Hi…Im a mom of 6 children eldest is 25 and youngest is 11. Im 44 and have no family and since i have become disabled i have no friends that i see either. Two weeks ago now i felt a thickened hard ridge on the outside of my breast just down from my armpit. It also had a tiny small pea size lump. I thought nothing of it as i went through the menopause at 37 and thought it was my body changing. 3 days later a red mark appeared at the spot of this thickening which was itchy occasionaly. The thick riidge also seemed to be spreading down towards my nipple. I made a mental note and kept an eye on it. After a week i got my Dr to look at it as it had spread all down the outside of the breast, i could feel what felt like a pencil lead along the ridge along with several lumps, the skin took on the appearance of an orange peel with little dimples and the veins seemed to be more prominant. He instantly referred me to the breast clinic which my appt is tuesday and iin the meantime we have tried antibiotics in the vain hope it may be a duct infection but it hasnt done anything.
Like everyone else here im terrified and i cant talk to anyone about it as i have no-one. Google is the worst thing you can do i have learnt…i have no idea what to expect tuesday and my head is a mess
Sorry for whingeing here as i know we are all in the same boat but i just needed to get it out instead of crying on my own at night when im holding it in infront of my children every day
Hi ,it’s a horrible anxious time,you can’t help but fear the worse can you ?Close friends and family struggle to understand and you don’t really want to scare your kids by taking to them either.The vast majority of women referred to breast clinics with lumps and changes do not have breast cancer but other treatable breast conditions.They should be able to give you a very good indication on Tuesday what is going on,they will do ultrasound and maybe a mammogram ,depending on what they see they may do a biopsy(under local) and send that to be analysed ,that takes about a week to get results .Good luck,try and keep busy,Jill
The waiting is truly hideous and there is a tendancy to think negatively about everything when you haven’t got answers yet. Going through this without talking to anyone must be making it extra difficult but there it’s lots and help and support here. As you have learnt already; general Googling is dangerous territory! Here, Cancer Research and Macmillan are best really.
Do do you not feel able to talk to your older children about this? I have four daughters, the two youngest still live at home with me and my husband. When I got my call back letter from my mammogram, my 23 year old daughter was with me when I opened it and I told my 20 year old when she come home that day, I didn’t want to have to shock them later if I was diagnosed (I was) and I knew that they would want to know and help. I have told them everything going on at each step of the way and they have been wonderfully supportive to me. Of course, you know your children best, but maybe you might consider sharing this with the older ones?
As Jill said, they will likely do mammograms, ultrasound and a needle biopsy at the breast clinic and hopefully have results in a week. We will have our fingers crossed for it to be nothing sinister but do keep us informed and let us know how it goes on Tuesday and try to what you can to keep your mind off it, although that is easier said than done!
Thankyou for your kind words. I think the worst thing is there is no escape from it no matter how you try not to think about it, its just there atttched to you and in my case i can feel the lumps growing and my breast changing and there isnt anything i can do to stop it and at the moment i dont know whats causing it. Your frightened to look too far ahead as you don’t know what’s round the corner but you can’t explain to anyone why your such a killjoy. You just feel alone with this thing, its like a shadow you cant shake off. I have several lumps, i havent even checked my other breast, in honesty im scared too but im guessing they will take a picture of that too. Im very large chested at 46jj so checking my breasts has always been hit and miss so i could have had a lump for a while and not noticed.
I just hope i’ll have some idea of what’s happening tomorrow, im just so scared if it is BC how i tell my children as i am all they have
If it is breast cancer there is still a good chance it can be treated.Its a very lonely feeling I know.Breast cancer tends to grow quite slowly so the fact that yours seems to have developed so quickly and you have other symptoms may well be a good sign.Keeping everything crossed for you tomorrow .
