I am a 33 year old female and have persistent pain in my left breast. Can this be due to a cancer?

Breast tenderness causes a lot of anxiety in many women. The one major misconception women have is that breast cancer is associated with pain. In fact, it is extremely rare for cancer of the breast to present with pain. The majority of women with breast cancer have no pain. Breast pain has many causes and is often referred to as mastalgia or mastodynia. Close to 70% of women, experience some type of breast swelling tenderness at some point in their lives. This pain usually lasts 3-5 days per month and can be distressing. You can rest assured that pain last a few days is rarely cancer.