Thanks for your contributions everyone. Anyone else want to leave their story? X
Just found this site and have found it to be very informative and hope my story may be of help. I too discovered a lump nearly 5 years to date but because it was a flat lump I thought that it wouldnāt be BC. I thought that it would feel pea sized and hard. Was referred for mammogram, biopsy etc but biopsy came back negative but I asked for the lump to be removed as I didnāt want to be walking around with a lump in my breast. I was horrified to learn after the lumpectomy that the lump was cancerous and that I would need another operation to further clear the site. Keep an eye on any lumps even if you are told that it is nothing to worry about.
I had pain in my breast if my kids leant on me and when my nipple was sucked. Went to GP about 5 months ago but she couldnāt feel any abnormalities and since Iām only 30 she said anything sinister was unlikely. Was told to come back if pain persisted.
Fast forward 5 months and I noticed pain was still there. After having a feel around I could feel a ridge which hadnāt been there before and some lumpy bits (not one single hard lump though). Went back to GP who referred me to breaat clinicstaying she was sure it would be fibro cystic changes.
Even the consultant at breast clinic said he was 99.9% certain it was nothing, and yet here I am with a 1.5cm IDC, widespread DCIS and positive nodes.
So glad my consultant decided to go ahead with the biopsy as nothing showed on U/S or mammogram!!!
Iām going to read all of this thread tomorrow as Iāve only just found itā¦itās too late to read it all nowā¦Iāll start reading and wonāt be in bed past midnight!!!..I just wanted to say that in november 2010 I had my first mammo as I was over fiftyā¦it came back clear and I thought no more about itā¦kept up self checking thoughā¦felt nothing at all unusualā¦in August 2011 I was playing pirates on a bunky bed with my, then, 3 yr old grandsonā¦he was on the top bunk and I was stood on the ladder trying to get hold of his legsā¦one of his feet caught my right breastā¦quite a hefty blowā¦this was on a thursdayā¦on the following sunday my breast was still sore and when I felt, it was quite swollen on the part nearest to under my right armā¦when I felt it properly I could feel quite a hardā¦egg shaped lumpā¦about golf ball sizedā¦went to the doctor on the tuesday as monday was bank holidayā¦was checked and told haematomaā¦relief!!!..notā¦sent to the breast clinicā¦was one stopā¦mammo, ultrasound and biopsy and hey prestoā¦BCā¦IDCā¦3cmā¦grade 3ā¦ER/PR+ā¦right Mxā¦chemo, 3FEC, 3TAX, tamoxifen for 5 yrsā¦how lucky was I?..not very you may thinkā¦butā¦the cancer was hiding behind my breast tissue and I didnāt feel a thingā¦even laying downā¦one hand under my head I didnāt feel the lump!!!..my surgeon and GP think it was dislodged with the blowā¦so ladies tell everyone you know that cancer can appear between mammos and check standing up and laying downā¦it was only 9 months from my mammo and 10 months from it to my Mx. I donāt think it was there when I had my mammo but might have been too small to be picked upā¦Iāll never know but Iām glad he kicked me or the outcome mightāve been very different!!!. M
Iām 35 and found a lump in my left breast in the shower on the Saturday. I normally get quite lumpy / hard breasts in the week before my period but this was mid cycle and I knew it was different, I went to my GP on the Friday and was referred under the 2 week rule although ābecause of my ageā was told it was probably nothing to worry about.
I had a mammogram and core biopsy and found out on 7th September that it was a 3cm Grade 3 (Iāll never forget that date!!)
So far Iāve had a op to remove the lump and a further op to ensure the margins are clear. I go back this afternoon to find out what happens now but have been told I do need chemo and radiotherapy.
This is still all new to me and I am a bit all over the place at the minuteā¦
Hi all Iām at the āyoung / oldā pre-menopausal age of 46 (where do we ladies belong?) I found my lump as I had pulled my shoulder in March this year, it wasnāt until July when I was giving the area a really good rub as had been on computer at work for some time. There it was, saw doctor next day and was referred to mammo clinic for all the tests. On the day I had mammo, ultrasound and core biopsy. Found out 23/08/2012 that I had estimated 3 cm lump and IDC. Had skin sparing MX in September, they also found DCIS and although 2.5 cm in the end was Grade 3 and ER+ so start chemo end October beginning November followed by HT. Start of chemo slightly delayed as have infection at the moment in breast and am on antibiotics. I wasnāt a regular self-checker but feel more should be done to highlight the checking from school age upwards along with contreception etc.
