Breast cancer can feel different depending on the type and stage, but common sensations and signs include:
- A lump or thickening in the breast or armpit that feels hard, firm, and unlike the surrounding tissue. Cancerous lumps are often irregular in shape, hard, and fixed in place rather than soft or movable
- Some lumps may feel like a "shelf" beneath the skin or cause the breast tissue to feel thicker or harder, especially in lobular carcinoma, which may not form a distinct lump
- Changes in the breast such as swelling, a change in size or shape, or skin changes like dimpling, redness, puckering, or an "orange peel" texture. The breast may also feel sore or inflamed
- Nipple changes such as inversion (turning inward), rash, scaling, or discharge (sometimes bloody) without squeezing
- Pain or tenderness can occur but is less common; lumps themselves usually do not hurt. Some people report a prickly or uncomfortable feeling in the breast
- In advanced or metastatic breast cancer, symptoms can include bone pain, weight loss, fatigue, and other systemic signs depending on where the cancer has spread
Overall, breast cancer lumps feel firm, hard, and unlike normal breast tissue, and they do not go away or fluctuate with menstrual cycles. Any new lump, persistent breast pain, skin or nipple changes should be evaluated by a healthcare professional promptly
. In summary, breast cancer often feels like a hard, irregular lump or thickening in the breast or armpit, sometimes accompanied by skin or nipple changes, and may or may not be painful
