Breast cancer does not usually hurt.
Breast painis more likely due to hormone fluctuations from puberty, menstruation, pregnancy, or menopause.
Other reasons your breast may hurt include fibrocystic breast changes or medication side effects.
Illustration by Jake Shi for Verywell Health
This article discusses breast cancer and breast pain.
It explains common symptoms of breast cancer and other reasons why your breasts hurt.
Illustration by Jake Shi for Verywell Health
What Are the Symptoms of Breast Cancer?
Four out of five times, a breast lump is the primary symptom of breast cancer.
Other symptoms of breast cancer include:
Does Breast Cancer Cause Pain?
Abreast tumoris a hard clump of breast cancer cells that causes a lump in the breast.
However, a tumor can be larger than 2 centimeters and still not cause pain.
A rare bang out of cancer known asinflammatory breast cancercan cause breast pain.
This pain is usually unrelated to your menstrual cycle.
Other signs of inflammatory breast cancer include redness, a rash, and severe itching.
Does Breast Pain Increase Breast Cancer Risk?
Though it’s uncommon, some painful breast conditions may raise your risk of developing breast cancer.
Breast cancer commonly feels like a hard, painless lump in the breast or armpit.
If you have othersymptomsof breast cancer, consult your healthcare provider for aclinical breast exam.
Can Breast Cancer Pain Spread to Other Parts of the Body?
When breast cancer spreads to another part of the body, it is known as metastatic breast cancer.
Metastatic breast cancer may also cause pain.
These types of pain are associated with metastatic breast cancer:
What Other Conditions Cause Breast Pain?
Breast pain, ormastalgia, is uncommon with breast cancer.
Does Breast Cancer Hurt in Men?
In addition, hormone-induced breast pain is also less likely to occur in men.
If you are a man experiencing breast pain, play it safe.
Breast cancer does occur in men.
In fact, 1 in every 100 breast cancer diagnoses in the United States is in a man.
ensure to talk to your healthcare provider if you are experiencing any unusual discomfort.
Summary
Breast pain can be concerning, especially if it develops suddenly.
It is important to speak with your healthcare provider about your breast pain.
A common site of breast cancer metastasis is the bones.
If this occurs, it may cause back pain due to cancer in the spine or lower pelvis.
Breast pain can have lots of different causes, many of them benign and temporary.
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