Hi Wee Sharon we may be going through chemo same time so will an eye out for you. Take care.
Hugs n stuff
CK x
hi all i too found my lump by accident, im a very large breasted lady and found it hard to self exam, but whilst messing around with my husband, lol i was repositioning and noticed a thickened area that felt tender, i thought i must of knocked it, so left it for a couple of days, but i couldnāt leave it alone, so after 4 days went to the gp, was referred to breast clinic where i had a mammogram, scan and biopsy a week later i was told i had stage 3 bc. i have had my wle and snb, and im awaiting results on wed
Thank you to the ladies who have posted, please could other people post their experiences? I am trying to get a cross section of how awareness is working out with those of us who are pre menopausal at Dx, how did we find the lumps, did we know the risks for our age group, had breast awareness filtered through to us, did the medical profession take you seriously??? Itās only be sharing our experiences and ensuring they get to the right people that we will be able to push things forwards.
Thanks for reading!
Hi,
My bc was found during my first routine mammogram. I had no palpable lumps or bumps at all and the mammo showed only a slight textural difference between breasts. The ultrasound didnāt show anything more either but I was sent for an MRI on the hunch of the radiographer. This showed multicentric bc; 3 large ILC tumours, 1 IDC, 2 LCIS and multiple DCIS throughout. So, when I hear about cutting the screening available and emphasis placed on self examination my blood boils!
Hi Tors, I will start this by saying I am a rational, scientific sort of person so I find it hard to believe that I am typing my dx story but here goesā¦ Honestly what happened. The Woodies know this story anywayā¦
The rational bit:
My mum died of mets from bc so I knew I probably had elevated risk. I had had lumpy tissue checked, even had an ultrasound and biopsy once for thickening which turned out to be benign, but was too young for routine mammos. BS told me once I have lumpy tissue so it would be v hard for a GP to say whether or not I had bc and as I was SO likely to be referred anyway, I should just ring if I was worried and refer myself and he would put a note on my file to that effect. 12 years on and mid divorce proceedings, I felt another cyst but never got round to getting it checked. But then I had a dull ache and decided to take him up on his advice.
The irrational bit:
I kept having really weird nightmares in which my mum was telling me to get checked and if I hadnāt had these it probably wouldnāt have tipped the balance and pushed me to go to the GP.
GP said āit feels like a cyst but Iāll refer you to make sure because of your family history,ā BS said, its a cyst but letās do a mammo to be sure. Mammo showed nothing untoward, and confirmed a cyst. Then sent for ultrasound (one stop shop) to make absolutely sure. Asked radiographer if he could ultrasound both sides because I hadnāt been checked in years, had such lumpy tissue etc. He rolled his eyes a bit as though I was hypochondriac but did it. Checked both sides, where the previous thickening had been (left breast) and the cyst (right breast). Was just busy saying, no problems, when he stopped in his tracks and said that, actually, there was something a little bit odd looking on the right side underneath (completely different place) and that he was sure it was nothing but could he do a biopsy. Still insisting it was nothing and he would mail me results, which he wouldnāt have done it heād thought it was anything to worry about. I said could I come and pick the results up - it was Christmas 2010 and snowing, my post was unpredictable and I thought Iād be worrying about missing a letter. Again, rolling eyes, he said heād make me an appointment to collect results (I had only meant could I come in and pick up a letter, not have an appointment). Went for results letter, kept waiting around for ages offered cups of tea, people on phones and being oddly nice to me. I knew what they were going to say before I got into the Consultation room. The āoddā bit he had noticed was an 8mm grade 1, stage 1 bc. I had no lump and would not have known āfor several yearsā as it was a slow growing tubular bc and - after WLE, re-ex and rads - it turned out had not spread to lymph.
Radiographers first words to me on dx were āyou must have a guardian angel.ā I donāt know what I believe, but if I do have, I know who it is. They were all gobsmacked, hence all the second and third checking that these really were MY results. They kept repeating that, no one would want bc but that I had been very, VERY lucky. This is very much my view. I am now in the system for regular checks, NED for now and on tamoxifen.
