Panicked...Armpit/Extra Breast Fat

suedehead

Hi everyone. I am 47, 46...I don't even know anymore. I had a scare last year, which they are watching. Unfortunately that entailed my first mammogram and etc., ever. Well, I'm at the end of my cycle, and this morning in the shower noticed something weird. I have gained quite a bit of weight in the last two years....ugh! Anyway, I don't know what it would be called, but the area of the armpit, closest to the breast....where fat can accumulate and make a tank top look awful....yeah that. Well, I never thought too much about that area until I saw the breast surgeon last year. She told me that is actually extra breast tissue. Again. Ugh.

I have become basically a person that checks everything each time I'm in the shower. It paralyzes me with fear, but I do it anyway. Today, I don't know why, it seems extremely lumpy/ropey/like big veins. I have to really push, use lotion, and then I can feel what I'm feeling. It's not the type of thing a person would notice just gently running their hand over that area. There are LOTS of lumps/lumpiness/ropiness....both sides. I guess sort of like swollen lymph nodes in some areas...but if that's the case, I have several of them, on both sides.....maybe the size of a bee bee. Is that how you spell that? I don't know what to make of it now I've obsessed over it for the entire weekend.

Is this normal? Some of the areas feel a little worse than others, but it's on both sides. I'd also like to add that I simply HATE THIS for everyone that has these scares or finds out bad news. This is just the worst worry for a woman. xoxo

Sara536

I've noticed over the years that some gynecologists do much better exams than others. If I were you, I'd try to find one that does a really thourough exam and stick with that one. That said, my 2 cm tumor was found on a mammo and neither radiologist nor surgeon could feel it even when they knew exactly where it was.

suedehead

How frustrating....it's almost like there is nothing we can do.

Sara536

Sure there is... We can relax and let someone else do the feeling up. We can stop poking ourselves so hard that we bruise our ribs. We can get regular mammograms. We can even get a 2nd opinion from another radiologist if we think the first may have missed something (and that does happen, even to the best of them). We can deal with weight, eat a healthy diet, and get a lot of exercise. You're still young - there is no point in living the rest your life in fear and getting obsessed about breast cancer. Take it from someone who has a lived a long life being afraid, starting with when I first got breast "buds"... and what are those, after all, if not lumps? After that, I could never do self exams because everything to me is suspicious. I did manage to sucessfully breast feed two children but still unable or unwilling to do self exams Strange, now that I have been diagnosed, I am no longer afraid. It is so much easier to deal with reality than with what isn't. I sincerelywish you the best of luck:)