Is it true that there is no pain associated with breast cancer?

A fellow caregiver asked...

Is it true that there is no pain associated with breast cancer?

Expert Answer

Andrew Putnam, M.D. is a Palliative Care physician at Smilow Cancer Center at Yale New Haven Hospital and Yale University.

The amount of pain with breast cancer depends on where the cancer is. Often if at an early stage only in the breast, there may be no pain or other symptoms. Regular mammograms are needed to find those early cancers before they grow bigger. If the cancer progresses and spreads to other places like the bone, there can be pain which would require treatment with pain medications. Most people can be made comfortable with those medications.