With the high prevalence of breast cancer, some women get nervous when they feel a lump in their breast and worry that they have breast cancer. In fact, breast hyperplasia and breast fibroadenoma can also be felt as nodules in the breast, and they have their own different clinical manifestations from breast cancer. Painful lumps to touch – mammary gland hyperplasia Mammary gland hyperplasia changes with menstrual cycle, and you can feel pain anywhere when you touch your breasts, and you can also feel nodules of different sizes. As the menstrual cycle changes, the pain is severe before menstruation and less painful after menstruation, and the lumps shrink significantly. Mammary gland hyperplasia is generally less symptomatic. Different degrees of mammary gland hyperplasia or lobular hyperplasia are simply painful, but breast cancer is painless to touch the lump in the breast. Most patients with mammary hyperplasia have simple hyperplasia, but now there is also a cystic hyperplasia that is designated as a precancerous lesion. Therefore, patients need to visit the hospital regularly for ultrasound and mammogram to determine the severity of the enlargement. Solitary lump – breast cancer Breast cancer lumps are often solitary, which may be 1~2 cm or 3 cm, with clearly palpable lump borders and no pain when touched. If you feel multiple nodules, flat or irregular, it may be a breast enlargement. Fibroadenoma of the breast The most important characteristic of fibroadenoma of the breast is that it is “young”, most often occurring in young women under the age of 25. After the first menstruation, as the uterus ages and estrogen increases, these patients often find 1 to 2 lumps in their breasts, which are very mobile and very hard. Breast fibroadenoma should be surgically removed in time because it will affect the appearance of breast development over time. If the above 3 symptoms appear frequently, it is recommended to go to the hospital early for mammogram x-ray, whose diagnosis rate can reach 80%~90%, and also ultrasound, CT examination and pathology examination, etc. Women who often perform breast self-examination should pay attention to the location of “nipple”. If the tumor is near the nipple, it will easily invade the nipple and the milk duct, and the nipple will either shrink inward or pull downward, so some women with breast cancer will have one high and one low nipple. Generally speaking, if breast cancer is detected early, the 5-year survival rate can reach 80% to 90%.