When it comes to some awareness symptoms for the informed woman should watch for, there may be some symptoms when the cancer starts to grow over time, but rarely are there any initial painful symptoms. There may be a lump or thickening near or in the breast or underarm area. The breast size or shape may change, and or there may be nipple discharge. There too could be changes in the breast, areola, or nipple skin texture or coloring tones. These signs listed above are all very good reasons for breast cancer diagnosis to be looked into by a physician. All though chances are that it may not be breast cancer; the chances of it being breast cancer are not worth the risk.

When a woman goes into her physician for breast cancer diagnosis, the physician will check the area of suspicion in three different ways. First, there would be palpation. This is when your doctor feels the lump by hand. Your doctor can tell many important things just by feeling the area around the lump and by moving the lump its self. Along with movement of the lump, the size and texture will give information to point out if the lump is most likely benign or not. There is a difference in feel of a cancerous and non-cancerous lump, and a qualified doctor will know a lot from this fist step.

The next step of a good physician will be to a Mammography. This is a breast X-ray of the lump and surrounding area. This X-ray will show the lump from different angles. If there is still is un-clarity by your physician, there will be more extensive X-rays done. For breast cancer diagnosis, many physicians will go on to do an Ultrasonography. An Ultrasonography is done by using high-frequency sound waves, and may even be used along with a Mammography. The Ultrasonography will most always show whether a lump is filled with fluid or solid.

Even if your physician is most completely satisfied that the lump found is not cancerous, there usually is still one more test to be done. This would be Aspiration, but many know this test by the less technical name of a needle biopsy. A needle biopsy is when the physician uses a needle to remove fluid or a small amount of tissue directly from the breast lump it’s self. This is a procedure that should show if the lump is only a fluid-filled cyst or a solid mass. A fluid-filled cyst would not be cancer and the solid mass could or could not be cancerous. For breast cancer diagnosis, the tissue removed by the physician, would then be sent to the lab. If the physician decides on there needing to be a surgical biopsy instead, there are different concerns and questions for women and their awareness: for breast cancer diagnosis to be asking. Some of these questions should be asking what type of surgical biopsy specifically will be done, and why that type chosen. Asking questions about any type of biopsy will tend to put your mind at ease, at least for the moment. Asking about the pain and how soon the results will be known are important to also know.

For breast cancer diagnosis, it is best to be mentally prepared for even the worst news. When cancer is found, your physician or the pathologist will tell be able to answer most all of your questions of what the next move should be. There is most always a referral given that specializes in treating your cancer. The chosen treatments will start within the first few weeks after diagnosis. The time before treatment starts gives the patient time to get second opinions, prepare family members and research alternative treatments if desired.