I have just turned 30, have 3 children aged between 6.5 and 12. I have no family history of breast cancer. I have always had lumpy breasts to me, but felt a particular lump which my husband could feel too and decided to go to the doctor “to be safe”. He had no problem finding a lump, said it was probably hormonal but sent me to get an mammogram. Due to my age, they insisted on performing an ultrasound first to see if I needed to follow through with a mammogram as breast tissue is different in my age group than for the “target breast cancer group”. During the ultrasound, she noticed a small lump of 1.5cm and said it was a cyst (it looked like a black circular) and said she would be surprised if myself or my doctor could feel it. She then found a larger lump of 4.5cm and didnt comment on it directly to me but measured it and said she would talk to a radiologist to see if I needed the mammogram. They came in together and said i would have a mammogram straight away. It didnt hurt me and I was comfortable. She came back and asked a whole bunch of questions such as pain/family history/how long noticed lump etc and then went away again. She then came back and said that it all looked clear and results would be sent to my doctor. Since then i have had burning pain in my left breast where the lump is. And it aches. The lumpy mass is still there. I have since received copies of the mammogram and ultrasound and can clearly see two black marks in my breast. One so large it distorts the rest of my breast tissue so its not a smooth circluer but goes in quite severly and back out again in one of the mammograms. I have heard nothing from my doctor who must have also seen results. As I was told it was clear, and their black rather than white mass in the scans… is this something I should still be concerned with? Anyone had anything similar?
Sorry I forgot to add I had crusting on the nipple of the breast and when squeezed clear/milky fluid comes out.
Hi Nix and welcome to the forums
I am sure you will receive some supportive and informative replies from other users very soon, in addition, please don’t hesitate to give the helpline a ring if you feel you need to talk to someone about the concerns you have, they are there to offer you information and support if you need it.
They are on 0808 800 6000 Monday - Friday, 9am - 5pm and Saturday, 9am - 2pm.
Best wishes
Lucy
Hi Nix
I think you should go back to your breast clinic. If you don’t feel comfortable going back to the same place then ask your doctor to refer you to a centre of excellence so that you feel confident that your problems are being properly monitored.
I speak from bitter expereince of having lumpy breasts, misleading mammograms and then a serious misdiagnosis for 7 months. (I was told I had cysts but in fact had breast cancer.) I am much older than you and breast cancer is commoner in older women, but it is so important that you have the best monitoring possible. Mammogrmas are not partiularly effective in identifying breats cancer in people with dense breats tissue, which younger women often have.
I don’t mean to frighten you but do hope that my own expereince might help prevent similar mistakes being made with other women.
best wishes
Jane