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"It's crucial that women are aware that a lump is not the only symptom of breast cancer," said Monica Koo the Ph.D. scholar from University College London while presenting her paper to the National Cancer Research Institute. According to Koo's study on the symptoms of breast cancer, around 1 in 6 women (accounting for 17 percent) who are diagnosed to have breast cancer had initial symptoms other than just a lump.

Go to your Doctor if who are have any uncommon breast symptoms!

Most women think that lumps are the only symptoms of breast cancer and are more likely to wait to see their doctor till they felt visible symptoms. This causes a delay in diagnosis at the earlier stages of cancer development.

Studies on breast cancer, have always quoted a lump on the breast as the initial symptom and have been spreading awareness to consult a doctor immediately if they found anything uncommon. However, a    new research report from England adds a few more symptoms to breast cancer other than the Lumps.

"If they are worried about any breast symptoms, the best thing to do is to get it checked by a doctor as soon as possible." says Koo in one of her statements.

The research on 2,300 unveils new Breast Cancer Symptoms...

Data on 2,300 women diagnosed with breast cancer from the English National Audit between 2009 and 2010 formed the base of the research. Patients were classified according to the symptoms that brought them to the doctor. These initial symptoms could be more than one. This initial data analysis reported that 83 percent of women had a breast lump.

The report also showed that seven percent had nipple defects, six percent experienced pain in the breast, two percent faced skin related issues on the breast and one percent suffered breast ulceration. Less than one percent each had experienced abnormalities on the external areas of the breast.

Other Breast Cancer symptoms

Also, a meager number of women experienced symptoms that weren't even related to the breast. One percent reported that they had a swelling in the armpit, one percent of the women had experienced backache and less than one percent experienced muscle aches or breathing difficulty.

These symptoms were grouped together into four major groups. The majority of the 2,300 women fell into one of the four symptom groups. The data reports showed that 76 percent of the women, on the whole, had a breast lump as the only symptom. However, 11 percent experienced a breast-related symptom, which was not a lump alone, and five percent had experienced only a non-breast symptom. Also, six percent had breast lump as well as at least one of the additional breast symptoms.

Never Delay your Diagnosis

The research also reported that a three-month delay in seeking a diagnosis can lower up-to-five-year survival rates. Koo and her colleagues also found that more women who did not have breast lumps waited 90 days and more than women who had breast lumps. "This research shows that, all too often, women are delaying going to their doctor with symptoms of breast cancer," Karen Kennedy, director of the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) in the U.K., said in a statement.

A disease like cancer has to be averted at the early stage itself, whether there is a lump or not as it could turn out to be too late to get rid of.