Anyone has the lump for a long time before dx?

My surgeon told me that my cancer had probably been there at least five years before I noticed something. I also was node positive, but neoadjuvant chemo cleared that out, as well as the cancer in my breast. I should have been getting mammograms, but did not. At this point, that's all water under the bridge. What's done is done, and we can't re-do the past. We just have to move forward, and not be consumed by regrets. ((Hugs))

Film mammography of dense tissue did not work well for me: I was getting reports of 'architectural distortion' with follow-up ultrasounds for years before the lesion was large enough to be seen on a digital scan.

Worries about tumor dormancy are certainly understandable. Is there a counselor or support group you could contact? It can help to know you're not alone! Some areas might have special services for young survivors...

stephilosophy -- thinking of you after seeing this post! I am also one of those where my surgeon had said that mine was slow-growing and had to have been there at least 5+ years before it was found. Let's just say this whole experience seriously messes with your head. We all have those days, whether we'd like to admit it or not. Here for you if you need and the gals on the chemo boards will give you all the advice you need to get through craptasm! Personally, I'm convinced that everyone has some sort of stray cancer cells lurking, it's just a matter of either or not our body's system's caught it before it moved forward. For us, unfortunately, they decided to throw a party in our boobs. HUGS!

Mine was there for a year. I got lumps all the time and they were always cysts, so I customarily waited for two menstrual cycles and then would get them checked if they weren't gone by then. When I went to get checked with what turned out to be cancer, the mammogram and ultrasound were both normal - an ordinary cyst like every other ordinary cyst. I went away satisfied that I was fine. I didn't worry when the lump didn't go away right away. Ten months later, I got it checked again and it was stage III grade 3 cancer. I wish I hadn't been so conscientious. If I'd waited another month or two before getting it checked initially, It would have been visible on the ultrasound.