Thickening near armpit and prominent veins, heaviness

Kitu

Hi,

I am 32. I found thickening in my right breast near armpit in Feb 2019. Went to see OBGNY. She referred me for ultrasound and mammogram. They did not find anything in mammogram and ultrasound though radiologist could feel the palpable lump. I have dense breast. I went to breast surgeon. He was not concerned about thickening and asked me to come back after 3 months. I recently visited. He did ultrasound as I could feel heaviness in my breast and to my surprise he found small lump. He was not sure whether lump is benign or cancerous. He suggested to wait for 2 months before biopsy.

I am so terrified as all my symptoms are leading to breast cancer. Lump , heaviness and prominent veins in problematic breast.

Anyone has experienced similar ? What was outcome?

MexicoHeather

I had/have very dense breasts. In my 30's, the stuff was cysts and almost fibrous feeling, never cancer. Still, go tell the gynecologist that you want to go to another surgeon. That wasn't a good answer that you were given. Not calming at all. Hugs.

Kitu

Thank you for your MMexicoHeather 🤗

I will certainly talk to her. What do you think about prominent veins ? Is this alarming ? Again breast surgeon was not concerned about veins ..

Rah2464

Kitu please push for that biopsy. With your age, more than likely these could be cystic changes in your breast, but you should have that verified. I, too, had cystic changes in my dense breasts in my early 30's. But in my 50's I went in for repeat imaging because my left breast felt "heavy", off somehow, and I was very tired. Conventional imaging failed me but an MRI found my issue. Keep pressing for your answers and best of luck to you.

MexicoHeather

Well, I did have one vein that was more obvious. I never connected it with the cancer, but when you have an MRI, it's possible to see that the cancer is there. It's like a hot spot. The Oncologist ordered the MRI. I think he was worried about bone cancer because my shoulder hurt.

Kitu

I am too much terrified but my husband think I am over thinking and should wait for doctor's next appointment. He shrugged off my concerns. He loves me so much but he thinks I am anxious and should not think negative. I can't share this with any one other than him. I am not able to enjoy anything. Always worried.

BlueGirlRedState

Kitu , you might want a second opinion, waiting is usually not good if it turns out to be cancerous. It could be a cyst, but DR should be able to determine that. I have such mixed feelings about all this, I also had a dense lumpy left breast, normal right, and now wonder if that density/lumpiness make detection more difficult, and maybe they did not get it all the first time.

2009 ER+ left breast. 52 yrs. Lumpectomy, Sentinel node removal, negative. – 1. Radiation 6 weeks, tamoxifen 5 years. Dense lumpy left breast, normal right. Acupuncture offered at facility as part of integrative medicine. It really helped with anxiety/stress during radiation treatment.

2016 ER+ left breast. Probably a new cancer, but unknown. 4 rounds TC Aug-Oct 2016, Bi-lateral (my choice) Nov 2016, no reconstruction. 2 sentinel nodes remove, negative. Cold Capping using Chemo Cold Caps (DIGNICAP not available). Anastrozole 1 mg starting May 2017. Joint issues noticed immediately. Stopped Anastrozole after 3-4 months due to joint stiffness in. After several months of no AIs, fingers were feeling better. Started tamoxifen March 2018

Kitu

Hi all,

Just wanted to update. Yesterday had appointment with my BS. He did ultrasound but no lump found so no biopsy. Thickening is still there. Veins are fading away and some day I don't see any.

Doctor says everything looks normal. About one breast heavier than other he said lots of women experience it if they used one breast more often to breastfeed.

CGLion

That is great news Kitu! I'm sure you still have some residual stress, but it sounds like you symptoms are trending in the right direction

AliceBastable

I've always been lopsided, and the larger breast has more visible veins. But cancer showed up in the other one; the big veiny one is clean as a whistle.