Are breast nodules normal?

The breast nodules that people often talk about usually do not refer to a specific breast disease, but a symptom. There are many reasons that lead to this symptom. The most common one is breast hyperplasia. The causes of breast hyperplasia are very complicated. First, it may be caused by abnormal endocrine hormones in the body. It may also be caused by excessive psychological stress, etc. In addition to breast hyperplasia, breast tumors can also cause breast nodules. Therefore, for patients, it is necessary to find out the cause of breast nodules in time and then take targeted treatment methods.

Are breast nodules normal?

In the results of color ultrasound examination, you can often see reports such as "breast nodules". What should you do if you find breast nodules?

1. What are breast nodules?

In fact, breast nodules are not the name of a disease, nor are they the characterization of a disease. They are just a general term used by ultrasound diagnosis to describe “tiny tumors in the breast” and are “early lesions of all benign and malignant lesions.”

If a pathological examination of a small nodule is performed, it will include "breast fibroadenoma, intraductal papilloma, breast adenosis, proliferative lesions and malignant tumors". In other words, "breast nodules" are tiny tumors and lesions in the breast, which are early signs of breast disease.

2. What should I do if I find breast nodules?

When breast nodules are discovered during color ultrasound, the first issue is to identify whether the nodules are benign or malignant.

You need to go to a specialist in a regular hospital for differential diagnosis. The doctor will first make a preliminary judgment based on age, family history, number of nodules, nodule morphology, growth rate, nodule blood flow signal, elasticity score, etc. He may also recommend imaging examinations such as breast mammography, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), or even ductoscopy and puncture biopsy to further clarify the nature of the nodule.

3. How to treat breast nodules?

Breast nodules are solid tumors in the breast, and an individualized treatment plan needs to be developed based on the principle of comprehensive evaluation to determine whether it is benign or malignant.

(1) Conventional surgery: For patients with a small number of nodules, large size (over 2.5 cm), nodules located in the areola area, small breasts, shallow nodule location, and a history of blood diseases with poor coagulation mechanism, small incision conventional surgery with cosmetic suture can be used without affecting breastfeeding function.

(2) Minimally invasive surgery: using Mammotome or Anko minimally invasive excision system under ultrasound guidance, through computer-controlled vacuum-assisted high-speed excision. Suitable for: resection of benign lesions with a diameter of 1 to 62.5px, especially for the resection of unilateral and bilateral multiple masses; excisional biopsy of clinically inaccessible suspicious lesions with a diameter of less than 25px.

(3) Traditional Chinese medicine treatment of breast nodules: For multiple breast nodules, breast cysts, and duct dilatation, and after strictly excluding malignant lesions, traditional Chinese medicine treatment can be tried. The treatment is mainly oral administration. According to the patient's constitution, the treatment methods of soothing the liver and promoting qi, activating blood circulation and dispersing nodules, resolving phlegm and dampness, and tonifying the kidney and regulating the pulse are used. These can soften and disperse nodules, and can effectively promote the collapse and dissolution of pathological tissues, so that the nodules can shrink or disappear. But remember that you cannot rely entirely on traditional Chinese medicine. If the situation changes, you need to actively change the plan and treatment.

Breast diseases are often closely related to emotions. Improve patients' breast pain, fullness, depression, irritability, scanty menstruation or irregular periods and other symptoms.