Pain under arm, near breast, lightning feeling in breast

swv

Hello, I'm a 40yo woman with no known family history of breast cancer. About a month ago I felt a weird soreness in my right underarm, close to my breast. The area could best be described as where an underwire would jab you from a bra (I don't wear underwire bras anymore). Upon examination, I found a very small bump (lump?) near my armpit, about 3-4 inches away from the tender area. I assume it was a cyst of some kind because it went away after 5 days or so. However, the soreness has lingered. When I touch the area, it's tender, but I cannot locate any kind of mass at all. Everything feels totally normal, just sore.

Additionally, I have these weird lightning-like sensations that will occasionally run through that breast. It doesn't happen all the time, but when it does, it's super intense. I do also have a pea-sized lymph node under my ear on the same side of my body, but with it being so far from the breast, I'm not sure that's even worth noting.

I do not see any dimpling, there's no itching or discharge.

I have scheduled my annual visit for March 23, but I'm not sure if I should try to be seen earlier? My mom (former nurse) says that breast cancer isn't painful and that itching would be a much more concerning sign. I appreciate any responses. Thank you!

Moderators

Hi swv,

We understand that changes like this can feel alarming. It is really difficult for anyone to say, without an examination, which looks like you have arranged for next month. If it would provide you greater comfort, you may want to move it to an earlier date. You seem to be very informed on symptoms, but here is a link in case it could be helpful: Breast cancer symptoms. And there are many benign breast cancer conditions as well, like cysts, which you mentioned. Hang in there and keep us posted.

The Mods

LivinLife

Welcome swv! I agree with the Mods - see if you can get the appointment moved up sooner... It may well be irritated nodes as you suggested though not sure about the lightening sensations? You won't know about either until you can get these checked out... I'd hate to think of you worrying for another month - hoping you can get in sooner? Please check back....

Beesie

swv, as the Mods said, since you are worried, there is no harm in asking if your appointment can be moved up. You need a doctor to see you and you need breast imaging to see if anything is going on. With what you've described, the good news is that the lump near your underarm went away. Cancerous lumps don't shrink or disappear, they grow. Same thing with cancerous lymph nodes. And as you mentioned yourself, an enlarged lymph node under you ear is not likely to be related to anything going on in your breast - ear and neck nodes enlarge for lots of reasons, most not serious at all. I've recently been dealing with enlarged ear/neck nodes, as have a few other women on this site, and we've all had breast cancer and yet our doctors aren't concerned that the two are related.

As for the breast pain, zinging pain is actually a pretty common complaint, and to my understanding is usually hormonal. Take a read here:

Breast pain https://www.cancer.ca/en/cancer-information/cancer...

It's always important to get breast changes checked out, but most often, there is nothing serious going on. Hopefully that's the case with you.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

swv

Thank you all for the replies. I have left a message with the nurse asking if I could go ahead and book my mammogram and blood work prior to my appointment next month. Hopefully they will call me back and tell me my request is approved. I appreciate the words of encouragement and information! x

DinoBiscuits

I'm sorry you're going through this — I know how scary that lightning feeling can be especially when accompanied by lumps and bumps. I had a similar situation to yours — underarm lump with shooting, lightning-like pain. I also felt like garbage — extra tired and just spaced out. When I saw my doctor, after lots of tests that went no where they finally figured it out — I had Epstein Barr Virus and a raging case of mono at age 35. My lymph nodes were working extra hard to clear the virus and it took them a good long while, too.

Everyone is different, but I wanted to share my story with you because I know how easy it can be to jump to the worst case scenario. And sitting with that anxiety while waiting for an appointment with a doctor is just the worst. I definitely encourage you to see your doctor ASAP and have blood work done, so I'm glad you're reaching out to ask them to move your appointment ahead.

Please keep us posted on how it goes!