I’ve just found out I likely have breast cancer.
About 5/6 months ago whilst breastfeeding I felt what I thought was a clogged duct. I tried (quite aggressively) to clear it by massage and ended up with a hard patch on my breast. Fast forward to a about a month ago and I noticed the area seemed larger and I had a swollen area under my arm.
I went to the GP who thought it was feeding related but sent me to the breast clinic to be cautious.
I was pretty stunned when the surgeon at the breast clinic strongly indicated he thinks it is cancer.
He said it feels suspicious and I’ve been told to prepare for a cancer diagnosis and bring someone to the results appointment. Obviously I’m devastated and now can’t stop worrying I’ll not see my daughter grow up. The fact it may have been around for months is making me panic.
The surgeon made me feel stupid for not going earlier. I have always been proactive before with having lumps checked, I just genuinely thought this was from breastfeeding.
What I’m finding hard to process is that I was told conflicting / confusing information.
The surgeon said the radiologist had said:
- They didn’t recognise cancer from the scans
- What normally feels suspicious looks suspicious on scans too but this didn’t
- The radiologist consultant who did my ultrasound biopsy said she thought it was inconclusive
- The breast cancer nurse told me I’m stuck between one person (surgeon) saying it is and one (radiologist) sitting on the fence.
I now feel I’m trying to reconcile all the different information. Dealing with being told to prepare for cancer and that biopsy results will most likely confirm that and also feeling silly for holding onto false hope.
I’m not sure what I’m really asking / writing here for, but just wanted to express my feelings and thoughts in words.
Hi I understand how you feel sounds so confusing , until your biopsy results are in no one can be sure , the waiting game is the worst I think everyone on forum has been through the same you just want know if it’s cancer or not , bear in mind if it is it isn’t always as bad as it seems
Hope you get peace of mind soon x
1 Like
There is no such thing as false hope. You have genuine hope because there is disagreement and even if all the specialists agreed there would still be genuine hope because breast cancer can only be confirmed with a biopsy. There are quite a few things that can mimic cancer on a screen. Anyway I’ll tell you what I was told while waiting. You don’t have breast cancer until someone confirms it’s breast cancer from a biopsy. So hold onto hope if it gets you through these next few weeks of waiting. I will also add that if worse comes to worst and it is breast cancer that there are so many wonderful treatments for it. Most of us diagnosed end up fine. I’ll come up to three years NED in July and I feel better than I did before diagnosis. Just moving on living my life. So know that even worst case scenario doesn’t have to be a life ending thing. Thinking of you and let us know if you have further questions.
1 Like
Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. My family are really supportive, but it helps to talk to people who have been through it themselves.
Do you mind me asking how you coped with the anxiety all the waiting brings?
And how you adapted to your ‘new normal’? At the minute it’s hard to imagine ever feeling normal or not anxious again.
The waiting game is the worse. Keeping positive thoughts until biopsy results come back. Focus on family and friends, worrying will drive you crazy. Also they have made many advances in the treatment of breast cancer. Keeping you in my thoughts.
Hi @19star19
Welcome to the group nobody wants to be in. Like others previously said the waiting is the worst part, waiting for biopsy results, surgery, pathology results and treatment plans. I’m very impatient and hate not being in control of things, I’ve had to learn over the past couple of months that this is just part of the process. I found keeping myself busy helped, I planned a couple of things.
Don’t beat yourself up about not getting it checked out sooner, I’m not sure if you’ve seen any of my posts on here but long story short, I had a lump checked out last year and was told it wasn’t anything to worry about. The lump didn’t go away, it actually started to feel bigger. I’d intentionally lost weight and put it down to being able to feel more of it because my boobs weren’t as fatty. After a few months I casually mentioned it to my GP who sent me back to the hospital. I went to that appointment on my own, I was expecting to be told it was a cyst. Like you I had a biopsy and was asked to come back for the results a couple of weeks later. Unfortunately for me the consultant was right and I was diagnosed with Invasive ductal carcinoma with lymph node involvement. I hope you get better results, you have to hang onto hope through this process. My new consultant is checking back to see if anything was visible on the previous scans, but it doesn’t change the outcome now. Time is strange, it seems like forever away and once it comes around it’s been no time at all. I’ve recently had surgery and am now waiting (again) for the pathology results to see what the next stage of treatment will be. It’s been nearly 10 weeks since my diagnosis and feels like no time at all. Sorry for the rambling, stay positive and try not to worry about the things you can’t change. Let us know how you get on. Xx