Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface
- Psychology, health and illness
- Medical topics
- Abortion
- Accidents and unintentional injuries
- Acne
- Alcohol abuse
- Allergies to drugs
- Allergies to food
- Allergies: general
- Amnesia
- Amputation and phantom limb pain
- Anaesthesia and psychology
- Antenatal care
- Aphasia recovery, treatment and psychosocial adjustment
- Asthma
- Back pain
- Blindness and visual disability
- Blood donation
- Breastfeeding
- Burn injuries: psychological and social aspects
- Cancer: breast
- Cancers of the digestive tract
- Cancer: general
- Cancer: gynaecologic
- Cancer: head and neck
- Cancer: Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
- Cancer: leukaemia
- Cancer: lung
- Cancer: prostate
- Cancer: skin
- Carotid artery disease and treatment
- Chemotherapy
- Child abuse and neglect
- Chromosomal abnormalities
- Chronic fatigue syndrome
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD): chronic bronchitis and emphysema
- Cleft lip and palate
- Cold, common
- Complementary medicine
- Contraception
- Coronary heart disease: impact
- Coronary heart disease: cardiac psychology
- Coronary heart disease: heart failure
- Coronary heart disease: rehabilitation
- Coronary heart disease: surgery
- Cystic fibrosis
- Acquired hearing loss
- Dementias
- Diabetes mellitus
- Domestic violence, intimate partner violence and wife battering
- Drug dependency: benzodiazepines
- Drug dependence: opiates and stimulants
- Drugs: beta-blockers
- Drugs: psychotropic medication
- Dyslexia
- Eating disorders
- Eczema
- Endocrine disorders
- Enuresis
- Epilepsy
- Epstein–Barr virus infection
- Facial disfigurement and dysmorphology
- Fetal wellbeing: monitoring and assessment
- Gastric and duodenal ulcers
- Growth retardation
- Haemophilia
- Head injury
- Headache and migraine
- Herpes
- HIV/AIDS
- Hormone replacement therapy
- Hospital acquired infection
- Huntington's disease
- Hyperactivity
- Hypertension
- Hyperthyroidism
- Hyperventilation
- Hysterectomy
- Immunization
- Incontinence
- Infertility
- Inflammatory bowel disease
- Intensive care unit
- Intimate examinations
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Lymphoedema
- Malaria
- Mastalgia (breast pain)
- Meningitis
- Menopause and postmenopause
- MMR vaccine
- Motor neurone disease
- Multiple sclerosis
- Myasthenia gravis
- Neurofibromatosis
- Non-cardiac chest pain
- Obesity
- Oral care and hygiene
- Osteoarthritis
- Osteoporosis
- Parkinson's disease
- Pelvic pain
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
- Postnatal depression
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Premature babies
- Premenstrual syndrome
- Psoriasis
- Radiotherapy
- Rape and sexual assault
- Reconstructive and cosmetic surgery
- Renal failure, dialysis and transplantation
- Repetitive strain injury
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Road traffic accidents: human factors
- Screening: antenatal
- Screening: cancer
- Screening: cardiac
- Screening: genetic
- Self-examination: breasts, testicles
- Sexual dysfunction
- Sexually transmitted infections
- Sickle cell disease
- Skin disorders
- Sleep apnoea
- Sleep disorders
- Spina bifida
- Spinal cord injury
- Sterilization and vasectomy
- Stroke
- Stuttering
- Suicide
- Tinnitus
- Tobacco use
- Toxins: environmental
- Transplantation
- Urinary tract symptoms
- Vertigo and dizziness
- Vision disorders
- Voice disorders
- Volatile substance abuse
- Vomiting and nausea
- Index
- References
Mastalgia (breast pain)
from Medical topics
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 18 December 2014
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface
- Psychology, health and illness
- Medical topics
- Abortion
- Accidents and unintentional injuries
- Acne
- Alcohol abuse
- Allergies to drugs
- Allergies to food
- Allergies: general
- Amnesia
- Amputation and phantom limb pain
- Anaesthesia and psychology
- Antenatal care
- Aphasia recovery, treatment and psychosocial adjustment
- Asthma
- Back pain
- Blindness and visual disability
- Blood donation
- Breastfeeding
- Burn injuries: psychological and social aspects
- Cancer: breast
- Cancers of the digestive tract
- Cancer: general
- Cancer: gynaecologic
- Cancer: head and neck
- Cancer: Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
- Cancer: leukaemia
- Cancer: lung
- Cancer: prostate
- Cancer: skin
- Carotid artery disease and treatment
