A lump in your breast can sometimes be a sign of breast cancer. It could also be a harmless cyst, or a temporary change in breast tissue caused by the natural hormonal fluctuations that occur during a menstrual cycle.
So, how do you know if a breast lump is cancerous? We asked three patients to share their experiences, then went to breast surgical oncologist Ana Paula Correa Refinetti, M.D., for more details.
One size...

Teresa and Billy Mayo have shared almost everything during their 46-year marriage. But the couple recently shared something they never anticipated...
Male breast cancer is extremely rare. About 1% of breast cancers in the United States occur in males. But certain men do run the risk...
When I got my second cancer diagnosis in early 2017, I was already going to MD Anderson regularly to see Dr. Alessandra Ferrajoli. I’d been diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) the year before after some bloodwork came back abnormal, and I went to MD Anderson on a friend’s recommendation.
At the time, Dr. Ferrajoli had recommended “watchful waiting,” as there was no real benefit to starting treatment until my symptoms...

Last year, well into my third year of recovery from male breast cancer, I discovered a small lump where a lump should not have been. Once...
There are approximately 2,200 men in the United States who are diagnosed with breast cancer each year, and I am one of them.
Until...
One in two men will be diagnosed with cancer during their lifetime. And, one in six men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, the second...
It's been 259 days since my male breast cancer diagnosis. Since then, I've undergone 15 chemotherapy infusions, 35 doses of Zofran...
Last summer, Oliver Bogler felt a lump in his chest -- one that sometimes seemed to grow and ache. Though his Internet searches told him it...
This past week I reached a major milestone in my male breast cancer treatment - my last chemo, certainly for now and hopefully forever.