Common Breast Conditions

There are a number of benign (non-cancerous) breast conditions a woman can and probably will experience during her lifetime. These include changes that occur during the menstrual cycle and other changes that are not related to a woman's menstrual cycle. It is estimated that 50 to 90 percent of all women experience some symptoms such as breast pain, lumps, or nipple discharge by the time they reach menopause.

Common benign breast conditions generally fall into several broad categories and include: breast pain, or mastalgia, benign breast tumors and solitary lumps, fibrocystic changes, nipple problems and discharge, and infections or inflammation. It is important to note that most women have normal physiological changes, such as minor tenderness, swelling, and lumpiness that they experience before or after their menstrual periods.

Listed in the directory below are some of these benign breast conditions, for which we have provided a brief overview. If you cannot find the condition in which you are interested, please visit the Women's Health Online Resources page in this Web site for an Internet/World Wide Web address that may contain additional information on that topic.