Hello all,
I am new here. I hope it is still OK to post having not actually been diagnosed.
I have been referred by the GP for a 2 week appointment at the breast clinic due to a mass in my left breast and also a smaller one in the right (this one is less concerning to me as it feels very much like a cyst which I have had before). I am due to be seen in 4 days’ time (Monday) but cannot seem to put it from my mind. I feel like I’m going crazy.
I suppose what isn’t helping is that I have been off work for some time now. Originally this was with some severe pelvic pain and urological symptoms but while absent I began to feel generally very unwell with a whole host of symptoms which I won’t list entirely but included fatigue, dizziness, low appetite and weight loss. There are blood tests/referrals and investigations going on regarding these symptoms but with so much happening at once I was convinced there must be an underlying cause.
Just over a week ago I went back to see the GP because of feeling so much more unwell. I’ve been having a low grade fever on and off and had noticed lumps on the back and side of my neck (lymph nodes) with no sign of any cold/flu/virus/infection in the area. A few days later I noticed a lump in my left breast. On examining further, I noticed that this wasn’t a single lump but was connected to a whole mass of hard tissue like an irregular-shaped ‘plate’ running from the outside of my inner breast toward the nipple. There is then a thin ‘strip’ of hardness connecting it to the round, hard lump. I compared this to the other breast and the tissue there is much softer and feels very different. The rounded lump seems to be getting bigger and to have grown in the time since I saw the GP.
There have been changes in recent blood tests, such as unexplained inflammatory markers and rising (though still in ‘normal’ range) platelets which the doctors are as yet to find an explanation for. I can’t help thinking that the reason I feel so terribly unwell is because I the breast lump is something sinister which has begun to spread. I am only 33 and have a partner and daughter. I just want to be healthy again for them and to get back to work and normality, but I feel as though there’s a real possibility that Monday will change everything and I’m terrified. I want it to come around so that I can get answers but am dreading it at the same time.
I guess I’m just looking to vent and for information really. What to expect, whether anybody has experienced something similar. My mind is in overdrive at the moment and I’m finding it hard to distract myself from it all.
Apologies that this is quite long. Thank you to anybody who takes the time to read and/or reply.