Breast cancer physical examination
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1] Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Mirdula Sharma, MBBS [2]
Overview
Patients with breast cancer usually are generally well appearing. Physical examination of patients with breast cancer is usually remarkable for lump in the breast, peau d'orange, and inverted nipple.
Physical Examination
General Appearance
- Patients with breast cancer are generally well appearing.Patients are generally oriented to time, place, and person.[1][2]
Neck
Enlarged supraclavicular lymph nodes
Breast
- Lump
- may be attached to the skin or chest wall and cannot be moved.
- The lump may feel hard, irregular in shape and very different from the rest of the breast tissue
- The lump may be tender, but it is usually not painful.
- Dimpling of the skin
- Peau d'orange
- thickening and dimpling of the skin
- Change in size of affected breast
- Inverted nipple
- Redness, swelling and increased warmth - in Inflammatory breast cancer
- Crusting, ulcers or scaling on the nipple - in Paget's disease of breast
- Discharge from nipple - mostly bloody
Respiratory
Signs of metastasis
- Pleural effusion
- Consolidation
Abdomen
Signs of metastasis to liver
- Jaundice
- Hepatomegaly
- Ascites
Extremity
Signs of metastasis
- Bone tenderness
- Pathological fractures
Neuromuscular
Signs of metastasis
- Headache
- Seizure
- Personality change
- Papilloedema
References
- ↑ Breast Cancer. Ganfyd (2015) http://www.ganfyd.org/index.php?title=Breast_cancer#Presenting_Symptoms Accessed on january 16, 2016
- ↑ Breast cancer. Canadian Cancer Society (2015) http://www.cancer.ca/en/cancer-information/cancer-type/breast/signs-and-symptoms/?region=on#ixzz3xScycfqv Accessed on January 16, 2016