Are cancerous lumps hard or soft

By Isabella Storyclaire

last updated September 16, 2024

Contributions sourced from

Whats the Difference Between Cysts and Tumors?

Cysts and tumors are two common types of lumps. It can be hard to tell them apart because theyre often found in the same places. However, there are a few key differences between the two.

Finding a lump under your skin is alarming, but most of the time theyre harmless. If its a cyst, it is a small sac filled with air, fluid, or other material.

A tumor refers to any unusual area of extra tissue. Both cysts and tumors can appear in your skin, tissue, organs, and bones.

Sometimes you can have both such as ovarian cysts and ovarian tumors. If youre concerned, your doctor can help you determine what you have and whether it is serious.

Most peoples first thought is cancer when they notice a new lump. While certain types of cancer can cause cysts, cysts themselves are almost always benign. Tumors, however, can be either benign or malignant. Benign tumors tend to stay in one place. Malignant tumors grow and may cause new tumors to develop in other parts of your body.

In most cases, you cant tell the difference between a cyst and a tumor just by looking at them. However, there are a few things you can watch for to see whether its more likely to be a cyst or a tumor. Keep in mind that these arent strict rules, so its best to have your doctor take a look.

Tumors can sometimes grow large enough that they put pressure on surrounding tissues. Depending on where your lump is located, you may experience additional symptoms, such as difficulty breathing, moving your joints, eating, or controlling your bladder. Contact your doctor as soon as possible if you notice a lump accompanied by unusual symptoms, even if they dont seem related.

There are many types of cysts with a variety of causes. Some types are related to an underlying medical condition, such as polycystic ovary syndrome. Others form directly on your skins surface when dead skin cells multiply instead of falling off like they usually do. Other causes of cysts include:

Tumors are the result of abnormal cell growth. Usually, the cells in your body grow and divide to form new cells whenever your body needs them. When older cells die, theyre replaced by new ones. Tumors form when this process breaks down. Old, damaged cells survive when they should die, and new cells form when your body doesnt need them. When these extra cells keep dividing, it may form a tumor.

Some tumors are benign, which means they form in only one spot without spreading to surrounding tissue. Malignant tumors are cancerous and can spread to nearby tissue. As cancerous tumors grow, cancer cells can break off and travel throughout the body, forming new tumors.

Sometimes doctors recognize cysts during a physical exam, but they often rely on diagnostic imaging. Diagnostic images help your doctor figure out whats inside the lump. These types of imaging include ultrasounds, CT scans, MRI scans, and mammograms.

Cysts that look smooth, both to the naked eye and in diagnostic images, are almost always benign. If the lump has solid components, due to tissue rather than liquid or air, it could be either benign or malignant.

However, the only way to confirm whether a cyst or tumor is cancerous is to have it biopsied by your doctor. This involves surgically removing some or all of the lump. Theyll look at the tissue from the cyst or tumor under a microscope to check for cancer cells.

If the lump is filled with fluid, your doctor might use something called fine needle aspiration. Theyll insert a long, thin needle into the lump to pull out a sample of the fluid.

Depending on the location of the lump, most biopsies and aspirations are done in an outpatient setting.

Treatment for cysts and tumors depends entirely on whats causing them, whether theyre cancerous, and where theyre located. However, most cysts dont require treatment. If its painful or you dont like the way it looks, your doctor can remove it or drain the fluid thats within it. If you decide to drain it, theres a chance the cyst will regrow and require complete removal.

Benign tumors also usually dont need treatment. If the tumor is impacting a nearby area or causing other problems, you may need surgery to remove it. Cancerous tumors almost always require treatment with surgical removal, radiation therapy, or chemotherapy. In some cases, you may need a combination of these treatments.

While most cysts and tumors can wait until your next appointment with your doctor, let them know immediately if you notice that the lump:

bleeds or oozes
changes color
grows quickly
itches
ruptures
looks red or swollen

Its often hard to tell the difference between a cyst and a tumor even for doctors. While there are a few things you can look for to help you identify whether a lump is more likely to be a cyst or a tumor, its best to make an appointment with your doctor. They can take a small sample of the lump to determine whether its a cyst, tumor, or something else, and recommend the best course of treatment.

What Does A Sarcoma Lump Look and Feel Like?

Within this article we'll provide you with information to help you discern whether a new or existing lump is cause for concern of sarcoma and, if so, what steps you should take next. If there's any uncertainty, see your primary care doctor.

What is Sarcoma?

A sarcoma is a type of cancer that develops in bone or soft tissues like muscle, nerves, fat, fibrous tissues, tendons, or blood vessels. Sarcomas can grow anywhere in the body, but they most often appear as a lump or bump on the arms and legs. Bone sarcomas can be more difficult to detect.

While sarcoma can be a deadly disease, the good news is that it's also very rare. The American Cancer Society estimates about 13,190 new soft tissue sarcomas will be diagnosed in the United States this year. For comparison, more than 265,000 cases of breast cancer and nearly 270,000 cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed over the same period.

