Breast Pain

Women may experience breast pain or tenderness during or just before their menstrual periods, probably because of the hormonal changes that trigger menstruation. In most cases, breast pain is not a symptom of cancer. Sometimes, cysts in the breasts cause pain. Certain substances in foods or beverages have been suspected of causing breast pain, but avoiding these substances doesn’t seem to reduce the pain.

For most women, breast pain isn’t severe and goes away on its own after months or uears. Severe pain, which is rare, may be treated with drugs. Danazol, a very low potency synthetic hormone related to testosterone, and tamoxifen, a drug that blocks the action of estrogen, may relieve severe breast pain.