Cyst
  • Fluid filled pocket/mass in breast tissue
  • Commonly seen in women 40 to 50 years of age
  • Most common breast lump seen in the 40 to 50 age group
  • Cysts which don’t cause any pain typically can be left alone
  • Painful cysts are typically drained of fluid, if possible, or removed

Difference between tumors and cysts
  • Cyst: Fluid filled pocket/mass in breast tissue which are typically noncancerous (benign = non-threatening), but can be caused by nearly all cancers
  • Tumor: Abnormal mass of tissue which can be benign or cancerous (malignant = dangerous and can spread).

Fibroadenoma
  • Benign (not dangerous) breast tumors
  • Solid, smooth, firm, moveable lumps that are most commonly found in young women

Fibrocystic disease
  • Lumpiness and usually discomfort in one or both breasts
  • Non-cancerous changes in the tissues of the breast

Galactocele
  • Fluid filled pocket/mass in breast tissue filled with thick milk
  • Typically occurs after breastfeeding has stopped or when feeding frequency is significantly reduced
  • Typically the milk will be drained

Mastalgia
  • Breast tenderness and pain

Mastitis
  • Inflammatory process of the breast tissue
  • May be caused by a blocked milk duct or infection
  • Symptoms include: tenderness, nipple abnormality, mass, redness, swelling, nipple discharge, fever

Mondor’s disease
  • Inflammation around a blocked vein that drains/limits the blood flow to the breast
  • Symptoms include: tenderness along the inflamed and hardened vein

Papilloma
  • Overgrowth of the breast tissue which extends into the lining of the milk duct
  • Treatment consists of removing the duct and the mass


Procedures to obtain suspicious tissue
  • Surgical biopsy: A small cut is made in the breast and a portion or the entire abnormal mass is removed.
  • Core needle biopsy: A needle is inserted through a small cut in the skin and a small piece of tissue is removed for analysis

For more details on The Breast Center at University Hospitals Geauga Medical Center or for help obtaining a physician referral, please call 440-285-7757.