Year: 2010
Type: article
Abstract: OBJECTIVE: Readers will thoroughly assess breast lumps, regardless of the patient's age A young woman with a breast mass: What every internist should know A 40-year-old premenopausal woman pre- sents with a palpable lump in her left breast.She first noted it 2 months ago on selfexamination, and it has steadily grown in size regardless of the phase of her menstrual cycle.The patient has never undergone mammography.Her menarche was at age 12.At age 35, she had one child (whom she breastfed) after a normal first full-term pregnancy.She took oral contraceptives for 10 years before her pregnancy.She has no other medical problems.She has no family history of breast or ovarian cancer.On examination, her breasts are slightly asymmetric, without skin discoloration, tenderness, swelling, nipple retraction, or discharge.A 1.5-to 2-cm, rubbery, mobile lump can be felt in the left breast at about the 2 o'clock position.No axillary lymph nodes can be palpated.The rest of her examination is normal. ■ Breast cancer must Be ruled outBenign breast disease is found in approximately 90% of women 20 to 50 years of age who come to a physician with a breast problem. 1 Nevertheless, breast cancer is of major concern.It is the most common type of cancer in women in the United States, responsible for an estimated 194,440 new cases and 40,610 deaths in 2009.It is also the leading cause of cancer-related death in women age 45 to 55 years in this country.2,3 Breast cancer is most common in postmenopausal women, its incidence rising sharply after the age of 45 and leveling off at age 75.The CLEVELAN D C L I N I C J O U
Authors: Robert Wesolowski, George Thomas Budd
Institution: Cleveland Clinic
Language: English
Subfield: Pathology and Forensic Medicine
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W1963956115