anyone ever heard of lymph node in breast?

lucy89

Actually posting here for my daughter, unbeknownst to her cuz i dont want to tell her i'm worried. (always worrying about my children.)

she told me few weeks ago she felt lump in outer area of breast, i told her to check it out immediately. an ultrasound confirmed a normal looking lymph node. Dr said everything normal and didnt mention any followup. I however, have heard many things about breast, but never heard of having palpable lymph node in breast. i do know there are lymphs all over body, but i personally never felt them in breast. Her dr isnt very patient and didnt do any explanation, so i was left wondering and worrying a bit..

What would make a lymph node suddenly become palpable & how common/ normal is this in other women? its not like its enlarged, think it was 0.07cm*0.08cm??

Dr hasnt mentioned any followup, but just thinking, doesnt this need to be watched, to see if it gets bigger? or is it just like any other node in breast, like in the neck, in which i never even feel to see if it ever gets bigger..

i hate googling things cuz they always scare me, so any info would be appreciated.

MTwoman

Lucy, how old is your daughter and is there a family history of breast cancer? As the doctor performed an us, and confirmed a normal looking lymph node, I'm trying to figure out what additional history or information might be causing you to worry.

Everyone's lymph nodes are a bit different as to exactly where in the underarm/outer breast they are, which is why when they perform a sentinel node biopsy they actually have to map them (which ones perform the sentinel, or initial uptake, function). Even the NUMBER of sentinel nodes will vary from person to person.

I agree, googling would be counterproductive. There are many things that could cause a lymph node to be a bit more noticeable, without being out of the "normal" range. If you don't have confidence in the doctor, you could ask for a second opinion. But I'm not reading anything that would lead me to that conclusion.

Sorry you're worried. Hope someone else may come along and offer some additional help. ((hugs))

lucy89

my daughter is 28. and there is no family history of bc.

for some odd reason, anything related to breast makes me worry. (maybe cuz I have family friend that is going through bc..)

im just looking for more info, or if anyone here knows that this is considered a normal thing to have in young women..

mustlovepoodles

Yes, there are several lymph nodes in the breasts, not just under the arms, neck, and groin (and other places.) No, it is not normal for lymph nodes to be palpable. That said, there are many reasons that a lymph node would be enlarged, most of them benign.

At her age, it is unlikely to be breast cancer. However, any swelling should be evaluated properly. In a young woman, a mammogram may or may not be able to see it. Young women typically have dense breasts, which make it hard to see things. Most young women will need an ultrasound to see clearly.

If this doctor has not recommended any testing, your daughter should make a call and request further imaging studies, at the least. If her regular doctor refuses, I would tell her to GET A NEW DOCTOR. A referral to a breast specialist would not be out of line, either. If she can see a breast specialist without a referral, she can just make that appt herself.

MTwoman

mustlovepoodles, they DID an ultra sound, (" an ultrasound confirmed a normal looking lymph node") that is why I was wondering if there was any other history that wasn't clear. sounds like the doctor ordered the right imaging, just didn't provide a good, thorough explanation of the findings.

lucy89

actually the node isn't enlarged at all. the radiologist that did ultrasound also told her it looks normal healthy node...

and as per doctor, he said its totally normal. where are you taking the information that its not normal?

mustlovepoodles, your post is really scaring me. she didn't even think of doing further evaluation, she did ultrasound. what more can she do? they will never do mamo on young adult.

lucy89

just decided to google for second..

looks like lymph node in breast is referred to intrammary lymph node.

sounds more familiar to anyone?

Icietla

Hi lucy89. With cause for suspicion, they do mammograms on younger women. My annual mammograms started at age twenty-eight.

SpecialK

lucy89 - the picture below illustrates nodes in and around the breast. The ones that run down the outside of the breast from the axilla (underarm) are external mammary lymph nodes, the ones that run alongside the sternum are internal mammary lymph nodes. The term intramammary just means situated within the breast. We all have differing numbers of lymph nodes, and differing locations of nodes within the body. The configuration of lymph nodes for your daughter may include one or more that are within the breast tissue.

lucy89

a mammogram is not rrcommended bec it has lots of false positives. Also, as i mentioned, no follow up was recommended, so y an mri?

Thank you for uploading that diagram. Her node is located under the axillar, bit further down than the underarm. But they called it intrammary node.

Moderators

Lucy89, sorry you and your daughter are going through this scare. Mustlovepoodles point is primarily to make sure that your daughter at finds a doctor who can properly explain things to her. Most important in the doctor-patient relationship is that there is a good rapport where you can ask questions, follow up with if there are unanswered issues, and who can provide further potential testing options and follow up. We're thinking of you and hope she can get some of her concerns alleviated.

MTwoman

lucy, it looks like an mri was not recommended as the doctor " confirmed a normal looking lymph node". If they had found something that they couldn't identify as "normal looking" or couldn't identify period, they would have done another imaging study to add to the us. It isn't typical to keep exploring a "normal" result without any additional reasons.