Its growing but nobody is taking me seriously because I'm 24

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SparkleKitty
SparkleKitty Member Posts: 4
edited September 2018 in Not Diagnosed But Worried

It started off with one little lump. I went to my doctor immediately. He ordered an ultrasound. Couldn't figure out what it was from the ultrasound. Then he ordered a needle biopsy. When I went to my needle biopsy appointment, the man that was supposed to do it felt my lump and decided I didnt need a needle biopsy. So he didn't do it.

Then I became pregnant and I had my son. Breastfeeding was impossible but i continued trying for three months. My breast just would not work.


When I finally gave up and let my breast dry up. I did a self exam. I discovered there were more lumps. The one original lump was bigger. I counted 6 other small ones.

I had a different doctor at this point and she ordered an ultrasound on the lumps.

The ultrasound report said that the 6 others were probably fiber. But the original growing lump was still questionable.

My doctor dragged her feet. Kept forgetting to do anything to figure out what the lump is. About 10 months go by and I finally give up on her and switch doctors.

My new doctor didnt feel the lumps, but sent me to a breast care center to see what the specialist thought about it.

As soon as I get there, the breast doctor is reassuring me that she highly doubts it's anything serious because I'm only 24.

After verbally telling me a lot of information about breasts. She finally decided to do a full breast exam herself.

She started feeling around my breast and said "Oh my!" Then was quiet for a long time while feeling around. After awhile she told me I had more lumps than she thought. She decided she wants me back in three months for an ultrasound. She's going to have the hospital fax over the second ultrasound I had and she's going to compare it to my next one. And she decided that we needed to take a look at both breasts again.

Now I havent personally felt my lumps since I had discovered the 6 new lumps. It had been a pretty long time since then. But I remember what they felt like.

My right breast started hurting super bad last night. (Which it's never done.) I decided to do a self exam just to see.

I am absolutely terrified now. There are sooooooo many lumps. Idk if I could even count them all. They're everywhere in both breast and in my armpits. The original lump is so big now. It's on my right side and my right breast is visually a lot worse than my left.

I panicked so much that I messaged my doctor at 1am telling him about it all.

Why is nobody taking me seriously?! I have a son that needs me because I'm a single mom and he has no family at all other than me and my mom. And my mom is not doing good herself.

Why not be safe than sorry?! I pay out of pocket but I'm not opposed to spending thousands if it means possibly saving my life?! And I have told every single doctor that.

Comments

  • Lula73
    Lula73 Member Posts: 1,824
    edited September 2018

    bypass your primary care doc and Call that breast specialist today. Tell her you need to be seen sooner than later. Main lump is bigger and new lumps in arm pit. Trust me she doesn’t want you to sue her for malpractice if it turns out to be something. You would be able to sue every doc prior if it does turn out to be something. Praying it’s just a cyst or fibrisdenoma it ither benign finding. Call that specialist today before noon.

  • WC3
    WC3 Member Posts: 1,540
    edited September 2018

    SparkleKitty:

    I don't know what your lumps are but if I were you I would want a breast MRI with contrast, at least for a baseline since you have lumpy breasts, and I would want the lump that is growing biopsied. With some practices/doctors, you pretty much have to tell them what you want and what your priorities are and not leave until your concerns have all been addressed.

    And as Lula73 suggested, go above your primary when you need to.

  • Beatmon
    Beatmon Member Posts: 1,562
    edited September 2018

    I hope the Breast Center gets active to figure out what is going on in your active breasts. I will tell you at age 22 I suddenly had numerous fibrocystic disease...way too many places to even count. Very dense. No cancer for 40 years. I hope that yours are not cancer. Statistics are in your favor but you are not a number.

  • dtad
    dtad Member Posts: 2,323
    edited September 2018

    Hi there. So sorry you are going through this. At your age the odds are on your side but I would insist on a MRI. Good luck and keep us posted...

  • NotVeryBrave
    NotVeryBrave Member Posts: 1,287
    edited September 2018

    I'm so sorry that you are going through this stress. Yes - at your age it would be rare to have breast cancer but not impossible. And in any case - you deserve to know what's going on for your own piece of mind.

    While most information states that breast tumors don't hurt, that was how I found mine. I had this area of my breast that was uncomfortable and naturally started feeling around to see what the problem was. And when I went to the OB/GYN - he started off lecturing me about dense breasts and lumpy breasts and caffeine. Then he did the exam and quickly changed his tune.

    Be very firm about your need to get this diagnosed - repeat how long it's been there and the increase in size. And ask about a referral if they can't help you. Good luck. Hoping for benign results!

  • skram
    skram Member Posts: 15
    edited September 2018

    I'm just gobsmacked that the man your GP referred you to decided not to do the needle biopsy that he'd been told to do.

    Surely that's not right (I'm Australian so not sure how it works elsewhere).

  • Tmh0921
    Tmh0921 Member Posts: 714
    edited September 2018

    Unfortunately, despite efforts to educate the healthcare community that breast cancer can and does happen to young women, there are still those that subscribe to the “you’re too young theory”. I myself was diagnosed at 27, and I will tell you right up to the minute my pathology report came in not one of my doctors thought it would be cancer because of my age. The pathologist even called my surgeon to confirm my date of birth because he thought there must have been a typo. Fortunately, my surgeon took me seriously enough to do the biopsy despite felling it would be benign. He is, to this day (19 years later) the doctor I trust the most.

    Please bypass your PCP and the doctor who refused the biopsy. Find a breast surgeon or another physician who WILL listen and take action. You have to be your own best advocate and throw a fit until someone listens.

    Odds are in your favor that this is benign, I myself have had more than 12 benign tumors removed over the years, some pre BC and some after BC. Most of them were fibroadenomas, and my surgeon told me I had a lot of them (so,e that were never removed because they didn’t grow and become an issue). So know that odds are in your favor, but please continue to push for more definitive testing.

    Trac

  • Wilderl1994
    Wilderl1994 Member Posts: 1
    edited September 2018

    hi I'm 24 I have had a pea sized lump in my armpit for about a yr now never bothered me so I just ingored it well since yesterday night it's has deffinatly tripled in size and has become terribly painful should I be worried ?

  • djmammo
    djmammo Member Posts: 2,939
    edited September 2018

    SparkleKitty

    Can you post the ultrasound report here?

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