Heart disease causes 359,270 deaths in women every year. Total cancer deaths are 237,039 each year. Of all of the cancer deaths each year, breast cancer causes 46,000 deaths. Other valuable methods for detecting breast cancer include mammography and physician breast exam usually done every year with the physical exam. About 5 to 10 percent of breast cancers that are not palpable are initially detected by mammography.
Needle aspiration is a routine part of evaluating a palpable mass.
It is a safe, simple and an inexpensive means of immediately distinguishing cysts from solid masses. If the mass is cystic and the fluid is nonbloody on aspiration, nothing else needs to be done other than a follow-up exam. If the mass is solid, it may need to be biopsied. The majority of biopsies are not cancer and nothing else needs to be done. If the mass does show cancer then the patient will be given several options.