Hi everyone. I’ve posted here and there on this site as, due to my family history, I keep up-to-date on bc info. My gp has fast-track referred me as for the past four weeks I’ve had enlarged lymph nodes in one armpit, with the other one beginning to join in this week! On the ‘worst’ side my upper arm and breast are aching, with even my hand feeling a bit odd. Neither I nor the gp could find any lumps, but he thinks there is an area of thickening in both breasts. Having spoken to the helpline it sounds most likely that I have either invasive lobular or invasive ductal (I had a clear mammogram in November). I am a young fifty-year-old and one year post-menopause. I would be so grateful for your thoughts on my main questions:
has anyone else’s bc begun in this way and, if so, what type did it turn out to be?
does the fact that both breasts and underarms are affected make it more or less likely to be bc, or more or less likely to be one type or another?
do the swollen lymph nodes mean that it has already spread?
Please don’t spare me any facts: I was a nurse for many years, am now a priest, and believe that knowledge is power!
Thanks so much for reading.
Hi Sassie
there are a whole host of things that it could be anything from an infection , hormone inbalance to cancer. If your GP has referred you then you should wait until you have been to the clinic. There is plenty of info on this site but sometimes that can cause more harm than good.- As my Nan would have said don’t trouble trouble til trouble troubles you!
It is a natural reaction to think the worse and I will keep my fingers crossed for you that everything is ok. Remember ove 90% of breast problems are not cancer.
Cancer in both breast at the same time is unusual by all accounts - but then since my own diagnosis nothing surprises me.
I have a very strong family history and the first time I was referred to the clinic over ten years ago it was for very similar symptoms as yourself and for me at that time everything was fine. Everyone is different and two women could have identical symptoms and one be cancer and one not so i will not even try and provide any more info.
There is a helpline on this site if you want to discuss things through and you have already read and done a self diagnosis but you are crossing bridges long before you need to and giving yourself more worry than you should. Be patient, have faith and when you know exactly what is wrong and if you need to ask more questions then do it then ( hopefully you won’t need to )- otherwise you could waste time worry about something you may not have or reading up on stuff that is irrelevant to you. It is not an easy task but try and remain positive.
Love and Prayers
Helen
Thanks so much for responding Helen. I’m sorry if I seem to be jumping ahead of myself, and if that’s irritating to anyone reading this who has a definitive diagnosis. I guess it’s just that I’ve always been someone who believes that ‘knowlege is power’, so hearing the experiences of others who’ve had similar symptoms is really helpful to me.
Hi sassie
I didn’t mean you to think that you would irritate people with your comments - no one on hear ever minds people asking anything - and I firmly believe knowledge is power too - I always go armed with a long list of questions - my onc says its good revision for him - bit like being back in med school - but for me if i can understand what is going on inside it helps me deal with everything else.
The trouble with this disease is that is is not one thing - breast cancer is an umbrella for many different types of cancer. Also many of the symptoms of benign problems are the same as for cancer so whilst you may match symtoms with other ladies that does not mean that you automatically have the same as they do.
I just wanted you to think about where you are now rather than where you fear you are - do you see?
Personally I have found this approach very useful and I will explain why. When I was diagnosed last year following my annual review (part of a family history campaign) I had very few symtoms one sore lymph node (not unusual depending on the time of the month),an itchy nipple and general fatigue. My diagnosis was that I had grade 3 triple negative BC, that was staged at 3C, they could not offer me a curative programme only one of contain and control. The BC in the breast was too small to operate and in view of the spread in the lymph nodes - mammary chain and supaclavicle i was classed as inoperable. Basically its a case of hoping the chemo and radio will hold it at bay and see how long it is before it hits a major organ! The trouble is they have no way of predicting how long that will be - its probably more than months but who knows how many years as each individual responds to chemo differntly even if they have the same type of cancer. I spent weeks planning my funeral, crying and writing and rewriting my will. Then I suddenly realised that I did not really know anything more than I had all along - that some day I will die. Yes I probably will die sooner than I had expected and dementia probably won’t affect me - but the “when” is still at this moment a big question mark just like it is for everyone else. Its a fact we all usually live in blissful ignorance of.
Because of this I have learnt that for me the best way to deal with this is to cross each bridge as it comes. I have read a number of articles about the stage and type of cancer I have and follow different research programmes - but for all the stats I am an individual just as you are too.
Your symtoms could just as easily be benign as cancerous and until you get the results please don’t cross bridges unnecessarily - try (and I know this is will be very hard for you at the moment) to enjoy each day.
