Breast Cancer Q's?

[Tropical]

I'm working on a project for school and was wondering if you can help me with the following questions I have, because the reasearch I've done so far contradicts itself.1) What exactly does this mean: "a lump or mass in the breast (a hard, stony mass is usually malignant) "2) Is it true that breast cancer occurs more often in the left breast?3) Symptoms listed often include "edema of the arm"... what does that mea?

[SapphireTigress]

I don't know about the more-occurring side, but I'll take a stab at the others.When a woman does a self-breast exam and finds a lump, usually they are soft or firm. The firm ones are usually cause for concern, because it has differentiated (changed remarkably on a cellular level) from the surrounding tissue. Not all hard lumps are malignant, and not all soft lumps are benign, but that's a general rule of thumb and good enough to get someone to the doctor to check it out."Edema of the arm" is technically called "lymphedema." This usually happens after a complete breast removal (mastectomy) with dissection of axillary nodes (removing the lymph nodes from the armpits) on the same side. In this scenario, the lymph nodes aren't there and aren't able to help drain the fluids from the shoulder down, nor can it filter the blood returning to the heart, and it ends up causing a lot of fluid buildup in the arm when it pools in the tissue. The tissues are filled with fluid and swell, which is called edema. I don't know if this is enough, but I think I've got enough here to get you on the right track.