Hi everyone, i have had a problem with cysts in my breast for a few years. I have an annual mammogram and ultrasound and always get some cysts drained.
Recently things have been different and I am getting a lot of pain in one of my breasts, particularly through the nipple. I have just had another mammogram and ultrasound but have been told everything is fine…im not convinced! The pain is bothering me.
Does anyone else have experience of breast cancer that was not detected by a mammogram and ultra sound? Honest answers please, dont worry about worrying me!! I really need to know if it is possible for cancer to be missed!! Thanks in advance.
I did - but I was 33 and apparently young breasts are denser and it is therefore more difficult to spot the baddies.
Hopefully it’s nothing sinister - but regardless it’s not nice living in pain is it? So something’s going on! And you’re obviously worrying (which is also horrible to live with) otherwise you wouldn’t be on this forum, so I’d get down to the GP pronto!
Hi hollybeany - I presented with lumps that felt hard and grainy dec 2009 and was given the all clear jan 2110 , they mammod me and scanned me but never did any aspirations or biopsies . I was relieved at the time as my gut instinct told me it was bad news . I was then diagnosed this year with a large tumour .I wish i had been more adamant and pushed for more tests , like Sandytoes they said i had dense breasts , i never did… it was cancer . I am a wee bit older , now 45
I never had pain though , but dont sit and fret keep asking and telling the GP ure fears , they will respond, I never asked to my detriment !!
Thanks for your comments girls. I was at the hospital just over a week ago for the mammo and ultra sound, they drained a large cyst but the pain has been a lot worse since then. I am wondering if its just because the cysts was drained? I will give it a few weeks to settle down and if not i will need to think about going back. Does anyone know if you can be left in pain after having the cysts drained? I have had it done before but never had pain after. x
To put the other side of the coin, I had lumps and cysts which felt as you described abd gave me pain. They were benign. Eventually I was detected with bc on the other side through a mammo and ultraound and that didn’t hurt and I had had no idea that it was there. It must be terribly worrying for you, if you aren’t happy ask for a second opinion, but just to say, just because it is lumpy and hurts does not mean it is sinister xx
Hollybeany - When I was dx back in March this year I went to the dr with an irritating itch on top of my right breast, that was it an itch!!! no change in nipple, no pain, no dishcharge, my GP referred me to the breast cancer clinic just to make sure is was not anything nasty, during that visit I had my first and only so far mamogram, which showed my breast were dense cause of being youngish at 43, then an ultrasound followed by the biopsy and I could see on the screen at the ultrasound that what I was looking at was no cyst and was infact a grade 3 IDC 6cm lump, I asked the dr that performed the biopsy and ultrasound whether it was a cyst we were looking at and and she showed me it was no cyst. Infact there was a cyst that was masking the cancerous lump and the dr showed me the how different they look on screen, the cyst was almost a perfect circle, the cancerous lump had loads tentacles coming off of it. I have done chemo/surgery and soon to do rads. If you are not happy with what the drs are telling you I would opt for a 2nd opinion, I was reading about kylie minogue when she went to the drs cause of a lump she had found in her breast the first doc said it was nothing but 6 months later she went to another doc and was rushed straight away for chemo etc. Even the rich and famous can be miss dx.
I hope this helps you and that you get some answers soon.
Love and light
Sarahlousie xx
Hi Holly - Dense breasts can be much more difficult in general, its to do with the compactness of the tissue, more likely in younger women.
I wasn’t missed but mine was 47mm large. But they struggled getting a good image of that even due to density.
If you feel something isn’t right then in your shoes I’d be tempted to push them because you do have an instinct.
Before I found the lump completely by accident I new I didn’t feel right, I was totally wiped out even when sleeping fine, like something I’d ever felt before and I kept saying somethings wrong with me, I’m exhausted. This only tends to happen as it becomes bigger and the more aggressive as the immune system kicks in to fight.
I would go back to your doctors and voice how you feel personally xx
I’ve had several cysts drained, both before and after diagnosis, and the most recent time but one was quite painful, and did ache a bit afterwards. I still had a lump so went back to see them, and when they drained it, it turned out to be a bit bloody. That was sent off for testing and it came back as being normal old blood so they decided it had been a previously drained cyst that had bled a bit, so it was fine after they’d emptied it. But it did hurt a bit before they drained it the second time.
I second what the others say though - you’re not reassured so go back and ask for a second opinion.
I really appreciate everyones comments thank you all so much! Are there any other tests that they can do though if a mammo and ultra sound is not showing anything?
I had one as my tumour didn’t show on a mammo (but did on ultrasound) so surgeon wanted to be sure they hadn’t missed anything before they went in. One of the big problems with MRI is that they can show up suspicious areas that turn out to be normal breast changes, which leads to even more anxiety. Believe me, that week of waiting for the results of the biopsy I had after the MRI, even though I had already been diagnosed with the first tumour, was even worse, and I cried like a baby when I got THOSE results even though I’d been very “brave” with the initial diagnosis.
And MRIs are very expensive, so unless they have a very strong reason to believe there’s something wrong, they are unlikely to prescribe one.
Give the helpline a ring and talk things over with them, they can be really useful in giving you a knowledgeable sounding board without any pressure on you. You can even burst into tears and swear and they won’t bat an eyelid. Give them a ring…
I had reoccurring cysts for about seven years so I was a regular patient at the Breast Clinic. I was there in March this year for a mammogram and scan and had two drained. I then found a smaller lump in Sept and I went back. The general view was that it was a different kind of cyst but they did a biopsy to be on the safe side. The results came back to show that the lump was a cyst but, as luck would have it, the biopsy had picked up other tissue and that showed I had DCIS. The mammogram in March had not picked that up.
If you are still worried my advice would be to push strongly for an MRI. This type of procedure is much more reliable at detecting DCIS. ChoccieMuffin is right in that an MRI can pick up minute detail that might just be ‘normal’ for you and nothing of concern. But if it picks up something that a mammogram hadn’t they should then do a biopsy which will give you a definitive answer.
I hope you get everything sorted out. Suspecting but not knowing is torture. Let us know how you get on and whatever happens, you’re guaranteed support and encouragement here.
Thank you all again so much. I have decided to wait a couple of weeks and if the pain doesn’t improve I will go back to my GP. I will keep you all posted as to how I get all. Thanks again. xxx