Wgat is fibrocystic diseases of Breast??

Fibrocystic breasts are characterized by lumpiness and usually discomfort in one or both breasts. The lumpiness is due to small breast masses or breast cysts. The condition is very common and benign, meaning that fibrocystic breasts and there there  not malignant(cancerous). Fibrocystic breast disease (FBD) is now referred to as fibrocystic changes or fibrocystic breast condition, is the most common cause of "lumpy breasts" and affects more than 60% of women. The condition primarily affects women between the ages of 30 and 50, and tends to resolve after menopause.Fibrocystic breast:: Fibrocystic breast condition is lumpiness in one or both breasts.

·For some women, symptoms of fibrocystic breast condition include breast tenderness and breast pain.

·Fibrocystic breast condition is a very common and benign condition.

·Normal hormonal variation during the menstrual cycle is the primary contributing factor to fibrocystic breast condition.

·Fibrocystic breast condition is a cumulative process that mainly affects women over 30 years of age and continues through perimenopause and menopause. However, the condition becomes less of a problem after menopause (Postmenopause).

·The foremost concern is not fibrocystic breast condition itself, but the threat of breast cancer.

·The lumps in fibrocystic breast condition can mimic and mask breast cancer.

·Recommended measures for women with fibrocystic breast condition include learning about the problem and its symptoms; having regular breast exams by a healthcare professional; and having regular mammograms.

·Natural home remedies, and supplements to help relieve fibrocystic breast pain that have been reported helpful in some people include vitamins C, E, B6, and A, and oil of primrose.

·Over the counter (OTC) medicines that may help the pain of fibrocystic breasts include nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like aspirin, naproxen (Aleve), and ibuprofen (Advil). 

·Other treatments of fibrocystic breast condition aims at the relief of breast tenderness and addressing any menstrual irregularities.

The diagnosis of fibrocystic breasts is complicated by the fact that the condition can vary widely in its severity. Breast Pain Symptoms

Many women experience mild monthly breast pain in conjunction with their menstrual periods. For some women, however, the pain can be more severe. This premenstrual breast pain is referred to as cyclic breast discomfort.

Much less common causes of breast pain include benign growths in the breasts (including cysts such as in fibrocystic breast condition), breast cancer, and certain medications. Breast pain is called mastodynia, mastalgia, or mammalgia by physicians.

What are the symptoms of lumps, cysts, or fibrosis of the breasts?

In some women, the symptoms of fibrocystic breast condition can be very mild with minimal breast tenderness or pain. The symptoms can also be limited in time, usually occurring only premenstrually. It may not even be possible to feel any lumps when the breasts are examined by the woman herself or by her doctor. In other women with fibrocystic breasts, the painful breasts and tenderness are constant, and many lumpy or nodular areas can be felt throughout both breasts.

Which women develop fibrocystic breasts? Can you have the condition after menopause (postmenopause)?

Fibrocystic breast condition primarily affects women 30 years of age and older. The reason for this is that the condition likely results from a cumulative process of repeated monthly hormonal cycles and the accumulation of fluid, cells, and cellular debris within the breast. The process starts with puberty and continues through menopause. After menopause (postmenopause), fibrocystic breast condition becomes less of a problem.

Can fibrocystic breast condition occur in only one breast?

Not usually. As a rule, fibrocystic breast condition tends to be symmetrical (bilateral) and affects both breasts. A woman can have more fibrocystic involvement in one breast than in the other. The less affected breast, however, often "catches up" over the years, and eventually both breasts become almost equally fibrocystic.

Is there a difference between fibrocystic breast condition and fibrocystic breast disease?

No. In the past, fibrocystic breast condition was often called fibrocystic breast disease. However, it is not a disease, but a condition. Most women tend to have some lumpiness in their breasts. Therefore, it is now being more appropriately termed fibrocystic breast condition. The abbreviation is FCC (an acronym derived from FibroCystic breast Condition).

Other names that have been applied to fibrocystic breast condition include mammary dysplasia, chronic cystic mastitis, diffuse cystic mastopathy, and benign breast disease (a term that includes other benign breast disorders, including infections).

What causes cysts, fibrocystic, or "lumpy" breasts?

Fibrocystic breast condition involves the glandular breast tissue. The sole known biologic function of these glands is the production, or secretion, of milk. Occupying a major portion of the breast, the glandular tissue is surrounded by fatty tissue and support elements. The glandular tissue is composed of different types of cells: (1) clusters of secretory cells (cells that produce milk) that are connected to the milk ducts (tiny tubes); and (2) the cells that line the surfaces of the secretory cells, called the epithelial cells.

The most significant contributing factor to fibrocystic breast condition is a woman's normal hormonal variation during her monthly cycle. Many hormonal changes occur as a woman's body prepares each month for a possible pregnancy. The most important of these hormones are estrogen and progesterone. They directly affect the breast tissues by causing cells to grow and multiply.

Many hormones aside from estrogen and progesterone also play an important role in causing fibrocystic breasts. Prolactin, growth factor, insulin, and thyroid hormone are some of the other major hormones that are produced outside of the breast tissue, yet act in important ways on the breast. In addition, the breast itself produces hormonal products from its glandular and fat cells. Signals that are released from these hormonal products are sent to neighboring breast cells. The signals from these hormone-like factors may, in fact, be the key contributors to the symptoms of fibrocystic breast condition. These substances may also enhance the effects of estrogen and progesterone and vice versa.

The same cyclical hormones that prepare the glandular tissue in the breast for the possibility of milk production (lactation) are also responsible for a woman's menstrual period. However, there is a major difference between what happens in the breast and uterus.

In the uterus (the womb), these hormones promote the growth and multiplication of the cells lining the uterus. If pregnancy does not occur, this uterine lining is sloughed off and discharged from a woman's body during menstruation.

In the breast, these same hormones stimulate the growth of glandular breast tissue. They also increase the activity of blood vessels, cell metabolism, and supporting tissue. All this activity may contribute to the feeling of breast fullness and fluid retention that women commonly experience before their menstrual period.

When the monthly cycle is over, however, these stimulated breast cells cannot simply slough away and pass out of the body like the lining of the uterus. Instead, many of these breast cells undergo a process of programed cell death, called apoptosis. During apoptosis, enzymes are activated that start digesting cells from within. These cells break down and the resulting cellular fragments are then further broken down by scavenger cells (inflammatory cells) and nearby glandular cells.

During this process, the fragments of broken cells and the inflammation may lead to scarring (fibrosis) that damages the ducts and the clusters (lobules) of glandular tissue within the breast. The inflammatory cells and some of the breakdown fragments may release hormone-like substances that in turn act on the nearby glandular, ductal, and structural support cells.

The amount of cellular breakdown products, the degree of inflammation, and the efficiency of the cellular cleanup process in the breast vary from woman to woman. These factors may also fluctuate from month to month in an individual woman. They may even vary in different areas of the same breast.

Can caffeine and other foods in the diet cause fibrocystic breasts?

Caffeine has been implicated as contributing to both the symptoms and scarring (fibrocystic) changes in fibrocystic breast condition. However, when the scientific evidence is reviewed, the results are conflicting, and no firm benefit of caffeine restriction has been scientifically established. Moreover, there appears to be no evidence that caffeine increases the risk of breast cancer. However, in women with fibrocystic breast condition, a trial of caffeine restriction may be helpful. (Note that coffee is not the only source of caffeine. Tea, chocolate, and certain soft drinks also contain caffeine.)

At this time, there is a great deal of circumstantial evidence that dietary and hormonal factors can affect fibrocystic breast condition. Still, a firm association between dietary factors and fibrocystic breast condition has not been established