BREAST LUMPS

 What do they mean if they aren't cancerous? Each year, millions of women find lumps in their breasts that have to be checked out for cancer. Thankfully, most turn out to be benign. Even so, such lumps can be concerning

- MICHELLE MULLAN

Around 480 000 of women in the UK find a lump in their breasts each year and (hopefully) head straight to the GP. The great news is in nine cases out of ten, breast lumps are benign.

A benign mass is usually three-dimensional, smooth, has regular borders and you can move it around under the skin. A malignant mass is usually firm and may be fixed to the underlying soft tissue. Guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence state all breast lumps should be referred to a breast clinic for a mammogram if you are over 45, an ultrasound if you're under 40, or in many cases, both.

FIBROCYSTIC BREAST CHANGES

These are the most common form of lumps in women in their 40s and 50s, affecting one in four women. Sometimes simply referred to as 'lumpy breasts', this umbrella term covers the differences in breast tissue caused by fluctuations in the hormones oestrogen and progesterone during a woman's cycle.

Such changes become more prominent at certain times in the month. There may be thickening, enlarging and general bumpiness, which often subsides post-period. These changes may be painful, but not always.