20 with dimple/indent on outer left breast.
Hello,
I turned 20 on January 7th. I recently started haveing health anxiety making this all the more difficult for me.
On January 21(monday) I was doing my regular self breast exam. I didn't feel anything wrong or diffrent in myself. I know I have fibrocystic breast and I have been told by doctors. So I had gone online for information on fibrocystic breast, and like most of you will know whenever you search something to do with breast you always are shown breast cancer warning signs.
Given I had just done my self exam I hadn't originally thought anything of it but just read through it out of curiosity. And for the first time ever I ran into dimpling/indentation (not the orange peal type). So I whent to the restroom to look at my breast.
Low and behold I saw the dimple/indent on my outer left breast. It was/is hard to see also because it is surrounded by some stretch marks and the spot that it's placed on makes it look inconspicuous. It near where your side boos starts to come off your body so you start getting the under boob fold and about half of an inch up from that. I will see if I can add a link to a picture.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/OAl6HHpZ9Y7zlS3h1
I have seen it around for a while, a year or more perhaps my whole life? But because like many people I didn't know this could be something I never kept track of it or paid attention.
When my arm is down it looks like a small line that curves in like a streachmark or fatty fold. When I pull my arms up you don't see anything at all. If I lean forward or lay down you don't see it either. However if i try to flex my arm and chest muscle it's more prominent and actually looks like a side ways V (<) with the small side pointing toward my pit and the open side pointed to my general nipple area. My right breast does not have this, but it does have a small flat spot on the bottom right side and when I raise my arm or Flex it looks like a very faint w. This side I have seen like this for years if not my whole life, never thought anything of it never changes in size and I don't feel anything either.
I immediately assumed the worst and started to cry. And after that whent online to look for other possibilities that aren't cancer. Everything I find points to some mass that is in the breast pulling on something, it can be benign or not.
I have found very few people who have it (dimple) without a mass and they have it due to a fluctuation in breast size due to weight loss/gain or breast feeding, or have heavy breast, so it's a normal/natural breast change where the ligaments that hold you breast shape just give out and cause a dimple. These women are usually in their 40's.
I haven't breast feed, or lost weight. I don't think I have very large or heavy breast (40 C) I am over weight I weigh 175 but they look normal size in correlation to my overall body size.
In early November 2017 I had gone to the doctors office(not my primary) because of another thing but asked for a breast exam, he didn't notice the indentation because he had me lay down. After his assessment he said he didn't feel anything wrong and that I have fibrocystic breast, and gave me a print out.
So back to the present the next day (Tuesday) I whent to my primary Dr. (A 3rd year resident) showed her the indentation/dimpling her immediate response was that it didn't look too concerning and she almost couldn't see it, I also did the flex thing so she could see it more prominently. She did the breast exam and said everything seemed normal, that I had fiberous breast. She also said she felt a small ball/lump on my left breast around 3o'clock but it may most likely be a cyst because I was close to having my period. She said she would recommend monitoring me to see what hapens, but if I wanted it I could go for an ultrasound. I obviously choose the ultrasound.
So Thursday that same week I had my ultrasound it was from 3o'clock to 10( the area that was imaged) the tech said she didn't see anything, the radiologist came in and did it too and said she saw Nothing. At first I was happy because it was clear and there was nothing but I keep thinking about how the doctor said she felt something, why didn't it show up? Was what she felt just regular tissue if it was can that be that cause of the dimple? Is my breast to dense and so the ultrasound didn't pick it up? Did they look in the wrong spot?
It doesn't help that I have come across ladies on here who have mentioned that ultrasound missed their mass even when you could feel it. I have been going to a therapist to help with the anxiety it kind of helps, but it can be hard to trust some times.
I'm not sure weather to trust that everything is OK or if I should push for an MRI and to be referred to a specialist, I feel like if I ask for one they will blow me off because of my age, anxiety, and that the ultrasound was clear.
I want to know if fibrocystic breast can cause dimpling/indentation. Has anyone had this and it is totally ok with no malicious cause without weight or breast changes.
The last few days I can't sleep, I have nightmares, I had a very vivid dejavu type dream where the doctor says I do have cancer, I wake up during the night, then all day I feel tired and so sleepy.
I know statistically it is more likely to be something benign, but you never know what card you will get. I am trying to stay hopeful, I really want some help as to what I should do. Should I go with the flow and assume there is nothing. Should I ask for an MRI instead.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/OAl6HHpZ9Y7zlS3h1
Comments
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Not everything that feels like a lump to you is abnormal. An ultrasound is far more sensitive than any clinical breast exam. In my practice, in cases like yours, when the tech and I were done scanning I would often let the patient put the transducer on the area where they feel the lump themselves. It goes a long way to convince them we looked in the correct spot. On some occasions both the breast surgeon and I are both present in the room for these exams just to reassure those with significant health anxiety. Maybe you can get them to do this for you. Couldn't hurt to ask.
True skin retraction happens when a mass in the breast is tethered to the undersurface of the skin, and possibly the chest wall so that when one bends over at the waist, most of the breast falls forward and down except for where the mass is attached, which then appears as a deep fixed depression in the skin. It is not an intermittent finding/phenomenon. In my experience any mass big enough to cause this finding should be large enough to see on ultrasound as a good US can locate a cancer measuring as small as 3-5mm, and that is way too small to cause retraction.
