What does a mass in your chest mean?
What does a mass in your chest mean?
Like any other part of the body, the walls of the chest cavity are susceptible to tumors. A tumor is any type of abnormal growth of cells, whether malignant (cancerous) or benign (non-cancerous). Chest wall tumors can interfere with pulmonary function.
What could cause a mass in the chest?
It is unclear what causes chest wall tumors, although diet, lifestyle choices, and hereditary factors are believed to play a role. Soft-tissue chest wall tumors don’t usually cause symptoms until the tumor is advanced. Tumors that are made up of cartilage or bone often cause pain, swelling, and impaired movement.
How do you tell if you have a mass in your chest?
Symptoms of cancerous chest wall tumors may include: Pain or soreness in the chest area. Swelling. Impaired movement….Benign chest wall tumors may cause:
- A lump or bump protruding from the chest.
- Pain.
- Muscle atrophy.
Are chest tumors curable?
If the tumor is benign, no treatment may be required, although at times, proving that a chest wall tumor is benign requires that it be removed (excisional biopsy). The treatment of a malignant chest wall tumor may involve chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery, or a combination of all three.
Can you have a mass in your chest?
The chest is a muscular, bony cage that contains and protects your heart, lungs, esophagus, and liver. It includes the rib cage, sternum, and thoracic vertebrae, along with connective tissue and muscles. Tumors can grow in the chest wall—both non-cancerous (b)enign and cancerous (malignant) in nature.
What chest tumor feels like?
The most common symptoms of chest wall cancer are: Chest pain. Swelling in the chest. A mass or lump protruding from the chest.
What is a soft tissue mass in chest?
Common chest wall soft tissue tumours and mass-like lesions include peripheral nerve tumours, lipomas, liposarcomas, haemangiomas, elastofibromas, metastases, lymphoma and abscesses. Other lesions encountered include desmoid tumours and malignant fibrous histiocytoma.
What does a lump in the chest feel like?
Depending on the cause, chest lumps may be single or multiple, soft or firm, painful or painless. They may grow rapidly or may not change in size. Chest lumps due to local infectious causes may appear as boils, or abscesses.
Can a tumor grow in your chest?
The chest wall includes the spine, sternum, and ribs. Many types of tumors can grow in this structure. Some are primary tumors, which originate in the chest wall; these can be either benign or malignant. Others are secondary tumors, which spread (metastasize) to the chest wall from another site in the body.
Do chest tumors hurt?
Tumors in the chest wall typically manifest as painful, quickly growing and easily palpable masses. Surgery is often necessary, and may be followed by plastic surgery reconstruction to recreate a normal appearance.
Can chest xrays show tumors?
Chest X-rays can detect cancer, infection or air collecting in the space around a lung, which can cause the lung to collapse. They can also show chronic lung conditions, such as emphysema or cystic fibrosis, as well as complications related to these conditions. Heart-related lung problems.
What does a mass in the chest area usually mean?
Tumors (also called neoplasms) are masses of cells. They can be benign (not cancer) or malignant (cancer). Mediastinal tumors are growths that form in the area of the chest that separates the lungs. This area, called the mediastinum, is surrounded by the breastbone in front, the spine in back, and the lungs on each side.
What causes chest mass?
Chest lumps can be caused by any number of conditions, including infections, inflammation, tumors or trauma. Depending on the cause, chest lumps may be single or multiple, soft or firm, painful or painless. They may grow rapidly or may not change in size. Chest lumps due to local infectious causes may appear as boils, or abscesses.
What are the signs of a chest tumor?
One of the most common symptoms of a chest tumor is pain. The pain is usually located around the area where the tumor is growing, but it can also be more generalized; people often feel a dull ache around the ribcage, for instance, or they may feel shooting pains when they move one or both arms.
What are the symptoms of Chest Cancer?
There are usually a number of different symptoms associated with chest tumors, but the most common tend to be pain in the torso, visible protrusions and lumps, and difficulty breathing.