I found a lump in the side of my left breast.
As i’m only 19 l wasn’t really worried about it so left it although I do have some distant history of breast cancer. I didn’t really see a change in it but I was always thinking about it so l went for an appointment with my GP. She said she felt a large pea sized hard lump and my breast tissue was lumpy on the left side. I got referred for appointment but it was not for a 2 weeks and I was having so much anxiety about it I decided to go private (very lucky to be covered by my mums work!). I had the appointment and I basically got told there wasn’t a lump and it was just dense breast tissue. I had an ultrasound and nothing was shown. I felt the breast exam was quite rushed compared to my one at the GP previously and I just kind of felt as if it was like they wanted me out as soon as possible. I know that it is their job and I know i’m young so the chances are so low but I feel like if it was just dense breast tissue the GP wouldn’t have been able to feel a specific lump I’m just not sure. Has this sort of thing happened to anyone else? Am I just wrong and dense breast tissue would cause a lump? I’m worried it’s just my anxiety convincing me it is actually something because i’m also just not completely sure. I was just hoping after my appointment all my anxiety about this would go away but it’s been 2 weeks and I’m still feeling so worried. I just feel like I can’t speak to my mum about this again after all the stress I’ve already given her. Just feeling lost.
Hi @he98 I feel for you in this situation. Practically everyone who has had an investigation into potential breast cancer has felt like you do to some extent. But 80% of women who have suspected breast cancer are found NOT to have it after investigation as there are a great number of other things it could be, for example a cyst. The statistics for women under the age of 20 who have BC is not even recorded in the UK as there are so few but for context, only 7% of breast cancers affect people under the age of 40! So at 19 it is HIGHly unlikely to be cancer.
At the private appointment that you had, who did you see - was it a radiologist who just did the scan or did you see a breast cancer specialist? If it was a specialist, they would be more likely to be able to determine if the lump warranted further investigation than a GP would. If it was the radiologist, they would know exactly what a tumour looks like and if there was even a suggestion of one, I would expect them to suggest further tests. So the likelihood is that the lump is nothing suspicious.
Either way, I think you should try to see your GP again specifically about your anxiety. It is awful to be in a state of heightened stress and fear about anything but especially about health because it involves so many professional specialists, appointments, tests, waiting for results and, after all that, in the end, you have to take at face value the answers you are given which is proving difficult for you at the moment. I speak from experience when I say your Mum would be more upset to know that you are being eaten up by such anxiety than she would by you saying you want a second opinion. So my advice would be tell your Mum how you feel, and what your worries are, and also go to see your doctor and do exactly the same with her. Don’t try to deal with this on your own, it can be too overwhelming and there are people around you who can help to sort this out once for all if you can be brave enough to ask them. Big hugs 