Lump/other symptoms and heading into diagnostics
Hi, New here and first post. I am a 40 year old mother of one. This past week I found a breast lump (really by accident) in my left breast, upper outer quadrant. It was very noticible to the touch and I had my husband feel it too and he also felt it right away. It is hard and not really moveable (seemed attached to the chest muscle). The next day -- very worried and after I looked up info on lumps (I know, I know Dr. Google is never a good idea!) -- I did a fuller self-breast check and noticed that my underarm on the same side had noticibly swollen glands as compared to the other side and that there was puckering/dimples underneath the left breast. Suffice it to say, I was paniced and was able to make an appt at my GYN's office the next day (yesterday) where I saw the very wonderful NP.
She also felt it right away and noticed the swelling under the arm too. She called and got me an appointment for a diagnostic mammagram this upcoming week at a radiologist group (where she said that she thinks they may also want to schedule an MRI too ... and she said that she will be able to get the results very quickly and call me at the latest the following morning). She also told me to go ahead a call a breast surgeon she recommended and tell them that she said she will be sending the imaging over right away and to get me an appointment regardless of the radiologist's findings for a second opinion and that she may want to schedule a biopsy.
I know that no one can say whether this "sounds bad" because there are always many possibilities until all test results are in, but I am understandably very nervous. I am very grateful that the NP was so thorough and quick to get the diagnostic process moving along speedily, but her urgency also has me thinking the worst. Anyone have any particular thoughts here?
As background, I do not have any family history of breast cancer ... I do have autoimmune conditions. One other maybe random or unrelated symptom I mentioned to the NP was that in my left hand (fingertips) I had been having very sore/throbbing "nervy" pain on and off for the past month. Just a week before, I was going to make an appt about it with my PCP, but since it disappeared, I figured it was maybe a pinched nerve or something and would go away completely soon. Yesterday it returned.
Thsnks for he read, and I appreciate any thoughts. Best to everyone here in the stressful wait time.
Comments
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Hi Kathleen,
We just wanted to drop by to welcome you to Breastcancer.org. We're sorry you're here and worrying, but you've come to a great place for support! It's a little quiet around here this weekend, as it's a US holiday weekend, but someone will surely be by soon to offer some advice and support!
Sending our positive thoughts your way! Please keep us posted.
--The Mods
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Kathleen - I think you are fortunate that you have an NP who was willing to not only pave the way, but grease the skids. Most people have to wait for the results, but also sometimes quite a while for an appointment. I'm hoping for B9 results for you, but I'm really glad you have someone who understands how to get things done advocating for you. Please make the appointment with the BS. It's just a cautionary move at this point, but you'll be in the queue. Do let us know.
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Thank you for your reply. I am trying to relax with my two guys :-) and take my mind off the issue forthe long weekend, but it's not exactly easy to do. In any case, I will certainly follow all the advice of the NP and check back in here to update once I know something more.
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My goodness. So I just found out there is a family history on my father's side. That side is much smaller than my mom's (where there are so many women and no history) ... so on my father's side for "direct" female links there's only my sister & aunt -- but it turns out in talking to my aunt she shared that her aunt (so my great aunt) had breast cancer and so did her great-grandmother. And that her grandmother had a tumor on her back (no idea if that was breast cancer related). But I also was not aware that the breast cancer gene could come from the father's side or that Ashkenazi Jews had such a higher incidence,also that side.
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Kathleen, sorry you are going through this. Be sure to tell your Dr about the family history as well. They will probably want to do some genetic testing, regardless of your findings. It sounds like you are in good hands. Try to enjoy your week-end. Best wishes moving forward.
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As it turns out, I was able to pull the raw data from my family DNA testing and compare the gene mutations I have against the breast cancer gene mutations ... BRCA2 positive.
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