Any Feedback Welcome :)

Kenny_May85

I am 33 years old and for the past 10 months I've been experiencing a variety of health issues. It all started when I got a cold in May 2018. At about the same time I started getting severe pain in my both my breasts in between my cycle. This went on for a few months and eventually subsided to what I would describe as normal pre-menstrual pain. During the months May to September I had three bouts of Tonsillitis, heart palpitations, increased heart rate, consistent headaches and a sore and stiff neck. I've also felt extremely fatigued from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to bed. I'm sleeping 9-10 hours every night and I wake up feeling sore, tired and groggy - much like a bad hangover. In August 2018 I noticed one of the lymph nodes in my neck was swollen. I mentioned it at my next appointment and my doctor told me to come back in two months if it was still swollen. It was and I did, so in November I had an US on my neck and a cranial MRI head due to the headaches. Both came back clear, although the lymph node was swollen they advised it was just being reactive. I've had multiple blood tests, I was told all have came back clear. Although one trip to the ER resulted in another blood test showing my WBC count was slightly elevated. I wore a heart monitor for 24 hours, they found some abnormal activity but said nothing to be concerned about.

Fast forward to now... Still feeling very fatigued, lymph node is still swollen and I'm still having headaches. Also the breast pain and swelling has returned. But this time, only in my left breast. It started about a week after my last period finished and has been like that for about 10 days now. The tissue in my left breast also feels like it has changed and hardened, it doesn't feel the same as my right breast and is quite sensitive to touch. I can feel at least one solid mass as well as several smaller more fluid like lumps. No rash, no dimpling, no discharge. In 2006, at age 20, I found a small hard lump just behind my nipple in the same breast. After an US and biopsy I was told it was a Fibroadenoma, to keep an eye on it and if anything changes go back. It is still there but nothing has noticeably changed. There is no family history of breast cancer that I am aware of.

I booked an appointment with my Dr yesterday for a checkup and asked him to examine my breast. He immediately located the lump and agreed that it was concerning. He has given me a referral to a breast clinic for a Mammogram, US and Biopsy and I am booked in for Tuesday 16th April. Like many others, I've googled the symptoms etc and there is a small part of me that is worried. I know I've got a lot in my favour in terms of my age, lack of family history and that I'm not experiencing the "common" symptoms of breast cancer. But this unexplained swollen lymph node in my neck has really been bothering me for the past 8 months and now that this lump has formed in my breast it's a bit more concerning.

Thanks for your time, please feel free to offer any feedback if you have or are experiencing anything similar. Take care!

Dorie89

Kenny May, stay calm. Stay calm UNTIL your appointment. Stay calm AFTER your appointment. Make sure your weight is in the acceptable range, and briskly walk 3-4 times for 30 minutes weekly. Your doctor will inform and guide you, but you are the Captain of your ship. Exercising outdoors with Vitamin D3 exposure will do wonders for Anxiety. It's probably nothing serious - perhaps early onset peri menopause.

Moderators

Kenny_May85 and Dorie, welcome to Breastcancer.org!

Kenny, the waiting is offently reported as one of the most difficult things to go through. We know it is a scary and uncertain time, but just know that you are not alone! While you wait for your tests to be done, you may find helpful the Topic: Anxiety where you'll find great suggestions for managing anxiety.

Good luck with everything, and let us know how it goes next Tuesday! We are thinking of you and sending warm thoughts your way.

The Mods

djmammo

Kenny_May85

Sounds like you have things handled.

Do you or your doc feel enlarged nodes under your arms? It would be very unusual for anything coming from the breast to leap-frog over the axillary nodes and show up in a cervical node so when you have your imaging studies make sure they scan under the arms if the nodes are not well seen on the mammo.

Also, it is common to order all three of those procedures at once (mammo/US/Bx) purely as a matter of convenience to avoid having to call your doc for an order, and delaying the next step in your workup. There are times when one or more may not be necessary so don't panic if they don't do all three. Keep us in the loop.