Could this be a sign of breast cancer?
Monday, October 19th, 2009 at
7:29 am
Jessica asked:
I had some dark gray, almost black discharge from my left nipple last night. I have been noticing over the past few months my nipples are very sensitive to touch. Its not that they hurt to touch them its hard to describe. My grandmother and great aunt both have had breast cancer. They found a large mass in the same breast a few years ago. I was told it was fibrocystic breast disease . Could that cause the discharge? I have a doctors appointment in the morning, but I have been worrying all night and day.
I had some dark gray, almost black discharge from my left nipple last night. I have been noticing over the past few months my nipples are very sensitive to touch. Its not that they hurt to touch them its hard to describe. My grandmother and great aunt both have had breast cancer. They found a large mass in the same breast a few years ago. I was told it was fibrocystic breast disease . Could that cause the discharge? I have a doctors appointment in the morning, but I have been worrying all night and day.
Filed under: Breast Cancer
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Go to the doctorASAP!!. Any discharge could be a sign, but instead of causing yourself constant worry, better be safe that sorry.
Good Luck
see a doctor NOW!
Could be. See the doc and don’t focus on it till then….
It’s about 99.5% treatable so will almost certainly be ok.
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It may just be an infected cyst. Hang in there. I have fibrocystic breasts and they always scare me to death. Good luck.
Don’t worry, just get checked. Any nipple discharge needs to be checked to be safe.
Good luck to you and let us know how it goes ok?
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I hate to break it out to you, but considering your grandmother and great aunt have had breast cancer, it’s possible that you *might* have it too. Sensitivity of the breast and black discharge may be a sign of an earlier stage of breast cancer. So I suggest you to seek the doctor’s advice first.
All the best!
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Well lets pray that it is nothing major. I say it sounds strange I really don’t know . I will pray right now . Lord please be with this lady for she needs you to help strengthen her body . We pray Lord that she is healthy and disease free . Cleanse her body with your love . Good Luck !
Found a question and answer on a breast site
I am a 31 year old woman with fibrocystic breasts. I have never had children, but recently when squeezing my nipples on breast exam I discovered a discharge coming from both nipples. The discharge was white and cloudy but with a slight yellow/green color if put on white cloth. My doctor ran a blood test to check for a condition having to do with the pituitary gland. I received a letter in the mail stating that the blood test showed normal levels of prolactin indicating no pituitary tumor. The doctor told me that sometimes stress can cause women to lactate. I am concerned and want to know if this sounds feasible. It has been two weeks and I am still discharging upon squeezing my nipples. I am worried my doctor is being hasty at writing this off to stress. Please help.
First of all, stop squeezing your nipples. This may increase the discharge just like lactation. Leave off all nipple stimulation for at least 2 to 3 months.
As long as the doctor noted that the discharge was milky or looked at it with a stain under the microscope for fat globules, then it is a physiologic discharge which is like lactation. If there were fat globules, then the discharge is galactorrhea which is a hormonal, dysfunctional disorder that will worsen or persist with chronic nipple squeezing. I do not consider once a month squeezing for breast exam harmful with galactorrhea, but daily or every other day squeezing will likely make galactorrhea persist and worsen. If it is galactorrhea, since the blood test is normal, then nothing else needs to be done except as above with hands off.
If there were not fat globules on the microscopic exam, the discharge is likely due to the fibrocystic changes and you can squeeze to express the nipples all you want and it will not improve or worsen the discharge. You do, however, need to watch for any blood in the discharge or if it turns green and sticky from the nipple.
If the discharge without stimulation turns yellowish as it comes from the nipple or becomes greenish brown or black, then you need to be reexamined by a breast surgeon to be evaluated for mammary duct ectasia, papillomas or breast cancer. If work-ups for those are negative, then it can just be followed under the assumption it is due to “fibrocystic changes”.
It’s good that you are seeing a doctor in the morning! You need to. It could be a sign of breast cancer and it could be a lot of other things as well. If breast cancer is caught early it can be taken care of! Good luck to you. Please post back after your appointment tomorrow!
Mammary duct ectasia. Mammary duct ectasia is one of the most common causes of abnormal nipple discharge. One or more of the ducts beneath your nipple becomes inflamed and clogged with a thick, sticky, green or black substance. Most often, mammary duct ectasia affects women in their 40s and 50s. You can relieve some of your symptoms by applying warm compresses to your breast. Taking aspirin or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen, may help relieve some symptoms. Also, your doctor may prescribe antibiotics to clear up any infection. In some cases, surgery might be necessary to remove the affected duct.