Keep us in the loop and let us know how it goes.
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I just wanted to respond to your post because I too have sever health anxiety and I also have the same exact indent you do. Looking at that photo is like looking at my breast literally! I also see you have the same pores on yours as I do. Anyways just to let you know I went for a mammo and ultrasound last week and everything was all clear with the indented breast! Hope this kinda helps reassure you somewhat!
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Thank you it does help a little. But for some reason I keep thinking of all the ladies who say they have had ultrasound and mammo but they missed it and feel like that's me. Congrats on having the all clear. Are they going to do like a 6 moth check for you just to keep up and make sure it is ok?
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Giselle, I'll bet those ladies weren't twenty years old. Statistically the incidence of breast cancer at 20 is practically zero.
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well let's hope so. 🙏🙏
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Hi Giselle because you are on a BC forum you are going to see a lot more stories about women who had something that was missed compared to stories of women who had something that doctors said was nothing and then really turned out to be nothing (because those women don't usually post here). Just keep that in mind when you are going through the stories
Also usually doctors are pretty cautious. They don't want liability if they were to miss something. But if you are worried just monitor it. It is good you are taking pictures, you can monitor any changes and be proactive. I don't think the doctors are dismissing you in this case so if something was to change just bring it up to your doctor.
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Totally agree with Rachel888's assessment.
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hi! I have the exact same side indention as you. I am so worried about it.. I also have a lump I feel on top of my breast. What ever came of yours?
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I wanted to post an update on what's going on in case other people stumble across my post.
So in mid February I decided to ask for the MRI because I was/am still concerned, I compiled some research I did on the subject and emailed her a Google doc. with links to what I found.
She didn't anewer for 2 weeks so I sent it again and it took her a few days to reply and get approval from her supervising attending, and another week to get the procedure approved by the insurance. By then it was around the end of the second week of March. Right now I have to wait for my menstrual cycle to start so they can schedule my MRI 7-15 days after, which should be around the second week of April.
She ordered a Unilateral Left Breast MRI,
A couple days ago I made another post MRI questions regarding questions abou the procedure like if it would be only the left breast that would be imaged or both, and biopsy questions too if you want to go look at it.
I will update after the MRI.
Update:
Because my cycle started on Friday night the appointment center was closed so I had to wait all weekend and when I called back they said they had no available spaces for the 7-12 days they schedule the exam so I have to wait for May.
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So things didn't turn out as planed for the MRI. I ended up having it on June 7, 7 days from the first day of my cycle. They were about to say that i wasn't going to be able to schedule because I had to go to a specific facility and it was booked. But then the appointment administrator took my call and she was like that's not true you can go to any one of our facilities these people don't know anything.
The MRI was not what I was expecting. Because of comments I had read around hear I thought it would be extremely uncomfortable but it was totally fine, for me anyways. I thought maybe I would be claustrophobic but no It felt spacious (I'm a slightly heavier person 185lb) inside there was air so I didn't feel hot. I felt nothing when the contrast went in maybe a weird taste in my mouth but not really sure. The worst pat was the tape for the IV because of my arm hair. I wore leggings in hope they would let me keep them on but nope.
Getting my results was a whole other dilemma. The tech said that my doctor should call me on monday with results (the MRI was on Thursday). Monday rolled around and I got no call, Tuesday nothing, Wednesday nothing. So Wednesday afternoon I sent an email to my doctor along about the results. I then got a call Thursday from one of her nurses and she said that they didn't have the results and they couldn't give them to me because the hospital itself didn't do the exam. I told her what the tech said and she was like no we have nothing you would have to go ask for a copy and bring it in for the results.
So that same day I go ask for the copy and then go straight for the hospital because the nurse said to go to reception and ask for her that she was going to tell them something and come down for me to give me some paper. But when I got to reception they said they didn't know anything that no one had contacted them. Then they looked her up in the system but she was on break and would be gone for an hour I could wait if I wanted. I had things to do so I left. The disc didn't get handed over until the following Tuesday.
My Dr called me this Friday saying the results were fine that there was no finding of any kind on the MRI. I asked her why I had the indentation/puckering/dimpling and she said that it was most likely that I have more connective tissue in that area, as well as that it wouldn't be uncommon if it changed or looked bigger over time. But that I don't have to worry too much because the MRI showed it was fine. That is not uncommon for people to have irregularities. ( I did pop the MRI disk into my pc before turning it in and I didn't see any masses in either breast) but for some reason I still feel a little uneasy, damn anxiety.
I completely forgot to ask if I should still have it checked out at least once a year by ultrasound to keep track of it. After a few days I received a letter from the MRI facility and they recommend another exam next year in june.
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thanks for the update it gives me hope for me thanks again
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Hi, Giselle I also have small dents and I’m freaking out, i’m 25 and no baby. Can I see the pic so I can compare it with min
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ardeedandy
This thread is from 2018 and Giselle hasn't been back since November of that year. You might want to start your own thread in the "undiagnosed but worried" section.
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