Rational conclusion: donāt take no for an answer and donāt be afraid of being pushy if you have concerns. I could easily not have bothered and if I wasnāt loud and confident I might not have insisted.
Less rational conclusion: I was āmeantā to find my bc early, there were so many chances involved. I would never have insisted but for those dreamsā¦
Sorry for the rambleā¦ sometimes I wonder if I dreamed the whole dx part, it is actually very oddā¦
Hi
I was 42 when i was diganised with BC in Feb 2012. I had discharge from my left nipple. Went to the doctor. After having a mammogram, ultra sound and biopsy. Found I had widespread DCIS. Had mx and reconstruction, followed by 6xFEC chemo.
i have found this post very interesting reading.
x
Hi, Iām 42 years old I found my lump one Sunday morning 8th April went to the doctors Monday ( was going to leave it-thought it was because my periods were very hit & miss i was told i was going through my change from the age of 37 ) other half insisted I made appointment , Doctor didnt say much but referred me straight away with the breast surgeon on the Thursday of the same week , had ultrasound mammogram,biopsy same day was told there & then I had breast cancer, all was confirmed 2 weeks later 
X Currently having chemo 6 to date 2 more to go then rads & tamoxifen x
Posted on behalf of new user Nicola
Iām ashamed to say that I didnāt self-examine before my diagnosis in April 2010. However, I do usually put moisturiser on after a shower and, one day, while doing this, I became aware of a swelling/thickening in my left breast. It wasnāt what I would call a ālumpā as such. Probably because it turned out that my tumour was pretty big. When I looked in the mirror, the left breast was definitely fuller than the right one.
Shortly before this, three friends/acquaintances of mine had been affected by cancer (not breast), either personally, or their parents. This spurred me on to make a doctorās appointment as soon as possible. My GP examined me, confirmed that there was something suspicious there, and said that she would refer me to the breast clinic. She said there was a chance it could be a benign cyst but that it definitely required further investigation. From that point on, I can only commend the terrific service I received from the NHS. I had a mammogram, ultrasound scan and needle biopsy within two weeks, diagnosis a week after that, and I started chemo two weeks after that, followed by a mastectomy, radiotherapy and Herceptin.
Looking back, I wonder how long my tumour had been there and Iām kicking myself that I didnāt notice it sooner. I didnāt really fit the āconventionalā risk criteria, although I have since read that not having children can increase risk, just as having children can. So it seems we canāt really win! That said, my cancer wasnāt oestrogen-receptive, so maybe the children issue had nothing to do with it. In hindsight, I realise I had been excessively anxious (about various things, but mainly work-related) for some time before my diagnosis, and Iām convinced that this was a contributing factor.
PS Although that initial appointment with my GP was far from amusing, we could all do with some light relief at times, so Iāll share this with youā¦ Iām really squeamish and, as the GP was explaining that she was going to refer me to the breast clinic, I panicked and felt faint. Next thing I remember is coming round on the floor in the middle of a commotion in the GPās room. When Iād fainted, the GP had pressed an alert button to summon help to pick me up. She hadnāt realised that this would trigger the fire alarm and, consequently, the entire health centre had been evacuated and everyone was waiting in the car park. Turns out, no-one was really sure how to turn the alarm off, cue much flapping among health centre staff. When I next saw my GP, she informed me that the whole episode had triggered a review of fire safety procedures and the implementation of weekly fire drills. *cringe*
Jeez Nicola, you know how to clear a building, never mind a room!
Thanks for the comments everyone. Please keep posting your stories everybody. Iām really trying to get together an overview of how younger women are finding the awareness campaigns and the awareness of the medical profession too. It really does help, especially when we look back and see that the stories from 2.5 years ago when I started the thread are still being repeated Iāve and over and over again.
Thank you
X
More shameless own thread bumpingā¦
I donāt usually post on discussion forums but felt I had to when I saw this thread on twitter. Iām 38 and Iāve just been diagnosed following a visit to doctors with toothachey type pain that Iād had for a couple of months, no real lump and even now both docs at hospital say that they would struggle tofeel it if they didnāt know it was there. I am so lucky to have a doctor who erred on the side of caution and sent it to be checked out, I could easily have been sent home with paracetamol! Itās really important people realise to get aches and pains checked out, most websites say donāt worry about pain, itās usually nothing sinister and this can really put people off getting it checked out.
