What tests should be performed for breast pain?

Breast pain is a common disease among women, and no woman has never experienced breast pain. Many women with breast pain simply take some medicine to relieve the pain. In fact, when women have breast pain, they need to go to a medical institution for examination. Some women don’t know what to check for breast pain. Here we will introduce to you what items need to be checked for breast pain.

A breast exam is a routine test to check for abnormalities in the breasts. The best time is generally around the 7th to 10th day after the end of menstruation, because at this time the effect of estrogen on the breast is minimal, the breast is in a relatively static state, and breast lesions or abnormalities are easy to be discovered. Postmenopausal women can choose to examine their breasts at any time.

Breast pain examination items mainly include the following:

1. Doctor's palpation: This is the first step in a professional breast examination. Women over 30 should have a regular examination every year. The examination includes: whether the nipple is sunken, lifted, or has discharge; whether there are lumps or dimples in the breast; whether the position of the two breasts is consistent and whether there is any change in color.

2. Color Doppler ultrasound examination: This is a preliminary screening method for breast lumps, which can be used to determine the nature and location of the lumps. However, it has poor recognition ability for masses less than 1 cm in diameter, and if this test is done alone, smaller masses may be missed. When a breast lump is suspected, color Doppler ultrasound examination is a must.

3. Mammography: This examination is performed by clamping the breast on the support plate of the mammography machine to fix the breast and obtain a clear image. It can detect some tiny tumor buds that cannot be felt by hand. If such examinations are carried out every year, the patient mortality rate can be reduced to 30% to 40%. Women should have a mammogram every year after age 40.

Among them, breast mammography, whose full name is breast mammography X-ray examination, also known as molybdenum target examination, is currently the first choice and the simplest and most reliable non-invasive detection method for diagnosing breast diseases. It is relatively less painful, simple and easy to perform, and has high resolution and good repeatability. The images retained can be used for before and after comparison, and are not restricted by age or body shape. It is currently used as a routine examination. Experts say that its characteristic is that it can detect breast lumps that doctors cannot feel, especially for atrial and fatty breasts, with a diagnostic accuracy of up to 95%. For T0 breast cancer (clinically negative for palpation) with a few tiny calcifications as the only manifestation, it can only be discovered and diagnosed early with the help of soft X-ray examinations. The diagnostic sensitivity of breast cancer is 82% to 89%, and the specificity is 87% to 94%.