Back again with even more worriesome symptoms!

Mandyhiero

So, since last November I've been in limbo with my breast issues. It's started with an indentation on my right areola with clear mammogram and ultrasound, then I had lots of pain in the right breast, followed by an enlarged lymph node (?) that didn't show up on ultrasound, some itchiness, and worsening pain in the same breast over the last year. I've went to see a breast navigator at the breast center, and a breast specialist twice. They both said given that both mammo and ultrasound were clear that it's just all benign issues. Not even cysts showed on either test.

In the last couple of months, my right breast feels like it's full of grapes, if that makes any sense. I have sharp pains shooting through it and tenderness on the inside of the breast closest to my sternum.

My newest symptom is a swollen lymph node in the clavicle area. I called and got an appointment for Monday at the breast surgeon's office and I'll be seeing her nurse practitioner but the wait until Monday is excruciating.

Needless to say I'm freaking out because everything I read points to metastatic breast cancer. All I can keep thinking is that it's not been my anxiety this whole time and that I really do have breast cancer. Also, in case it makes a difference, I'm 35 and have two kids. And I have a mixture of fatty and dense breast tissue per my breast specialist

KBeee

I would stay off of Google until your appointment. Nothing good will come of reading and obsessing over what could be. Let them examine you and decide on the best course of action to assess the area. Since your mammo and ultrasounds were clear, the chances of it being cancer are small. The chance still exists, but it is small. I know the wait is excruciating, but nothing good will come of obsessing over the what-ifs for the next week. Try to stay distracted; go for walks, journal, finish holiday shopping, anything but sitting in front of your computer. And as hard as it is; do not keep pressing on the node to see if it is changing. That will make it swell. Nodes can swell for a variety of reasons. I know that having symptoms is worrisome and frustrating, but thankfully, most turn out not to be cancer. Keep a list of questions going in your phone notes, so you can add to it as you think of them, including a time line of your symptoms. Other than that, stay distracted and busy yourself.

Mandyhiero

Thank you for replying, KBeee. I know you’re so right about Google. I make myself miserable googling my symptoms because it’s always some life threatening disease that comes up. I’ve been trying to forget about the lymph node but every time I move certain ways I get a stinging pain right where it is on the collarbone. I also get the same pain around where I feel the lumps. I feel what could be a swollen lymph node under my arm but I think I feel it in both of them. I don’t know. Maybe it’s my anxiety making me feel them in my armpits.

KBeee

It's so hard to know what various lumps and bumps are; before my diagnosis, I had a lump in my non cancerous breast, which I could feel, but never showed up on anything. I worried me horribly. It felt like a little mini hotdog right under my skin. My cancerous lumps felt like frozen peas. My hot-dogish lump was just fibrous breast tissue. I specifically pointed it out at the time of my surgery and asked them to figure out what it was. I do know how stressful that was. Now that I've had cancer, I know how different that felt. Now I have all sorts of lumps of scar tissue. I do understand the stress. I also get that any lump will say "cancer" when searched. Probably 90% of the symptoms we google have cancer high on the list. You know your body well and it is good you are getting it checked. Hoping all comes back with good news.

Lily55

Sounds hormonal to me, loads of inaccurate information on google

Mandyhiero

Thank you so much, KBeee! You’re right. I’m gonna stay off of google bc it does more harm to me than good. And yes, Lily55. I don’t know why I can’t convince myself of that. I am about 4 days away from my period so maybe it is hormonal. But I can’t explain away the swollen lymph node. If that’s what it even is. I’m praying if I quit poking and prodding it that it will go down.

Mandyhiero

I saw the breast specialist today and she felt of all of my lymph nodes and said she doesn't feel anything to be concerned about. She said she felt the same one on my left collarbone that was the same size. She did feel the lumps I keep feeling but said she thinks it's just fibrous tissue. She said my breasts are just very lumpy. She is sending me for another mammogram and ultrasound since it's been over a year since my last one but they didn't have any openings until January 8. So I'm playing the waiting game until then. I do feel better that my clavicle lymph nodes are not swollen like I thought. Once again I let my nerves get the best of me.

Mandyhiero

Coolrunnings I know all too well how you feel. I wish I could say I wasn’t terrified but that would be a lie. I don’t know what would make me feel good about my breast health because everything up to now hasn’t helped. The nurse practitioner and the breast oncologist did a thorough exam so I feel a little better but I’m still scared something is gonna be missed on mammogram and ultrasound. I have awful anxiety and they upped my Celexa to 20mg about a month ago so I thought that would have eased my anxiety some by now, but that hasn’t happened. I’m convinced that if I have breast cancer that mine is late stage also. I pray that’s just my anxiety talking. I hate that you’re in this same boat! It’s the worst feeling thinking that something is wrong and and you feel like no one understands.

Hunts08

Hi! I am in a similar situation. Since Nov 2017, I have had intense itching/burning sensation in one spot on my left breast. I have had mammogram, u/s, and a MRI only to be told that I have extremely dense breast tissue but that they don’t see anything. I have been dealing with this for over a year now and my symptoms have yet to subside. I notice dimpling on my breast also but the surgeon I saw said he just thought it was stretched skin. I just feel completely at a loss. I know something is going on with my body. It might not be cancer but it would be nice to know what is causing these symptoms that I feel EVERY day........ I am also only 35 with two young boys. I’m very torn as to whether or not I should push for an open biopsy of the area or continue to wait......