast Cancer?

The list of other diseases or medical conditions that may be on the differential diagnosis list of alternative diagnoses for Breast Cancer includes:

• Normal breasts - not all breast lumps are abnormal; breast changes can also occur from aging, menstruation, pregnancy, menopause, oral contraceptives, and other reasons.
  • Aging - may cause breast changes
  • Menstrual cycle - may cause swollen or tender breasts.
  • Pregnancy - breast changes occur from pregnancy
  • Menopause

See the full list of 33 alternative diagnoses for Breast Cancer

More about symptoms of Breast Cancer:

More information about symptoms of Breast Cancer and related conditions:

• Other diseases with similar symptoms and common misdiagnoses
• Tests to determine if these are the symptoms of Breast Cancer
• Symptoms that may be caused by complications of Breast Cancer
• Underlying causes of Breast Cancer
• Associated conditions for Breast Cancer
• Risk factors for Breast Cancer

Other Possible Causes of these Symptoms

Click on any of the symptoms below to see a full list of other causes including diseases, medical conditions, toxins, drug interactions, or drug side effect causes of that symptom.

• Areola changes - see all causes of Nipple symptoms
• Breast changes - see all causes of Breast symptoms
• Breast lump - see all causes of Breast lump
• Breast shape change - see all causes of Nipple symptoms
• Breast size change - see all causes of Breast swelling
• Breast skin pitting - see all causes of Breast lump
• Breast skin ridges - see all causes of Nipple symptoms
• Breast thickening - see all causes of Breast lump
• Hard painless breast lump - see all causes of Breast lump
• Lump near breast - see all causes of Nipple symptoms
• Nipple changes - see all causes of Nipple symptoms
• Nipple discharge - see all causes of Nipple discharge
• Nipple inverted - see all causes of Nipple symptoms
• Nipple tenderness - see all causes of Nipple symptoms
• No early symptoms - see all causes of No symptoms
• Red areola - see all causes of Nipple symptoms
• Red breast - see all causes of Breast symptoms
• Red nipple - see all causes of Nipple symptoms
• Scaly areola - see all causes of Scaly skin
• Scaly breast - see all causes of Scaly skin
• Scaly nipple - see all causes of Scaly skin
• Swollen areola - see all causes of Nipple symptoms
• Swollen breast - see all causes of Breast swelling
• Swollen nipple - see all causes of Nipple symptoms
• Underarm lump - see all causes of Underarm lump
• Warm areola - see all causes of Nipple symptoms
• Warm breast - see all causes of Breast symptoms
• Warm nipple - see all causes of Nipple symptoms

Medical Books Online about Breast Cancer

Medical Books Excerpts Excerpts of published medical book chapters related to Breast Cancer are available from published medical books for more detailed information about Breast Cancer.

Copyright notice for book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

Related videos for Breast Cancer

Patient Surveys for Breast Cancer

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• Survey about the symptoms of your Breast Cancer
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Symptoms of Breast Cancer: Online Medical Books

16 MEDICAL BOOKS ONLINE! Review excerpts from medical books online, free, without registration, for more information about the symptoms of Breast Cancer.

Breast cancer: Signs and symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

Warning signals of possible breast cancer include:

❑a lump or mass in the breast (a hard, stony mass is usually malignant)

❑ change in symmetry or size of the breast

❑ change in skin, thickening, scaly skin around the nipple, dimpling, edema (peau d'orange), or ulceration

❑ change in skin temperature (a warm, hot, or pink area; suspect cancer in a nonlactating woman older than childbearing age until proven otherwise)

❑ unusual drainage or discharge (a spontaneous discharge of any kind in a nonbreast-feeding, nonlactating woman warrants thorough investigation; so does any discharge produced by breast manipulation (greenish black, white, creamy, serous, or bloody.) (If a breast-fed infant rejects one breast, this may suggest possible breast cancer.)

❑ change in the nipple, such as itching, burning, erosion, or retraction

❑ pain (not usually a symptom of breast cancer unless the tumor is advanced, but it should be investigated)

❑ bone metastasis, pathologic bone fractures, and hypercalcemia

❑ edema of the arm.

READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Malignant spinal neoplasms: Signs and symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

Extramedullary tumors produce symptoms by pressing on nerve roots, the spinal cord, and spinal vessels; intramedullary tumors, by destroying the parenchyma and compressing adjacent areas. Because intramedullary tumors may extend over several spinal cord segments, their symptoms are more variable than those of extramedullary tumors.

The following clinical effects are likely with all malignant spinal cord neoplasms:

❑Pain — Most severe directly over the tumor, radiates around the trunk or down the limb on the affected side and is unrelieved by bed rest. It may worsen when lying down or with straining, coughing, or sneezing. Pain can be diffuse, occurring over all extremities. Generally, it progressively worsens and isn't relieved by medication.

❑ Motor symptoms — Asymmetric spastic muscle weakness, decreased muscle tone, exaggerated reflexes, and a positive Babinski's sign. If the tumor is at the level of the cauda equina, muscle flaccidity, muscle wasting, weakness, and progressive diminution in tendon reflexes are characteristic.

