How Is Breast Cancer Diagnosed? Although breast cancer is
sometimes found after symptoms appear, many women with early
breast cancer have no symptoms. This is why getting the
recommended screening tests (as described in “Can breast cancer
be found early?”) before any symptoms develop is so important.
If something suspicious is found during a screening exam, or if
you have any of the symptoms of breast cancer described below,
your doctor will use one or more methods to find out if the
disease is present. If cancer is found, other tests will be done
to determine the stage (extent) of the cancer. Signs and
symptoms Although widespread use of screening mammograms has
increased the number of breast cancers found before they cause
any symptoms, some breast cancers are not found by mammogram,
either because the test was not done or because, even under
ideal conditions, mammograms do not find every breast cancer.
The most common sign of breast cancer is a new lump or mass. A
painless, hard mass that has irregular edg