Hi All,
This is my first post on here and to be quite honest, I’m finding it difficult to find the words.
I’m 27, and I found a lump in my breast in late October, a few days before a family holiday. I kept it from my family because I didn’t want anyone to worry. It was a tough holiday for me.
Understandably, I was terrified finding the lump, I thought the worst. I booked a GP appointment for the next day and was examined. I was told that due to my age and being under 30, I’m classed as ‘low risk’, so the advice I was given was to come back in a month and the lump may have disappeared. It hasn’t. What upset me the most was the comment from the GP ‘would you be this worried if the lump was in your arm?’. I felt unheard, unsupported, forgotten about because of a statistic.
I was very lucky to have booked a private scan the next day, and was told not to worry because it ‘looks’ like a blocked duct. Nevertheless, I was referred to my local NHS breast clinic from that appointment.
I’ve had a few ultrasounds now and a biopsy. The biopsy results came back as B3, which I’ve found very confusing upsetting. I’ve been told there are no cancer cells present from the biopsy, but due to the sample being small, I have been referred for an operation to remove the lump for further testing in a few weeks as it’s ‘not normal’. For reference, and hopefully not too much info, it’s just beneath my nipple.
Quite frankly, I’m terrified. Not so much of the surgery itself, but the wait for the results, even now, a month before the operation. Initially I was told from my GP that I’m not urgent, yet after a private appointment and my local NHS breast care clinic, within weeks I’m booked in to have the lump removed.
After those results and my upcoming surgery, I decided it was time to tell my family. It has been really hard for me to open up about this, and the worry is eating me alive.
I’m trying my best not to overthink, but has anyone got any advice to get through this time? It’s funny because my occupation is an advisor, but sometimes advising yourself is the biggest challenge would you believe.
I’m young, but cancer doesn’t have an age. I’ve just bought my first house, and all I can think about is an uncertain future.
It’s difficult to trust in what the medical professionals say, when it was one of them who refused to refer me in the first instance. Women’s health is so overlooked, and disappointingly it was a female GP.
I’m just really seeking some guidance here, and I would be so grateful to hear from anyone who has had a similar experience.
Thanks all. Writing this has somewhat lifted a burden.