You don't have to be afraid alone."

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Is breast pain a sign of breast cancer?

One day in my clinic, a woman in her forties came in.

She said she'd been experiencing pain in her left breast for almost a month.

At first, it was just a dull ache.

Later, it turned into a sharp, stabbing pain.

Sometimes the pain radiated to her back.

It also hurt when she turned over at night.

The more she thought about it, the more frightened she became,

so she started searching online.

But what she found only made her more distraught.

She said to me:

"Dr. Jiang, do I have breast cancer?"

"Has it metastasized? Has it spread to the bone?"

I was speechless.

I told her not to panic.

But she seemed unable to calm down…

I asked her:

"Have you felt any lumps?"

She said:

"I don't know, everything I touch feels strange now."

Many patients have said this.

Once fear sets in, every part of the breast seems to have a problem.

She even told me that these past few days she'd started thinking:

What about the young child?

What if her husband can't take good care of her?

What if she really needs chemotherapy?

After listening, I first told her:

"I really don't think it's related to breast cancer. Try to relax."

Later, I did a breast ultrasound for her.

The results showed no suspicious tumors in her breast…

Instead, the area of her pain was closer to her ribs and chest wall.

I asked her to turn over, take a deep breath, and then press on a few spots.

She immediately said:

"Yes! Right there! That stabbing pain!"

This kind of pain is often not a problem with the breast itself,

but rather intercostal neuralgia, or pain in the chest wall muscles or near the ribs.

Some people feel a stabbing sensation on the outer side of their breast.

Some people experience pain radiating to their back.

Some people experience pain when turning over or taking a deep breath.

Some people experience intense pain when pressing on a particular spot.

Because the location is right near the breast,

the patient will assume it's breast pain.

I told her:

"Your pain is real,

but pain doesn't equal breast cancer."

There are many common causes of breast pain.

Some are due to hormonal changes before menstruation.

Some are caused by fibrocystic breast disease.

Some are due to stress, poor sleep, or increased breast sensitivity.

And sometimes the pain isn't in the breast itself,

but in the chest wall, near the ribs, or in the intercostal nerves.

Breast cancer isn't completely painless.

However, a more common symptom of breast cancer is usually feeling a hard lump that isn't very painful.

So, don't scare yourself if you have breast pain.

But don't ignore it either.

If you have any of the following symptoms, you should see a breast surgeon for an examination:

For example: Feeling a lump.

Bleeding from the nipple.

Dimpling or thickening of the skin.

Sudden nipple retraction.

Redness, swelling, and hardening of the breast.

Pain that is localized to the same spot and becomes increasingly severe.

After hearing the test results, the patient

asked me:

"So I don't have breast cancer?"

I said:

"The tests don't suggest it at the moment.

But we can still manage your pain."

She finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Actually, to the doctor, this might just be a very simple breast pain.

But to the patient, I know

she's been scared many times this past month.

Breast pain

is mostly not breast cancer.

But the fear

is real.

So don't endure it.

And don't keep searching online and scaring yourself.

Medical care sometimes isn't just about giving answers,

it's also about letting patients know:

"You don't have to be afraid alone."