Hello everyone last Wednesday I found a lump in my breast. Got in touch with my GP (who was lovely) he did a referral straightaway for me. I did visit the nurse she said there was something there but it’s very small. I’m 66 never had any big health worries and absolutely petrified. So many people on here seem to cope so well but I feel like running away from it. I have a lovely husband who tells me we’ll get through this whatever it is together. Maybe it’s the not knowing the full picture can anyone tell me if you feel stronger and more able to face this after the diagnosis. Thanks.
Hello Lottiedog
Firstly, a very warm welcome and well done on finding this lovely, supportive forum on a miserable rain-soaked Sunday afternoon when we are all taking a wearied battering from that other Big C. You will find this to be such a major positive step in the right direction - whatever direction you subsequently take. After all, whatever your current anxieties, you do not have cancer until you are actually diagnosed with cancer. The majority of breast lumps are benign and the majority of investigations have a negative result.
At the moment you are in that dreadful No-Man’s Land where the waiting seems interminable and the not knowing an unbearable torture. It is just the worst! So, yes, I can promise you hand-on-heart that you WILL feel stronger, able to cope, and ready to face anything once you receive a diagnosis, or, of course, an all-clear. Know too that you will find unwavering support and reliably current information and advice here, from both fellow-travellers and the Breast Cancer Now nurses should you need it. In the meantime be gentle with yourself, indulge in all those little treats that pamper and lift your spirits (as far as that other C will allow) and give Google a very wide berth. You will be sucked into a rabbit hole of out-of-date, unhelpful and inappropriate information that will only serve to further petrify you, and petrify you unnecessarily.
This time last year I was in precisely the position you find yourself now, waiting for a referral and tests and steadily climbing the walls. Fast forward twelve months, diagnosis and treatment comfortably behind me, I can honestly say that those early not-knowing days were by far the most difficult. Your lovely husband is right. You will get through this, whatever it is, together!
Good luck!
Pat x
Hi Lottiedog
I’m sorry you’ve found yourself in this horrid situation that almost turns life upside down. Pat’s given you some great advice. I’d just like to add one fact: most breast lumps turn out to be harmless. You’ve jumped from A to Z without any stops on the way, which is completely understandable give the appalling press breast cancer receives, but you may have something benign. Let’s hope so. If it is breast cancer, those that are caught early have an extremely high success rate for full recovery and treatment may be relatively simple. If it’s breast cancer requiring the full works, it’s not nice but it is manageable even for the biggest scaredy cats on earth (like me).
While you’re waiting for your clinic appointment, take good care of your mental wellbeing. Walking, dancing, mindfulness, whatever makes you feel more serene. There are effective videos on YouTube that you can plug into and drift away for a while (Progressive Hypnosis’s Manifest Healing has been my favourite and I’ve a friend who has just recommended some reiki videos that she finds very soothing).
I hope you get pleasing results but if not, you’re in good company here,
Jan x