Should I be worried

[Cathy48]

I am 48 and going thru menopause. It has been going on for two years and I seem to be suffering from most of the symptoms. I am taking sertraline and HRT. For the last 2/3 months, my left breast has become slightly larger and can be really itchy at times. There doesn't appear to be any dimpling or nipple changes but skin can feel a bit warm. Is this just part of menopause or should I be concerned ?

Any advice welcome, thanks

Forget to add that I also have numbness to the left side of my nipple ?

[sumeet_shah Administrator]

The most common symptom of a cancer is a lump or a knot, which feels hard as compared to rest of the breast. Pain, itching are common symptoms which many have time and again and I would not worry much about them aspng as there is no lump felt. The skin feeling a bit warm also does not seem alarming. Since you are 48 now, the best would be to undergo a routine mammogram under guidance of your doc, which will rule out any problem and will give you peace of mind as well.

[roxboxfox RadiationOncologist]

I would agree with Dr Sumeet, you probably need to pay a visit to your GP/Local Doctor who would of course carefully examine you, and probably recommend a Mammogram if its not been done for a while.

[Tfklun]

Hi Cathy48. I hope you went to your doctor regarding the symptoms you listed with your breast and hope it is nothing. However, the symptoms you listed are common Inflammatory Breast Cancer symptoms and this kind of breast cancer does not usually form a lump.

I ignored a flattened nipple for months thinking it was a part of menopause (I am 53) plus I had a normal mammogram just a few months earlier. Eventually I found a lump and was diagnosed with Stage 3 Invasive Lobular Carcinoma in January of this year. My cancer never showed up on mammogram, even after I was diagnosed, because I have "dense" breasts (that's a whole other story).

Don't be afraid to talk to your doctor about your symptoms and don't let the doctor brush you off. Through my research since I have been diagnosed I have read a lot about women with itchy breasts being diagnosed with a skin condition instead of being offered a mammogram/ultrasound/MRI/etc for the possibility of breast cancer.

Best of luck to you and prayers that you have a benign condition. Let us know.

Tfklun