I have been diagnosed with Invasive Ductal Carcinoma Grade 2, which is hormone and Her2 positive. The diagnosis knocked me off my feet I must admit and I am due to have a mastectomy with reconstruction in 2 weeks time. Although my lymph nodes have looked clear on the scans so far I’m paranoid that every little ache, pain or spot is cancer that’s spread? The BCN has reassured me that they can tell from the biopsy that its primary breast cancer however I’m struggling to get to grips with “normal” aches and pains now from where I have been holding so much stress and tension in my body from the last few months and immediately panic that it’s proof I’m riddled with cancer. If anyone else has experienced this how have you managed to rationalise and keep it in context?
Yes this has cropped up a few times in various threads and also happened to me . I had an early Grade 1 Er/ PR + tubular cancer in the right breast my nodes were negative on scan but pretty soon after I was diagnosed I started to get twinges of discomfort / sometimes pain in both breasts and armpits . I’ve had neck and shoulder problems as well and even wondered if that was all related .
I’m a Nurse - I figured it was probably a reaction to being diagnosed I think you just become hypersensitive and aware and notice every little thing that would normally not even register . I think it’s partly because you don’t trust your body anymore and partly because you just want the cancer to be gone and waiting for that is pretty nerve racking. After my surgery obviously I had discomfort on my right side but all the other twinges miraculously disappeared - our minds and bodies are connected in ways we don’t fully understand. I hope everything goes well for you . Xx
Defo not just you! I was recently recalled from my first mammogram. I started to experience tenderness in my ribs on my left side where my cancer was while waiting for the follow up. Turned out what they wanted to check again was on the right! I got the all clear and the pains instantly disappeared. The mind does funny things sometimes. x
Definitely not the only one, also when there is a significant change you can ‘feel it’ see it the most, then you just have to stand ground with the dics who try to dismiss you.
It will get easier. And we are gere for you. All the best to you. X
Hello JoanneN
I was just reading through the notes and came across yours and thought i reach out to you- hope that is ok ?! Im normally on this amazing forum regarding my daughter (28) who has been diagnosed with BC in March this year. Last Saturday she had her faulty gene results back, which are unfortunately BRCA1. There is a high ammount of breast cancer and other cancer on my fathers side, so all not great. I myself now have since a few weeks pain in my left armpit area and in my chest bone area ! I was relatively calm about it…thinking …dont develop weird feelings because of all what is going on with our daughter and now the BRCA1 test results AND knowing the depressing cancer family history on my fathers side… but this feeling, discomfort, kind of pain is not going away- getting stronger- ( me slowly freaking out…and my mind messing with me!!!) I regularly check my breasts and so far- all was/ is good. I go to my breast screening regularly and so far had never an problem. But this is testing me. I can locate the place under my breast and on the edge of my breast , edging on to the outside of my armpit …i can feel something… but how to know if it is something to flare up in all this tissue, tendence, fat, muscle aso…all i know is, it hurts. I contacted my gp because of it( i needed to give her the update on our daughters test result anyhow, so that i can get a referral for this faulty gene test too) but it is a nightmare to get something in motion with this doctor. ( our daughter is still in the UK… my husband and i are since nearly 5years in Denmark, in a very rural countryside) so i spoke - once more- to one of these incredible nurses here on the helpline and she advised me to definitely get this checked out. So since early this morning im searching now for similar cancer helplines, like we have in the UK and i found something, where i can gather more info regarding putting pressure on my gp to get me referred for some form of check up. I read a lot on this side regarding symptoms and what to look out for…signs aso… im just so confused because it is and isent in the right areas to look out for…but it isnt ( yet) a lump in my breast BUT i can feel something in the earlier mentioned areas . The last few days i can definitely feel the discomfort increasing… but again…is it my mind going slowly on overdrive and feeding it with more info from reading up on things( and im NOT using Google…i dont do that to myself…i use this and other reliable sides)hence feeding the mind with fodder to go mad on… OR are things really getting worse ?! This is seriously starting to stress me out…i NEED to get this checked to know what , or what not is going on…
How did you manage to chanel your mind into the right direction and how did you manage to pick out the REAL symptoms?!
Sending you strengths and calmness being able to continue to fight this damn monster !
Stay strong and sane !
T
My situation was different to yours in that in that firstly I had no suspicion that anything might be wrong when I went to my routine mammogram .Secondly when I was recalled I assumed that if a problem had been found that it would be on the left - because every injury and problem that I had had for years and years had been on the left. I then started with a few twinges mainly on the left side so when I went to my second screening and was told my BCN that it was the right breast they were concerned about you could have knocked me down with a feather as we say here . That was a shock in itself but it made me realise that I was in essence the same person I had been before the recall letter - any twinges on the left must be down to my own perception , me magnifying little twinges that we probably all get everyday and don’t notice - because everything was found to be normal on the left and I hadn’t had any discomfort before that letter arrived. Also any twinges that then started on the right were unlikely to be anything either as again prior to recall I hadn’t noticed anything but also prior to my second screening I had thought the problem was on the left. It’s really hard to think logically when you have just been told you have cancer and no matter how much you tell yourself that a bit of discomfort doesn’t signify anything part of you doesn’t really believe it. Also you’re hurting emotionally and that can sometimes translate as physical pain - our minds and bodies are such complicated interlinked things .
I go to mindfulness classes at our local Buddhist centre where we talk about thoughts quite a lot - how our minds like to create scenarios , how we get pulled into narratives . Thoughts are just thoughts - in many cases they aren’t real in any way and in the practices we try to just acknowledge that the thoughts are there ( they either always will be or they will come back) but not to get pulled into them. If you can do this then you can get a little distance from wherever is troubling you usually just for a short time but it helps a lot. Unfortunately as with many things it’s hardest to do when you need to do it the most but worth persevering with. Also in some ways it did help to be a Nurse - in other ways it complicated things but that’s another story .
I don’t know if you keep a diary but it might be worth you thinking back to when you first started to notice pain / a problem - when did it start and where , how has it changed . Is there a pattern to it and what aggravates it .
I haven’t had to deal with the issues that you have experienced in regard to a strong family history of cancer and seeing you child develop it must have been beyond awful for you and now to find out about the BRCA1 gene and all of the issues that that opens up - my heart really goes out to you. Sometimes anxiety can cause pain in the chest - it’s usually muscular in origin but taking everything together I would second the advice of the Nurse on the helpline and get yourself checked out if you can. I know it’s difficult in a rural area because you don’t have the same choice of services as you might get in a town / city so if you can afford it it might be worth just this once getting a private health screening and gene testing. If you can’t then yes gather information from reputable sites ( well done for resisting the temptation to doom scroll ) .
I don’t know what support there is in Denmark here we have MacMillan who may be a good resource as they have information about cancer in general including genetics . Counselling is often offered to help with coming to terms with all of the issues around BRCA and to make sure you have all the information you need. If you still continue to get no action from your GP and you are you are able to approach another Dr. then in your shoes I would probably do that .From listening to my patients experiences and reading some of the posts here I’ve realised that quite a few people have had issues with unhelpful GPs - I’m sorry that this problem seems to apply to you as well. Sometimes even if we don’t want to be we have to be that " difficult " patient that keeps asking questions and refuses to be fobbed off . One of my friends who is a GP herself told me that . I don’t know if I have managed to help you in any way but just know that you aren’t alone and sending love to you and your family. Xx
