The main clinical symptoms that can guide you and your doctor in diseases of the mammary glands are the following: tightness, breast pain, discharge from the nipple and skin changes in the area of ​​the nipple and areola. 1. The most common symptom of breast diseases is the palpation of a tumor formation. In the presence of such a sign, it is important to determine whether it is a benign or malignant condition. According to statistics, only 5% of breast lumps in women under 50 and 25% of cases in women over this age are the result of a malignant process. Each find should be specified in terms of its location, size, shape, mobility and other important characteristics. The typical formation in mammary gland carcinoma is felt and described by women as a painless seal, with irregular and indistinctly demarcated edges compared to the surrounding tissue, with severely limited mobility. The structure is usually uniform and does not change its shape during the menstrual cycle. The other tumor formation that can be felt during breast self-examination is in the region of the regional lymph nodes – the subclavian and axillary region. Suspicious (doubtful) findings for a malignant process are dense, several, fixed lymph nodes. When establishing the described findings, a consultation with a doctor is strongly recommended, and further behavior is reduced to performing mammography or ultrasound, depending on the age of the woman, and then cytological examination of the material taken by fine-needle aspiration biopsy. An excisional biopsy with histological examination of the finding is also possible. 2. Pain in the mammary gland is the second most frequent symptom that directs women to consult a doctor. Mastopathy (painful mammary glands with the formation of nodules) is mainly due to a hormonal imbalance – increased levels or systemic levels of estrogens, low progesterone, disturbances in lipid metabolism and others. It is divided into cyclic and non-cyclic. Cyclic mastopathy occurs more often in women under 50 years of age, appears before menstruation, in most cases lasts up to 4 days. The pain is not well localized and feels like burning, heaviness. Nodules are often formed. Non-cyclical mastopathy is characteristic of pre- and postmenopausal women, it is not related to the cycle. The pain is episodic and lasts for a short time. It is usually located on the inner quadrants of the gland or subareolar. It is most commonly felt as cords or pulsations. Few women diagnosed with breast cancer describe chest pain before developing the disease (less than 7%). However, the reporting of this complaint requires active follow-up, because it is found that in the preclinical phase of lobular carcinoma, when mammographic changes cannot yet be visualized, pain is precisely the first symptom. The fact that some women normally experience breast pain before menstruation as part of premenstrual syndrome is not to be overlooked.In order to rule out an organic disease, however, it is necessary to conduct a set of tests such as mammography, ultrasound of the mammary glands, puncture biopsy. For women with chest pains that are not related to a specific disease, good advice is to follow a diet low in animal fat and caffeine and rich in Vit A and Vit E. If a change in eating style does not give the desired effect, prescribe non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. 3. Secretion from the nipple can be a result of diseases of the mammary gland, neuroendocrine imbalance or intake of certain drugs (for example, most antipsychotics). Physiological secretion from the nipple is bilateral and occurs after massage or application of a pump (external stimulation). It is harmless and should not cause any disturbance. NEWS_MORE_BOX Galactorrhea is another type of breast discharge that is the discharge of milky material in a non-lactating woman. Then the most common cause does not originate from the gallbladder at all, but from the neuroendocrine system. Galactorrhea is the result of a hormonal imbalance – increased prolactin. This condition is also accompanied by a change in the menstrual cycle. It becomes scarcer and occurs at longer intervals until it stops completely (amenorrhea). Pathological secretion, which is suspicious for a malignant process, is unilateral, spontaneously flows out without external stimulation, and the type of secretion is grayish, greenish, or most frankly bloody. In such cases, exfoliative cytology and ductography (injection of a contrast agent into the ducts of the mammary gland) are adequate diagnostic methods. 4. Skin changes in the area of ​​the areola and nipple are rare, but indicative of a process occurring in the tissue of the gland. Typically, the skin lesion is a unilateral, small crusted plaque with an erythematous base and slightly raised edges. The process grows peripherally and often precedes the appearance of a tumor formation in the breast.Galactorrhea is the result of a hormonal imbalance – increased prolactin. This condition is also accompanied by a change in the menstrual cycle. It becomes scarcer and occurs at longer intervals until it stops completely (amenorrhea). Pathological secretion, which is suspicious for a malignant process, is unilateral, spontaneously flows out without external stimulation, and the type of secretion is grayish, greenish, or most frankly bloody. In such cases, exfoliative cytology and ductography (injection of a contrast agent into the ducts of the mammary gland) are adequate diagnostic methods. 4. Skin changes in the area of ​​the areola and nipple are rare, but indicative of a process occurring in the tissue of the gland. Typically, the skin lesion is a unilateral, small crusted plaque with an erythematous base and slightly raised edges. The process grows peripherally and often precedes the appearance of a tumor formation in the breast.Galactorrhea is the result of a hormonal imbalance – increased prolactin. This condition is also accompanied by a change in the menstrual cycle. It becomes scarcer and occurs at longer intervals until it stops completely (amenorrhea). Pathological secretion, which is suspicious for a malignant process, is unilateral, spontaneously flows out without external stimulation, and the type of secretion is grayish, greenish, or most frankly bloody. In such cases, exfoliative cytology and ductography (injection of a contrast agent into the ducts of the mammary gland) are adequate diagnostic methods. 4. Skin changes in the area of ​​the areola and nipple are rare, but indicative of a process occurring in the tissue of the gland. Typically, the skin lesion is a unilateral, small crusted plaque with an erythematous base and slightly raised edges. The process grows peripherally and often precedes the appearance of a tumor formation in the breast.