I was on this forum back in February and everyone was really wonderful. I’m just hoping for some insight really, if you have any time please…
I have a lump in my breast - it’s in the left breast, and is hard and oval. I had a fibroadenoma before (well, I still do!) and it is close to my left nipple and small, and close to the surface of the breast. I have calcification of the breast tissue too.
This new lump is further down in the tissue of my breast, more like it is attached to the breast tissue rather than the nipple. It is fairly large and hard.
Just wondered what people thought - I don’t have time to go to the doctor this week, but will try next week - ETA - Have an appt for this Friday 7th Oct now, on realising I don’t work Fridays any more. The lump is new, I am sure, because on discovery of the fibroadenoma I poked and prodded my breasts like mad and, though the tissue down there is lumpy, it is fairly uniform in size - I am sure I would remember something this large.
no idea at all what the lump is, probably benign, but you know dont you that all lumps need checking out. off to the doctors with no delay, then it will get checked and you will have the peace of mind knowing what it is.
Hello Aimee,
As you know, and as OAL says, the only way to get peace of mind is to get this checked by a doctor. The sooner you pick up that phone, the sooner the answer will be found.
It is a worrying time, and I do understand the temptation to put off going to the doctor, but you know deep down you have to.
Take care and hope it turns out to be ‘something and nothing’ in a good way
Thank you for the replies - just saying it to someone is a comfort - I don’t really have anyone to talk to other than my OH but she doesn’t seem concerned - probably because I have been through the breast clinic once before.
I am foolish, and had forgotten that I no longer work Fridays so that I can work on my MRes. So, I am booked in 8.50am on Friday.
The waiting is horrid, but being able to say - hey, I’ve found another bloody lump - is a weight off.
Oh Aimee, am so glad you have made that appt! The waiting game is horrible, but you’ve made the first step now, and let’s hope it’s something innocent like last time.
Take care of yourself this week, cos it sounds as though you’re gonna be busy… n a quick and gentle caring nag to you as well - cos you n your health are SO important. If you didn’t have Friday off work, hope you would have re-prioritised something this week, so that you could still have had a doctor’s appt. Okay, nagging over now, hun!
Please keep us posted how things go on Friday, and post on here before then/any time if you need to.
Thank you for your lovely response. I would have made the appointment, somehow, I’ve just got a lot on and I’m struggling to balance my time as it is.
Just had a little cry in the loos at work - I did not like the final consultant I saw at the breast clinic and I really hope that if I do go to the clinic again I don’t have to encounter him.
Hi again Aimee, hope your week isnt too busy, n so sorry you were crying in the loos at work. Have a big n gentle cyber hug from me!
As regards that hospital consultant, yes let’s hope you don’t get to see them again. If you do go to the clinic, maybe you could have a word with the clinic nurse, to see if you’re going to be seen by him again, n just say something about how you felt last time you saw him. At the very least, she’d probably have a word with him on the quiet, or speak to the nurse in charge, so that you can be supported in the appt.
Take good care of yourself, n keep posting when u want!
I’m on the Lush forum and through discussion I pieced together some other ‘symptoms’ too, which for some reason I hadn’t even connected with the lump…
I don’t know if this is related, but I have breast pain and my left breast feels hot and almost like it’s burning on the inside. I have a couple of lumps which keep going up and down in size in my armpit, but I’ve been told to ignore armpit lumps when I was a teen as I got them all the time…
I think that is the annoying things that our brains do when we are terrified, every little ache and pain that we took in out stride before our lump we now think is a symptom.
i would think that lumps under the armpit that go up and down are nodes doing their job fighting against infection. I am not expert but i would have though that cancerous nodes would just get bigger. And your breast might be tender because you have been handing it so much lately examining your newly found lump. If you are anything like i was you keep having another prod in the hope that its gone away.
But this is not to belittle your fears. no matter what the result is on Friday you are bound to be worried and your mind is going to race over all the possibilities.
Have another word with your OH. she is probably being practical and not worried about the outcome, but tell her that although you know it a ten to 1 chance you are still going through a bad time worrying about it and need a hug.
You poor thing it is such a shock to find a lump. I agree with everything Shelly, Revcat, and oldandlumpy said.I am so glad you have that appointment. The mind does do strange things. You are concentrating on your breast so you feel it. If you think about your big toe now you will be aware of it. Years ago my Gp found a lump in my breast which I had not noticed. From that moment until I got the ‘all clear’ I had pain, yet an hour after the Clinic The soreness had gone.
The days and nights until your appointment will be so long and no matter what anybody says you will think the worst. You need lots of pampering and shoulders to lean on. Hold on in there we are thinking about you. Hopefully it will just be another fibroadenoma or your old one that has grown. A cyst is also a possibility they can feel tight and large. Again lymph nodes which have been affected with cancerous cells would not go up and down.
If you get too upset do contact the Helpline 0808 8006000, they will listen to your fears and give you support.
Thinking of you in this time of Limbo
Cackles
I am back from the doctors. After much prodding, they have determined it is - nothing. It may be new but it’s just normal breast tissue - no need to see a consultant. I feel so silly, but so relieved.
I’m pleased I went anyway, because I had two large lumps in my groin which I had forgotten about - apparently breasts mean more to me than my reproductive organs. So I had those checked, and my doctor believes they are swellings of my lymph nodes, which have a causal link to the dreadful swelling I get in my legs. She said this further links to the fact I may have chronic fatigue (I sound a right mess don’t I?). So, they’ve taken lots of blood from both arms, I’m back at the docs in two weeks to look at the results and get my referral to the chronic fatigue specialist sent through, which is good.
I’ve been told to keep an eye on the breasts, but all is fine, and to keep a close eye on the groin lumps too. Apparently I’m lucky that I’m slim as were I bigger I wouldn’t be able to feel them, but this way I noticed them and can monitor them myself, and if they get any bigger then it’s straight back to the docs as the lumps and leg swelling can sometimes by symptomatic of ovarian cancer.
So, there we go.
Thank you all so much - best wishes to you all and hopefully I can go more than eight months without returning this time around.