Thought I’d post my symptoms here in case it helps someone else.
I noticed a very slight bulge on the top right quadrant of my right breast weeks ago but couldn’t feel a lump so put off going to see a gp. When I did she felt a lump where I’d noticed the change and another one in a different place but same breast.
I’ve been referred but appointment was too far away so going to a private clinic on Wednesday.
The lumps are kind of soft and move which is why I think I missed them but I could feel that my right breast felt fuller and bigger than the other so I should have gotten checked sooner.
I’m convinced it’s cancer and am blaming myself for not going to the dr sooner. I’m 44 and have two young kids and I feel completely lost. I don’t know how I’m going to tell them and have never felt so scared and alone in my life
I did the same, I had already had surgery to remove a tumour in 2003 and then noticed my breast seemed to be improving in shape but I put this down to the time between surgery and when I looked at it. As I had been far too busy looking after my mother’s care and finances to pay any attention to my own health, and I have a demanding and self centred husband. Anyway I finally felt it and was shocked to find lumps there! So i have now been diagnosed with a recurrence of the cancer I had 19 years ago. On the NHS website it talks about a number of things it says can bring on breast cancer, being overweight and drinking being two of them. There is very little evidence these are any worse for breast cancer than anything else. As far as I can see being a woman, having no children or children after 18, having dense breasts, a history of fibrocystic disease, previous breast cancer and age over 60 are all the main risk factors. It is very common the most common cancer of all in fact, affecting 1 in 8 women they now say, it used to be 1 in 12 so they must be diagnosing more or including pre cancer in the definitions that’s my theory any way. The number of deaths in the UK has been static for the last thirty years 12,000 per year, rounded to nearest 1000
I should add that until you have mammograms, ultrasound and biopsies to get a confirmed diagnosis it is quite possible that you do not have breast cancer and are one of the worried well who go to breast clinics. I hope you are one of them. If not, it is much better to know so you can get treatment. It seems to have improved considerably in the last ten years although covid has affected access to hospitals to some extent, practices are being adapted to speed up waiting times e.g. day surgery rather than longer stays in hospital
Sorry you feel bad but don’t blame yourself for not spotting them. Congratulate yourself for finding them when you did and getting them looked at. There is nothing that can be done about the past, only now and from now on. That’s what my mum says. She knows that we can only do our best, and sometimes we come very low down the list of priorities while we are nurturing other people in our families. Take this as a sign to be more selfish in future. I was always told not to be selfish. Selfish is sensible, if you don’t make sure you are ok then you can’t look after other people as well as you might. But it’s not your fault. I believe you are doing your best. It’s not easy to spot anything wrong, and even if you do spot some changes, most changes are not cancer, but all should be investigated once you notice them. When I say should, it’s been very difficult recently because access to GPs, Hospitals, dentists, schools, transport you name it covid made access difficult. There are back logs, there are staffing issues. Nope it’s not a good time for the NHS but chin up, the people I have met are doing their best in difficult circumstances. I shall be keeping my fingers crossed for you. I have lived for 19 years after my first diagnosis, and I fully mean to keep alive now. Seagulls.