Making the Diagnosis
A suspicious lump in your breast should be checked by your doctor. Aside
from an extensive physical examination, the doctor will also want to do a mammogram
- a low-level X-ray that can show abnormal areas in your breast. An ultrasound
can sometimes be performed to see if the lump is a fluid-filled cyst or a solid
growth. Even if the lump which can be felt is not visible on the mammogram, some sort of biopsy may need to be done.
Using a needle, fluid can be removed from a cyst to check if it contains cancerous
cells. A solid lump must be analyzed under a microscope. This requires either
a needle biopsy or a surgical biopsy to be performed, to remove some or all
of the lump.
Cancerous cells can be tested for the presence of estrogen- or progesterone-receptors.
Other tests - including a chest X-ray, bone scan, and liver function evaluation
- are conducted to help the doctor determine whether the cancer has spread.