Are masses and tumors the same?

Most people often associate lump and tumor, and easily confuse the two, thinking that lump and tumor are the same. In fact, a lump is not necessarily a tumor or cancer, but it is definitely a lump before cancer. In fact, if we observe carefully and touch it, we can judge whether the lump is good or bad. However, if you want to confirm the disease, it is best to go to the hospital for relevant examinations.

If you feel a lump on your body, it is most likely one of the four common superficial lumps: lipoma, swollen lymph nodes, various cysts, and skin cancer. In clinical practice, the nature of a lump is often roughly judged based on its location, size, hardness, tenderness, and boundaries.

Lipoma

Soft texture and wide distribution

"Lipoma is a benign tumor formed by the proliferation of mature adipose tissue and has no impact on life." Director Wang introduced that lipoma is soft in texture, round or lobed in shape, located under the skin and can be pushed; and the tumors vary in size, some are as small as soybeans and can only be felt by hand, while others are as large as eggs and can bulge out from the skin, but the surface skin remains normal. Lipomas can be single or multiple and can occur anywhere on the body, most commonly on the shoulders, back, and abdomen, and generally cause no symptoms.

The lipoma is located in the subcutaneous tissue and is not adhered to the surface skin. The skin surface is completely normal, and the deep base below the lump is wider. During the examination, if you press the base of the lipoma tightly with your hand, you can see a lobed shape, that is, it is like a petal with boundaries around it and connected in the middle.

Multiple lipomas are more common in young male patients aged 30 to 40. They are slightly harder than ordinary lipomas and will cause pain when compressed when they are larger. Therefore, they are also called painful lipomas or multiple lipomas. Clinically, it is found that such patients have hyperlipidemia or significantly increased blood viscosity, and many people in their families have similar conditions. Analysis shows that this may be due to long-term consumption of greasy food.

"Although this type of tumor develops very slowly, most of the time it has no serious adverse effects on the body and rarely becomes malignant. However, lipomas not only affect the appearance, but as they grow they will compress the nerves and cause pain, affecting the body's normal functions. Under the guidance of a doctor, a needle aspiration cytology test can be performed to make a clear diagnosis, and then larger lumps can be surgically removed. Small lumps can be controlled by adjusting eating habits and taking oral medications." Director Wang reminded.

Swollen lymph nodes

There are good and bad subdivisions

"The superficial lymph nodes of normal people are very small, with a diameter of less than 0.5 cm. The surface is smooth and soft, with no adhesion to the surrounding tissues and no tenderness." Director Wang introduced that benign lymph node lumps are soft in texture, smooth and slidable around, and will cause pain when there is inflammation. However, malignant lymph node lumps are hard in texture, with unclear and rough boundaries. They will not cause pain in the early stages, only tenderness, and are located on one side. For example, masses that metastasize to the lymph nodes from other malignant tumors are usually single.

Therefore, you can touch your neck, armpits, groin, etc. more often to check your lymph nodes. If you find a painless, hard, fixed, and rough lymph node mass, you should pay attention to it. Generally speaking, children are more prone to acute lymphadenitis. For example, the lymph nodes in the head and neck will swell when they have a cold. However, swollen lymph nodes are also common even when the body is not infected. Clinically, puncture and other examinations are performed on such children and it is found that it is just common lymphadenitis, which can be ignored.

If young people suddenly develop swollen lymph nodes, it may be due to tuberculosis infection. If there is an infection in the lungs, it is tuberculosis and you should be careful to avoid infection. If it is just simple lymphadenopathy, it is not contagious.

Swollen lymph nodes in the armpits and elbows, especially when they are the size of an egg, are likely a sign of cat scratch disease, a bacterial infection caused by a previous scratch on the hands or upper limbs by a cat or dog. This disease should be treated promptly, otherwise it may take more than half a year to recover, which will cause psychological panic.

Director Wang pointed out that in addition to lymphadenitis, swollen lymph nodes may also be the result of malignant lymphoma and other malignant tumors metastasizing to the lymph nodes. Middle-aged and elderly people should be especially vigilant. However, there is a difference between benign lymphadenopathy and malignant lymphadenopathy.

Sebaceous cyst

Eliminate beauty killers as soon as possible

Among all kinds of cysts, the most common one is sebaceous cyst, which is mainly due to the obstruction of the sebaceous gland excretion duct, and the sebaceous gland cystic epithelium is expanded by the gradually increasing contents to form a retention cyst. Its common sites include face, armpits, groin, etc.

Sebaceous cysts protrude from the surface of the skin, and patients generally have no symptoms. The tumor is spherical, single or multiple, medium hard, elastic, higher than the skin surface, adhered to the skin, not easy to move, smooth surface, no fluctuations, the center may be light blue, sometimes with openings on the skin surface, squeezing may reveal tofu dregs or noodle mud-like contents. If infection occurs, inflammatory reactions such as redness, swelling, heat and pain may occur.

"Although the characteristic of various cysts is that they are slowly growing benign lesions, they may also affect function or appearance. Therefore, correct treatment should be carried out in a timely manner under the guidance of a doctor," Director Wang reminded.

Acne on the face is a cyst formed by inflammation of the hair follicles; ganglion cysts may occur when people play games frequently or have been injured, or when the elderly often hold children; ischial tuberosity cysts are a lump on the ischium of the buttocks, which is more common in thin elderly people who sit on hard benches for a long time. "There are also dermoid cysts, which grow slowly. I once removed a huge dermoid cyst on the buttocks that weighed 7 kilograms and had lasted for more than 30 years. Before the operation, the patient's normal physiological functions, such as walking, sitting, etc., were greatly affected." Director Wang said.

Skin cancer

The texture is hard and dangerous

"Basal cell carcinoma is actually a common skin cancer." Director Wang said that skin cancer usually refers to malignant tumors that originate in the skin. Common ones include squamous cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma, malignant melanoma, and others include carcinoma in situ, eczematoid carcinoma, idiopathic hemorrhagic sarcoma, etc. The main manifestations of skin cancer include skin ulcers, nodules, lumps, papules, wart-like protrusions, abnormal pigmentation, etc., but many patients do not pay attention to them.

In the early stages of basal cell carcinoma, nodules or lumps are usually formed on the skin. They are hard in texture and may be asymptomatic or accompanied by itching. They gradually increase in size and often break open to form ulcers as the disease progresses. Clinically, skin squamous cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma, malignant melanoma, etc. can all develop from the ulceration of skin nodules, papules, warts, melanocytic nevi, etc.