<s>[INST] My wife has a quarter size lump on her lower left side of her back that is painful to the touch that has been there for over a year and has not changed in size or shape. She has a appointment in two weeks to have it check out. Should we get it checked out sooner? [/INST] Hi.This is either a lipoma or a sebaceous cyst. It is better to get this removed (excised) for 2 reasons.1> your get rid of the disease and 2> you get the histopathological diagnosis- makes you tension-free </s>