❑ Sensory deficits — Contralateral loss of pain, temperature, and touch sensation (Brown-Séquard's syndrome). These losses are less obvious to the patient than functional motor changes. Caudal lesions invariably produce paresthesias in the nerve distribution pathway of the involved roots.

❑Bowel and bladder symptoms — Urine retention is an inevitable late sign with cord compression. Early signs include incomplete emptying or difficulty with the urine stream, which is usually unnoticed or ignored. Cauda equina tumors cause bladder and bowel incontinence due to flaccid paralysis.

READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Mastitis and breast engorgement: Signs and symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

Mastitis may develop anytime during lactation but usually begins 1 to 2 weeks postpartum with fever (101° F [38.3° C] or higher in acute mastitis), malaise, and flulike symptoms. The breast (or, occasionally, both breasts) becomes tender, hard, swollen, and warm. Unless mastitis is treated adequately, it may progress to breast abscess.

Breast engorgement generally starts with onset of lactation (day 2 to day 5 postpartum). The breasts undergo changes similar to those in mastitis, and body temperature may be elevated. Engorgement may be mild, causing only slight discomfort, or severe, causing considerable pain. A severely engorged breast can interfere with the infant’s capacity to feed because of his inability to position his mouth properly on the swollen, rigid breast.

READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Breast cancer: Signs and symptoms
(Handbook of Diseases)

Warning signals of breast cancer include:

❑  a lump or mass in the breast (a hard, stony mass is usually malignant)

❑  a change in symmetry or size of the breast

❑  a change in breast skin (thickening, scaly skin around the nipple, dimpling, edema [peau d’orange], or ulceration)

❑  a change in skin temperature (a warm, hot, or pink area; suspect cancer in a non-breast-feeding woman past childbearing age until proven otherwise)

❑  unusual drainage or discharge (a spontaneous discharge of any kind in a non-breast-feeding woman warrants thorough investigation; so does any discharge produced by breast manipulation [greenish black, white, creamy, serous, or bloody]). If a breast-feeding infant rejects one breast, this may suggest possible breast cancer.

❑  a change in the nipple, such as itching, burning, erosion, or retraction

❑  pain (not usually a symptom of breast cancer unless the tumor is advanced, but it should be investigated)

❑  bone metastasis, pathologic bone fractures, and hypercalcemia

❑  edema of the arm.

READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Article Excerpts About Symptoms of Breast Cancer:

Early breast cancer usually does not cause pain. In fact, when breast cancer first develops, there may be no symptoms at all. But as the cancer grows, it can cause changes that women should watch for:

• A lump or thickening in or near the breast or in the underarm area;

• A change in the size or shape of the breast;

• Nipple discharge or tenderness, or the nipple pulled back (inverted) into the breast;

• Ridges or pitting of the breast (the skin looks like the skin of an orange); or

• A change in the way the skin of the breast, areola, or nipple looks or feels (for example, warm, swollen, red, or scaly).

A woman should see her doctor about any symptoms like these. Most often, they are not cancer, but it's important to check with the doctor so that any problems can be diagnosed and treated as early as possible. (Source: excerpt from What You Need To Know About Breast Cancer: NCI)

Breast Cancer as a Cause of Symptoms or Medical Conditions

When considering symptoms of Breast Cancer, it is also important to consider Breast Cancer as a possible cause of other medical conditions. The Disease Database lists the following medical conditions that Breast Cancer may cause:

• Back pain
• Bone metastases
• Bone pain
• Brachial plexus neuropathy
• Breast lump
• Cachexia
• CEA raised
• Cerebral metastases
• Cutaneous metastasis
• Leucoerythroblastic anaemia
• Liver metastases
• Lung metastases
• Lymphadenopathy
• Lymphangitis carcinomatosa
• Mastalgia
• Nipple discharge
• Opsoclonus
• Osteosclerosis
• Pleural effusion
• Prostate specific antigen levels raised (plasma or serum)
• Renal metastases

Breast Cancer as a symptom:

For a more detailed analysis of Breast Cancer as a symptom, including causes, drug side effect causes, and drug interaction causes, please see our Symptom Center information for Breast Cancer.

Medical articles and books on symptoms:

These general reference articles may be of interest in relation to medical signs and symptoms of disease in general:

• Diagnostic Testing for a Diagnosis of Breast Cancer
• Research Alternative Diagnoses for Breast Cancer
• How serious is Breast Cancer?
• More about Breast Cancer
• Online Diagnosis
• Self Diagnosis Pitfalls
• Pitfalls of Online Diagnosis
• Symptoms of the Silent Killer Diseases
• Lesser known silent killer diseases
• Books on signs and symptoms

Full list of premium articles on symptoms and diagnosis

About signs and symptoms of Breast Cancer:

The symptom information on this page attempts to provide a list of some possible signs and symptoms of Breast Cancer. This signs and symptoms information for Breast Cancer has been gathered from various sources, may not be fully accurate, and may not be the full list of Breast Cancer signs or Breast Cancer symptoms. Furthermore, signs and symptoms of Breast Cancer may vary on an individual basis for each patient. Only your doctor can provide adequate diagnosis of any signs or symptoms and whether they are indeed Breast Cancer symptoms.