Signs and Symptoms of Sarcoma

Early detection is key to diagnosing and treating sarcoma. There are four qualities that can help you determine whether a new or existing lump is potentially a sarcoma:

1. Location

The majority of sarcomas develop in the arms and legs at the upper ends of the limbs, specifically. They can also develop in the buttocks, chest wall, pelvis, and head and neck areas. "Sarcomas can grow to be big, deep masses in the upper part of the extremity, just below the buttocks, in the thigh, or in the upper arm," says Kristy L. Weber, MD, Director of the Penn Medicine Sarcoma Program at the Abramson Cancer Center.

On the other hand, sarcomas are less likely to develop in the fingers and feet. Dr. Weber notes that these sites shouldn't be dismissed entirely, but she estimates that less than one percent of these nodules turn out to be a sarcoma.

Fingers and feet are common sites of cysts or other benign (noncancerous) soft tissue lumps. One of the most common soft tissue masses in the hands and feet is a superficial or intramuscular lipoma, which is a slow-growing, benign fatty lump. Typically, a lipoma feels doughy, not tender, and can move around when a slight bit of pressure is applied to it.

2. Rate of Growth

If your lump has visibly grown, especially relatively rapidly, Dr. Weber recommends getting it evaluated. And anything that's progressed to the size of a golf ball requires immediate attention.

On the other hand, if it's remained about the same size over a few weeks to months, it's most likely not a sarcoma. A medical evaluation can determine its nature. Depending on the size and location of the mass, an MRI or ultrasound will be used.

3. Pain

The vast majority of soft tissue sarcomas do not cause pain, which, unfortunately, leads people to mistakenly think they don't need an evaluation.

When a sarcoma is deep-seated, growing quickly, and located near sensitive areas like the sciatic nerve, it may be painful. A sarcoma that starts in a bone is also going to cause pain, among other symptoms.

4. Firmness

Firmness could also be an indication that your lump is more than a fatty deposit. If your lump is soft and easy to move around, it may be less concerning from a sarcoma perspective, but Dr. Weber recommends keeping an eye on it just to be sure.

What To Do If You Think You Might Have Sarcoma

These characteristics are meant to heighten your awareness of sarcoma, but it's important not to put too much weight on any one of them. If you believe that your lump warrants a closer look by a professional, they'll use these same benchmarks in their initial assessment.

Start with your primary care doctor. They'll conduct a physical exam and take a thorough look at your medical history to determine whether to order an MRI with contrast dye or ultrasound of your lump.

If the imaging shows the lump to be definitely benign, Dr. Weber says it can be observed over time.

If the imaging indicates a concern, or the results are inconclusive, your next appointment should be with a specialist like Dr. Weber. They'll review your imaging and history and conduct their own exam to determine whether your lump should be monitored over time or biopsied.

Expertise Is Critical

Because sarcoma is so rare, diagnosing and treating it requires a deep knowledge of the disease. Over the years, Dr. Weber has cared for a number of patients who had lumps removed by surgeons who did not specialize in sarcomas. Sometimes in these instances, the initial surgery was performed without any prior imaging or a needle biopsy. Removing a sarcoma without getting a wide margin of normal tissue around the tumor means that cancerous cells are likely left in the surgical area. In this situation, a second surgery, usually coupled with radiation, is required to ensure all the tumor cells are removed.

"The bottom line is, you want to get a sarcoma removed correctly the first time, by an expert who specializes in sarcoma care," Dr. Weber says.

Because of its difficulty to diagnose, the expertise of your sarcoma care team should extend beyond the surgeon, she says.

"In general, for both radiologists and pathologists that don't see sarcomas all the time, the risk of making a mistake is higher because they aren't seeing them every day," Dr. Weber says. "The key thing is, we want to make sure it is a sarcoma. Deciding whether it is or isn't is critical. And unless you're a radiologist or pathologist that does this a lot, differentiating a benign tumor from a malignant one can be hard."

Further complicating the diagnosis is the fact that there are more than 50 different types of soft tissue sarcoma.

Treating Sarcoma

Treatment for sarcoma may vary depending on the type, stage and location of the tumor. At the Abramson Cancer Center, your multidisciplinary team will evaluate your specific needs and develop a custom treatment plan built with your cancer and lifestyle in mind. In general, sarcoma treatment almost always involves surgery and may involve chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy as well.

Dr. Weber's team at the Abramson Cancer Center is one of the top centers devoted to diagnosing and treating both soft tissue and bone sarcomas. It's comprised of nationally recognized experts with years of sarcoma experience, including medical, radiation, orthopaedic, and surgical oncologists; plastic surgeons; musculoskeletal radiologists; pathologists; physical therapists; nutritionists; and social workers.

The goal of sarcoma surgery and care, overall, is to remove the tumor while maintaining as much function and quality of life as possible. This is something that Dr. Weber's team keeps top of mind for every patient they treat.