Hi everyone,
I am 25 years old and have found a lump in my left breast. ( I have no family history of BC at all) I went to the doctors and upon feelinging it he said it was 3cm and has refered me for a breast ultrasound. This was around 2 weeks ago and my app is on Saturday.
I am so worried and the past couple of weeks have been awful as I can’t stop thinking about it!!
I also feel like I have pain in my left arm but it is hard to know if that’s the anxiety talking. In addition I also have flakyness and itching around my nipple. I have had excema on my nipples on and off for years but I am now worried this is a sign.
When I go fo rmy app how does the day go - can they tell straight away if it is cancerous?
I just can’t stop thining about it :(
Thanks,
Steph x
Hi Steph.
The waiting is awful isn’t it!
I recently found a lump too. I’ve seen my GP and been referred to breast clinic. I got so anxious waiting that I paid for a private consultation but I’m sure the procedure is fairly similar in NHS.
In my case, the consultant was very calming and friendly. She did an ultrasound and then asked if she could take some biopsy samples of the lumps (she found a second in my armpit that I didn’t know about). She used a local anaesthetic before taking the samples so the first sample didn’t hurt… the second hurt a little bit so she topped up the anaesthetic and the third one was fine again.
Get the results in about a week, back on NHS as can’t afford to keep going private!
Fingers Crossed for us both. ?
Hiyer Steph,
The waiting is the worst, absolutely horrendous - I bet you’ve lost weight and not been sleeping too! Your mind turns over and over.
‘How the day goes’ depends on the type of clinic you go to, and what is run by your local area. Some run a ‘one stop’ clinic, where they try and get any necessary testing done in one long appointment. It would start with a manual examination by the consultant, who would ask you to explain what you’ve found and then feel for themselves. This would probably be followed a mammogram/and or ultrasound. Those results would then be reviewed by the radiographer/and or the consultant. If they can’t be 100 percent certain that it is benign then they would do some sort of needed or ultrasound guided core biopsy. However, some areas make a separate appointment for you to return for the biopsy, if it were to be necessary. Sadly, in either case, either one-stop or returning for the biopsy, following that you would have another wait for results :smileyfrustrated:
Can they tell on the day? Yes, in many cases, it is very clear that it is a benign condition.We’ve had many women on here who have returned on the same day, and said they were told at this appointment that it was, for example a cyst or other hormonal condition. However, if they have any sort of small doubt, and can’t categorically say 100 percent, then there will be a biopsy. This doesn’t mean you DO have bc, even if they do a biopsy, it is really the only absolutely certain way to see what the area consists of. There could be problems with viewing the area, or your breast tissue might not allow sufficient imaging or…all sorts of reason for not being certain. No matter how brilliant your consultant or radiographer, diagnosis may have to come from biopsy.
You have done absolutely the right thing, you are breast aware and have gone to be checked - you can rest assured that IF this is anything of concern, by going there and being seen, you are taking proactive steps to ensure you would get quick treatment. Of course you may know the stats; how at your age most breast conditions are benign, how most lumpsat any age are diagnosed as benign, and that this is a ‘breast clinic’ and not a ‘breast cancer clinic’ (subtle word difference, but the point being that they are there to diagnose all breast conditions and bc is only one of those conditions). However, knowing this probably won’t help you much, as the feeling of fear and anxiety overwhelms.