As an aside there was a lady at the clinic when I ws diagnosed who had similar symptoms as me and hers turned out to be an infection!
Please let me know how you get on I have just had my post radio scan and will get the results of whether they have put my cancer to sleep for a while or not on 23rd - so I can appreciate how difficult it is to wait
I’ve been following some posts with interest as I had a biopsy last Tuesday and waiting for the results this afternoon by phone.
After I was shown clearly that there was a white lump from the mammogram 2 weeks previously, I was also shown it showing black on the scan. It wasn’t until I came on here, that I realised that it meant cancer! I was shell shocked that an operation was being considered and which hospital would be suitable for me.
After the biopsy I was taken into a side room by a nurse who said that the results gathered were rarely wrong. Wrong about what? I could see clearly there was a growth as much as anyone else. Was it benign or malignant? I had no idea.
I’ve calmed down a lot now. Helen’s post is so true. I’ve no idea if it is spreading or (hopefully!) taken out and no further treatment necessary.
Like you I think ‘knowledge is power’ and I’ve never been one of those live for the moment types who takes one joyful day at a time. For goodness sake we’re human and have the joy of memory, imagination and self awareness. For me anticipating bad stuff can actually help me to manage the next bit of news when I get it…whether its as bad or better than I expected.
Of course no one can diagnose you on line…but as an ex nurse you know that anyway.
Just a few thoughts: first, mammograms are not always reliable, particularly in the case of lobular cancer. Also lobular cancer does not always appear as a lump.
I had an achy swollen armpit before I noticed the lump in my breast (though I was not particularly looking for lumps as I had been given the ‘all clear’ 7 months eralier…actually misdiagnosed but thats another story.) Sometimes cancer can block the flow of lymph in the arm and hand but this symptom could also be caused by an infection.
Having cancer in both breast at initial diagnois is uncommon rather than rare.
I hope you can get your appointment as soon as possible so that you will know. Do your own thing with the amount of information you want for yourself…nothing more irritating I find than being told what I should and shouldn’t want to know.
I think its you who has recently you’ve found my website…so you’ll know where I’m coming from…thank you for your wise comment.
Thanks to you both for responding and yes, Jane, t’is I on your website!
I think it’s interesting (and probably a good thing) that we all react differently to the waiting and ‘what ifs’. I can see, Helen, with your experience, that trying to match symptoms to reality seems a bit pointless! But, like Jane, I have a thirst for knowledge (it’s the therapist in me!) about all subjects that touch my life or the life of those I love, and considering the worst case scenario is not about morbidity or pessimism, but is one of the ways in which I cope.
So, I may well have more questions as the days pass (my appointment is confirmed for February 16th, at Southampton) and I take full responsibility for handling anything I find out.
I discovered a small mobile lump in my armpit (althoughI had no pain), and my GP referred me to the breast clinic. It was biopsied and contained invasive ductal breast cancer cells. Nothing could be found in my breast by mammogram (indeed I’d had a routine one only a few months before which was clear), and nothing showed on an ultrasound scan.
However, an MRI scan did show “lesions” in the breast and following mastectomy these did turn out to be invasive ductal carcinomas. Following removal of all the lymph nodes under the affected arm, pathology showed that the cancer had spread to only that one lymph node.
So, it is possible for swelling in the armpit to be related to breast cancer, although as has been said there could very possibly be other reasons.
Thanks justme; kind of you to take the trouble to reply. One bit of good news - got my CA125 result back today and I’m clear for ovarian cancer. Just hope the news at the breast clinic on Monday is as good!
I’m getting on OK thanks. I was diagnosed two years ago now, so have completed my chemotherapy, radiotherapy and Herceptin. I am taking Arimidex for another 4 years.
Glad the news was good with regard to your ovaries - I hope that you get more good news re the breast problems next week!
Well well! Good news: apparently I have something called ‘accessory breast tissue’, which tends to show itself at puberty or the menopause. It often causes pain in the breast, axilla and upper arm (it certainly does!) and is hormone-responsive.
Thank you so much for the support I have received. I will continue to check in here from time to time; there is so much collective wisdom.
I too have never heard of “accessory breast tissue” but I have been following your posts and pleased to hear that you have good news. There’s always something new to learn on these forums!
Jane and Redders; thank you for your response. If I have gained anything, it is a much clearer understanding of those dreadful words: I think this may be breast cancer.