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Lumps and bumps: When to worry, what to do

    by Bethany Sterling
    Published 
Finding an unexpected lump or bump in the soft tissues of your body can be scary. Often, your mind immediately goes straight to the worst case scenario.
However, benign (non-cancerous) tumors occur far more often than malignant (cancerous) tumors.

In fact, it's estimated that a sarcoma, a malignant tumor involving the connective tissues (bone, muscle, fat, nerve, tendon), accounts for only one percent of all cancer diagnoses. It's so rare that there are only about 30 new cases for every million people a year.

Still, if you identify a bump, lump or mass, you should get it checked out by a medical professional, preferably a specialist who operates in a university setting and routinely evaluates patients with soft tissue tumors. A specialist will know about rare tumors both benign and malignant and understand the best way to treat them.
Here are some attributes that may suggest cause for concern:

  1. *  A lump, bump or mass that grows or changes over time.

  2. *  The lump, bump or mass is hard, non-mobile, or deep in the tissues.

  3. *  The lump, bump, or mass affects how you move and/or your daily activities.

  4. *   Pain from the mass does not go away or wakes you from sleep (most soft tissue sarcomas are actually painless).

  5. Lumps, bumps, and masses are best evaluated with assessment of symptoms and a clinical exam, followed by appropriate imaging studies. If there is uncertainty to what a lump, bump, or mass might be after the imaging studies are performed, a biopsy should be performed for a diagnosis prior to any surgical removal or treatment.

  6. Most major medical centers now use image guided needle biopsy rather than a surgical biopsy. This procedure can be completed quickly with the least amount of contamination or complications and is highly accurate in most cases.

  7. A diagnosis is critical because benign soft tissue tumors are removed and treated differently than malignant (cancerous) tumors. Careful attention and detail is required for the surgical removal of a malignant soft tissue tumor, which includes removing the tumor and any potentially problematic surrounding cells, obtaining a wide margin.

  8. Given how rare these tumors are, it is important to find a surgeon who is familiar with the appropriate approach to benign or malignant soft tissue tumors. Inappropriate evaluation or surgery can negatively impact limb and life.

  9. Bethany Sterling is a nurse practitioner who works with Kristy Weber, M.D. at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the Abramson Cancer Center.

Read more Diagnosis: Cancer here »