Benign Breast Disease and Treatments

Many benign breast diseases will never become cancerous, but some cause cell changes that can increase your cancer risk. Virginia Mason Franciscan Health offers a comprehensive array of tests and treatments. Our breast health experts evaluate and diagnose your symptoms to provide lasting relief.

Doctors with advanced fellowship training and nurse practitioners specializing in breast diseases guide your care. Our program treats a high volume of women, including people with common and rare forms of benign disease. This depth of experience leads to appropriate services that preserve your breast health. Find a women's health provider.

Highlights of our program include: 

• Specialized imaging: We often use breast ultrasound to rule out or confirm benign breast disease. Many of our facilities maintain American College of Radiology (ACR) accreditation in ultrasound and other types of breast cancer screening. Our highly qualified imaging team follows rigorous quality control standards for results you can trust. 

• Convenient locations: We make it easier to access care for benign breast disease and tumors. Virginia Mason Franciscan Health has specialists and imaging centers throughout the Puget Sound area. 

• Ongoing care: If we identify a high-risk lesion, experts provide ongoing monitoring through our high-risk services. Your care may involve annual breast imaging and clinical breast exams every six months. These efforts detect subtle changes in breast tissue, enabling you to receive timely care.

Take our breast cancer health risk assessment and learn whether you’re at higher risk for breast cancer and what what you can do to reduce your risk.

Some breast diseases do not cause symptoms. Others cause issues that are difficult to ignore, such as: 

• Breast lump that comes and goes 
• Nipple discharge
• Breast pain
• Redness or inflammation of the breast

Experts at Virginia Mason Franciscan Health have experience treating rare and common benign breast diseases, including: 

• Atypical hyperplasia: Abnormal cells form in breast milk ducts or lobules. Atypical hyperplasia isn't cancer, but it increases breast cancer risk.
• Breast cyst: This fluid-filled sac often occurs in premenopausal women. It doesn’t increase your cancer risk.                          
• Fibroadenoma: This is the most common benign breast tumor. It occurs due to excess growth of surrounding breast tissue and doesn’t increase breast cancer risk.  
• Fibrocystic breast changes: This condition causes breast tenderness, cysts and areas of rubbery or ropy tissue that typically come and go during perimenopause.
• Intraductal papilloma: Wart-like growths form in the milk ducts, often near the nipple.  
• Lipoma: A lump of fatty tissue forms beneath the skin’s surface and moves easily with light pressure.
• Lobular carcinoma in situ: This condition occurs when atypical cells develop in the milk glands but have not spread to other areas of the breast.
• Mastitis: Breast tissue becomes inflamed and painful, typically due to blocked milk ducts. It can lead to infection but doesn’t increase the risk of breast cancer. 

Some concerns, like breast cysts, don’t require treatment, especially if they don’t cause symptoms. Instead, we may recommend ongoing monitoring. Or, you may not need any further action, especially if the condition might go away on its own.

If you experience symptoms, however, you should visit a breast specialist for an evaluation. Treatment may be right for you if a breast disease causes discomfort or is large, growing rapidly or precancerous. For these issues, care typically involves surgery to remove the growth.

Our specialists care for patients across the Puget Sound area and beyond. Find a women's health provider near you.