Hi
6 weeks before my 40th birthday (Feb 2012) I was having dinner with 11 friends and we were discussing our girls weekend away to celebrate my 40th. I noticed I had a small pimple underneath my right arm - I told my friends and they all said to visit my GP, I assumed it was a blocked hair follicle. A few days later my right arm had become painful so I got an appointment with a locum GP, somebody I had never met before.
After her initial examination of my armpit she confirmed that it was a blocked hair follicle and prescribed me antibiotics.
Whilst there she asked me if I would mind her examining my breasts, I thought this a little bit odd but thought maybe she needed the practice ! (Donāt forget she was a young locum GP) . To my shock she found a small hard lump on my left breast right underneath (unconnected to the lump under my right armpit just a complete coincidence).
Anyway she referred me to The Royal Marsden in Sutton and a week later I was examined, had a mammogram and an ultrasound biopsy! Something told me that things were not looking good but the hospital said I would have to return a week later for the results. Nobody in my family had breast cancer. I did not fit any of the risk factors ( in fact I had a year earlier run a marathon for cancer research!) and so nobody believed it could be BC. I however suspected it was.
A week later they confirmed I had BC. I was operated on within 3 days and can only say my experience which regards to the medical profession has been fantastic - I do wonder how long it would have taken me to find it, as I wasnāt regularly examining myself. This has been a massive wake up call to all of my friends as well. If I am honest only about 1 in 10 checked their breasts before my diagnosis.
i think there should be more advice on how to itself-examine because my lump was well hidden. I also think people think it will never happen to them. Why donāt we receive a breast examination every time we go for a smear test?
With me you couldnāt write the script. I had just completed a 10 k run for breast cancer, feeling dead chuffed with myself, and whilst having a shower found the lump at the top of my left breast. I made an appt with doc the next day where he discovered another lump under my arm. The rest they say is historyā¦I have just done the tests and this morning am heading out to meet the docs to discuss treatment. However he did say to me that my prompt action has probably saved my life, although life fir the next few months is going to be rubbish! Iām 37 and was convinced it was just a cyst or a lump of tissue from where I fell 6 months ago. One good thing is that all of my friends and my twin are now all more aware and are getting checked out. As I stare into the abyss however I just wish at times it wasnāt soā¦
I was diagnosed just over 6 months ago, aged 37, with a strongly triple positive 3cm IDC (es100%, pr 90%, her2+), i had a matectomy and have just completed TCH chemo. I am continuing herceptin until June and am due to start tamoxifen next week.
I was having a bath when I found my lump. Despite a background in cancer research (psychology) I never checked, but that day I had an overwhelming feeling that I should. I went to my GPs the following Monday, she felt the lump and told me that she was 100% sure it was just a ābreast mouseā and that referring me would be āmaking a mockery of the processā, I asked that she referred me nevertheless. I left the drs feeling reassured, but those words kept replaying in my mind. Three weeks later I still didnāt have an appointment through. As I knew about the referral process from my work I thought it strange so I thought I should phone the surgery, but I kept putting it off as I didnāt want to make a fuss over nothing. I phoned just before Easter and it transpired that at this point that the GP hadnāt even dictated, let alone written, the referral letter. When I was finally seen in clinic it transpired that the GP had not completed any of the correct referral forms. The whole team both surgical and oncology were shocked by my GPās attitude.
I could so easily have just accepted what my GP said and still be blissfully unaware.
I cannot fault the surgical and oncology care I have received since diagnosis even though being treated by people you know can be tough and I imagine I am a nightmare patient questioning everything! However as well as raising awareness amongst thirtysomethings (which is a brilliant idea), much much more needs to be done to raise GP awareness.
hx
Queenrefusenik the way you were treated by your GP is shocking! Was there any comeback for her or perhaps further information and training? I wonder if she had been so laid back if it had been herslef or a member of her family that had a lump. The female GP i saw was brilliant. She wasnt my own GP and was quite young but she offered to refer me straight away even though she didnt think it was anything to worry about. She said it was better to be safe than sorry. A few weeks after diagnosis i went back to GP for a sicknote and she said that they dont often refer people of my age (i was 33 at the time) as it rarely turns out to be cancer. I thanked her for refering me and potentially saving my life.
Sian x