By Dr Debanti Banerjee, Consultant – Medical Oncology, HCG Cancer Centre, Kolkata
World Breastfeeding Week rightly celebrates breastfeeding’s profound benefits for mother and child. It is also a timely moment for one caution: never dismiss a lump found while breastfeeding as “just a blocked milk duct”.
Engorgement, tenderness and benign lumps are common during lactation, but breast cancer can also be diagnosed during pregnancy or while breastfeeding. A new or persistent lump; a change in breast shape or skin; a newly inverted nipple; or blood-stained, spontaneous, one-sided or non-milky discharge deserves prompt medical assessment. So does redness, pain or swelling that does not improve.
Most such symptoms are not cancer, but assuming they are harmless can delay diagnosis. A gynaecologist or breast specialist can assess the problem. Breast ultrasonography (USG) can be safely performed during any trimester of pregnancy and throughout lactation.
None of this diminishes breastfeeding’s immense value. Evidence associates it with a lower risk of breast cancer later in life and protection against ovarian cancer. A major 2016 analysis published in The Lancet estimated that increasing breastfeeding to near-universal levels could prevent about 20,000 additional breast-cancer deaths worldwide each year.
This World Breastfeeding Week, our message must combine support with vigilance: breastfeed where possible, know what is normal for your breasts, and never ignore a persistent change.