What is the significance of breast tenderness?
Breast tenderness is one of the most common complaints seen in the breast center. There are several names for diffuse breast tenderness: fibrocystic changes, mastodynia, and mastalgia to name a few. It is usually diffuse but may be localized and is most prevalent in the upper outer breasts. It is most often related to hormones or hormonal changes. It can be related to medications but less so than hormonal swings. It is commonly seen in pregnancy, during menstruation, during breast feeding and at the onset of menopause. It is uncommonly associated with breast cancer but when so maybe associated with an aggressive inflammatory breast carcinoma. It is usually self limited and can be treated with anti-inflammatories, caffeine and chocolate cessation, changing the exogenous hormonal status, eating a high fiber diet low in fat, and/or taking Vit. E (with the understanding of the possible adverse cardiac effects). Sometimes a biopsy is needed to relieve a painful nodule, but mostly this is a
