Hi ladies! I have a family history of cancer, but not breast cancer. Mostly its GI type cancers. I have had skin cancer myself. Anyways, my 18 yr old son died a year ago from stage 4 colon cancer. He lasted 14 months!! NOW…I have detected a couple lumps in my left breast on the axillary side and towards the nipple. They are not particularly tender, but have a weird sensation AFTER I palpate them. Like an aching into the armpit area. Also have noticed burning sensations down on my forearm for some unknown and random reason. I have come chest area pains from time to time as well. I have marked all those other symptoms as aging pains, and related to arthritis which I have. BUT…now I am a bit worried about the lumps! I called the breast imaging center I go to annually, but now I have to go first to my GP, have him cop a feel, then get him to order the exam. Due to the density of my breasts I always have to have an ultrasound…therefore…I have to see the GP first (since it is not necessarily routine, but also diagnostic).
I feel a little bit like a hypochondriac, but with my family history, and what just happened to my son, I am concerned…needless to repeat.
Sooo,…I will schedule the GP appt, and hopefully he can get me in soon and then go from there. UGH!!!
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Its me again. I was awake on and off most of the night which is unusual for me. The pain s and sensations continue and are worse at times, better at others. Wish I could just relax. So today I will call my gp.
Thanks Mel! Ya know it’s not necessarily pain per se, but a dull ache in the armpit area after I feel of the lump. The burning sensation is the the forearm and it comes and goes. I have sudden bursts of itchy-ness on the left breast as well. This it’s how I happened to feel the lump…I was scratching. Lol!
Called doc for referral and waiting to hear back from them. Hopefully can get in soon. I almost hate to even mention this to anyone cuz they all say it’s probably nothing. It ticks me off, the lack of concern, but then I hope they are right.
In my experience, I wasn’t told until the biopsies were confirmed. The radiologist said at the time of having the ultrasound that he wasn’t sure… Generally speaking, radiologists have a good eye for these things, so they may well give an indication, but I think it’s more common to wait on biopsy results as these are definite.
In my case, nothing showed on the mammogram, as I have dense breast tissue. They saw the lump on ultrasound. I asked the consultant for a breast MRI as I thought there was more that one lump. The MRI showed four lumps; three in a cluster and another further away. At this point, they had already biopsied one lump and found it to be cancer (one of the cluster), so they suspected the others in the cluster would be cancerous too. BUT, they were all convinced that the fourth lump would be benign because of its appearance… smooth and oval… After biopsies of all the lumps, they all turned out to be cancer.
This is why I think it’s best to wait for these results to be absolutely sure. My consultant was so sure that my fourth lump wasn’t cancer, he only ever talked about a lumpectomy… when the fourth one turned out to be cancer, I was told I’d have to have a mastectomy, as it was too far away from the others to save the breast. This was a massive shock, as it had never been put on my radar before…
Sorry for rambling!! In short, I think no one can be 100% certain without biopsy results. And you’re absolutely right… the waiting is the worst part of all of this. Once you know what you’re dealing with, it somehow becomes easier, even if it is cancer… you get some control back, along with a treatment plan etc.
Not long now until your appointment. Try and keep busy so you don’t worry yourself too much. Reaqlly hope it turns out ok for you. Keep us posted. Love Mel. xxx