- Chemotherapy
- Child abuse and neglect
- Chromosomal abnormalities
- Chronic fatigue syndrome
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD): chronic bronchitis and emphysema
- Cleft lip and palate
- Cold, common
- Complementary medicine
- Contraception
- Coronary heart disease: impact
- Coronary heart disease: cardiac psychology
- Coronary heart disease: heart failure
- Coronary heart disease: rehabilitation
- Coronary heart disease: surgery
- Cystic fibrosis
- Acquired hearing loss
- Dementias
- Diabetes mellitus
- Domestic violence, intimate partner violence and wife battering
- Drug dependency: benzodiazepines
- Drug dependence: opiates and stimulants
- Drugs: beta-blockers
- Drugs: psychotropic medication
- Dyslexia
- Eating disorders
- Eczema
- Endocrine disorders
- Enuresis
- Epilepsy
- Epstein–Barr virus infection
- Facial disfigurement and dysmorphology
- Fetal wellbeing: monitoring and assessment
- Gastric and duodenal ulcers
- Growth retardation
- Haemophilia
- Head injury
- Headache and migraine
- Herpes
- HIV/AIDS
- Hormone replacement therapy
- Hospital acquired infection
- Huntington's disease
- Hyperactivity
- Hypertension
- Hyperthyroidism
- Hyperventilation
- Hysterectomy
- Immunization
- Incontinence
- Infertility
- Inflammatory bowel disease
- Intensive care unit
- Intimate examinations
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Lymphoedema
- Malaria
- Mastalgia (breast pain)
- Meningitis
- Menopause and postmenopause
- MMR vaccine
- Motor neurone disease
- Multiple sclerosis
- Myasthenia gravis
- Neurofibromatosis
- Non-cardiac chest pain
- Obesity
- Oral care and hygiene
- Osteoarthritis
- Osteoporosis
- Parkinson's disease
- Pelvic pain
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
- Postnatal depression
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Premature babies
- Premenstrual syndrome
- Psoriasis
- Radiotherapy
- Rape and sexual assault
- Reconstructive and cosmetic surgery
- Renal failure, dialysis and transplantation
- Repetitive strain injury
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Road traffic accidents: human factors
- Screening: antenatal
- Screening: cancer
- Screening: cardiac
- Screening: genetic
- Self-examination: breasts, testicles
- Sexual dysfunction
- Sexually transmitted infections
- Sickle cell disease
- Skin disorders
- Sleep apnoea
- Sleep disorders
- Spina bifida
- Spinal cord injury
- Sterilization and vasectomy
- Stroke
- Stuttering
- Suicide
- Tinnitus
- Tobacco use
- Toxins: environmental
- Transplantation
- Urinary tract symptoms
- Vertigo and dizziness
- Vision disorders
- Voice disorders
- Volatile substance abuse
- Vomiting and nausea
- Index
- References
Summary
Introduction
Most women consider premenstrual mild cyclic breast pain (mastalgia) lasting for one to four days as normal. For some, however, mastalgia can be moderate-to-severe and last over five days each month, causing a great discomfort. Women with mastalgia are generally reluctant to consult medical personnel and those who do will often report recent quantitative or qualitative increases in their pain (Dixon, 1999). Because of increased awareness of breast cancer, more women than ever before are seeking professional advice (Klimberg, 1998) (see also ‘Cancer: breast’). Subjective by nature, mastalgia is difficult to quantify and, at present, few physicians adopt a systematic diagnostic approach. Available treatments are few and limited by low efficacy and multiple side effects.
Prevalence and classification
Mastalgia is the most common breast complaint for which women consult their healthcare providers: up to 70% of women under 55 years old experience it (Arona, 1998; Dixon, 1999). Many patients with mastalgia consult once (36%) or more (5%) (Ader & Shriver, 1997). Neither marital status, household income, education, nor race appears to influence these rates (Ader et al., 2001). Breast pain is usually classified as cyclical mastalgia (CM) and non-cyclical mastalgia (NCM). CM occurs in a predictable pattern, often premenstrually, while NCM is described as a constant or intermittent breast pain with no relationship to menstruation. Chest wall pain accounts for 7% of the consulting women.
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- Chapter
- Information
- Cambridge Handbook of Psychology, Health and Medicine , pp. 774 - 776Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2007