I went to the doctors after having a dull ache in my right arm, after being examined he found a lump in my right breast and also i had a raised lympth noid in my armpit also one just under my collor bone, he sent me for blood tests to see if i had an infection but they all came back clear, he has now refered me to a clinic on thursday. Could it be bc and it has already spread to my lympth noids and that is why they have come up, i don’t know of any other reason why they have come up if i have no infection, i am only 33 and have no family history.
Hi
I am really sorry you have found yourself in this worrying situation.
The breast clinic will be the best place to find out exactly what is going on. They will probably do a mammogram and as you are young, they may also do an ultrasound. It is also possible that they will biopsy anything they find to check for any cancerous cells. Hopefully your breast care nurse will be able to talk you through what they are doing. It is a good idea to take someone with you as another pair of ears. It is easy to miss things or misinterpret what you are told. Some clinics are one stop shops where you get the results there and others you have to come back for them. It is useful to know this in advance.
I hope you get some answers soon. Good luck. You are not alone, if you have any questions please ask.
Debx
Hi,
Sorry that you are in this situation, it can be really worrying. The main thing is to get it checked out and then you can start doing something about it, whatever it is.
Just wanted to say that an enlarged lymph node doesn’t mean that it has spread there. I had a bit of a panic when they found an enlarged lymph node during my ultrasound scan, which they biopsied as well as the lump, but the lymph node came back clear (unfortunately the lump didn’t). I had a sentinel node biopsy (SNB) as part of my op, and they removed 4 lymph nodes, all clear.
I am 34, also with no family history.
Fingers crossed for you.
J
Hi krp
Firstly, welcome to the forums, I’m sure you will get lots of support and information here.
I thought it might help if you take a look at our Referral to Breast Clinic factsheet. It will give you an idea of what to expect at your appointment.
Here’s the link, it can be either downloaded or ordered though the site:
breastcancercare.org.uk/upload/pdf/referral_redesign__final_14_feb_08_0.pdf
Best wishes.
Louise
Facilitator
thankyou all for your comments, it surprising how many people going through the same thing.
Unfortunly, the breast clinic has cancelled all thursday appointments till next wed, all this waiting is awful and now i got to wait another week, i just cant get it out of my head!!!
I was also wondering has anyone else experienced aches in the shoulder joint and arm after being diagnosed with BC???
Sorry to hear about your delay, it can be an agonising wait, and no-one else really understands what you are going through.
I found my lump when routinely checking my breasts, not because I had any symptoms. I had no aches or pains whatsoever, either before or after diagnosis (except for those caused by the surgery). Admittedly I got a cancellation so ended up having my lumpectomy only 5 days post diagnosis.
Krp
sorry to hear of your delay with your appt… the waiting is just awful so i understand your concern.
like squeak i had a suspicious lymph node which was biopsied when i was diagnosed but it was normal and was obviously just trying to fight the cancer.
but nodes can be raised for lots of reasons they are part of our immune system so can be raised if you have an infection, or even if your run down for instance.
as for your sore arm it could be just an incidental finding but if you have a swollen lymph node this could cause some discomfort in your arm.
hopefully they will be able to find out the cause but if it does unfortunately show cancer then there are loads of lovely ladies (and the odd man) here who can help you through it… we have all been there and know what a horrible scary place it is at the beginning.
Lulu xxx