Feeling lost, worried, anxious and mad.

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lissagayle
lissagayle Member Posts: 3
edited November 2018 in Not Diagnosed But Worried

Hi. Im a 35 yr old mother of one child who is 9yrs old.

I have an appointment scheduled for this coming Wednesday Oct 31 2018 ( not really happy it is on halloween)

A bit about my past I have PCOS. With my PCOS for me, personally it comes with he cysts on my ovaries and very, very irregular periods. To the point where I only have a period maybe once or twice a year.

I will keep this short, hopefully.

Last month I noticed tenderness in my right breast only on the right side of it. I thought in my mind well maybe my period will come. I didn't think much of it. Which is odd for me since I'm extremely anxious about everything and think the worst, to the point where my family calls me a hypochondriac and my doctor tells me to stop googling.

Needless to say a period didn't happen, so I thought ok just hormones acting up. The pain grew more bothersome. Last week I was laying bed watching Netflix and started to massage the area under my armpit since that is where a lot of the pain was coming from. I moved in closer on my breast and near my nipple I noticed a hard spot.

I wasn't sure and still not sure if this is a lump because it is hard, when I think of a lump, I imagine feeling something with a circular shape and also something that is visible.

I asked my husband who is an ICU/trauma nurse to feel. He felt and even he wasn't sure, he said he could feel something, but since he never does this in his field. I need to make an appointment with my doctor.

When I think of the pain, it reminds me of milder symptoms I had while breast feeding. Like mastitis hardness and my breast feeling heavy.

I called my mother, since we close and told her. This is the part that makes me mad. All these years I have put no on my dr papers no history of cancer. When I told her I wasn't worried about the possibility of it being breast cancer, that it was probably just hormones, or even an infection. She proceeded to tell me that I had two aunts who had breast cancer when I was young and that also about 7 years ago my grandmother was diagnosed with breast cancer but since she was so far gone with Alzheimer's the doctor suggested that they not do surgery or treatment due to the fact she wouldn't know what was happening and that she would be at a greater risk of passing sooner. The cancer did not take her but Alzheimer's did at the age of 84.

Im just very worried and it seems like the days have grown longer. I don't think Wednesday will ever get here.

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  • Polly413
    Polly413 Member Posts: 124
    edited October 2018

    lissagayle - I am sorry you have this worry to deal with. Breast cancer is complicated and I'm no expert but its my understanding that it is unusual for breast cancer to hurt. Other posters on here who had pain type symptoms reported after testing that it was an infection of some type that could be treated but was not cancer. Waiting is the pits. Hope you can distract yourself until Wednesday. Holding good thoughts for you. Please let us know how it goes. Polly

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  • lissagayle
    lissagayle Member Posts: 3
    edited October 2018

    thank you Polly

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  • AnnieB7777
    AnnieB7777 Member Posts: 26
    edited October 2018

    It's a myth that breast cancer doesn't hurt. Here are a couple of links to posts about whether or not breast cancer can hurt. Hope your appointment on Wednesday goes well, it's always good to get checked!


    https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/83/topics...

    https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/136/topic...



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  • Polly413
    Polly413 Member Posts: 124
    edited October 2018

    Annie B - Not sure if your post about "myth" was in response to my post but I never said breast cancer does not hurt. Definitely no one should claim that pain is never present with breast cancer. When I said that it is unusual for breast cancer to hurt I meant to reassure lissagayle in the sense that pain is not a common symptom of breast cancer. Therefore lissagayle might take some comfort in that thought while she waits for results of her own case. And I stand by this. For 3 sites that support this see National Breast Cancer Foundation Inc. which states "breast pain is not commonly a symptom of cancer" and "Rarely a breast cancer tumor may cause pain but generally cancerous tumors are not reported as painful." The Mayo Clinic lists 6 "signs and symptoms" of breast cancer and none involve pain. MD Andersen lists 8 symptoms of breast cancer none of which involve pain. I cannot believe that these prestigious cancer centers would omit pain as a common symptom if in fact it is one. I know lissagayle will worry no matter what we say but I don't see the point in suggesting that pain is a common symptom of breast cancer and thereby add to her worry. Polly

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  • AnnieB7777
    AnnieB7777 Member Posts: 26
    edited October 2018

    Polly413, my only intent was to make sure she, and anyone reading after, has all of the information...I've read on this website many times looking for answers for my own symptoms, and wanted her to know that sometimes it hurts (it was news to me!). There were too many cases of people being told cancer doesn't hurt, so they blow their symptoms off, and find out at a later stage. The posts speak for themselves.

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  • JoE777
    JoE777 Member Posts: 628
    edited October 2018

    I had a strong tingling that bordered on pain. Sort of like hitting the funny bone on the elbow

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

    References for Symptoms of Breast Cancer

    Although not a feature of breast cancer, the presence of pain or tenderness does not exclude it.


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  • lissagayle
    lissagayle Member Posts: 3
    edited October 2018

    I want to thank you all for your responses. This has truly made me feel like I'm not alone. I live in Arizona, with my husband( who is an only child) and our one 9yr old child. My family is back in my home state of North Carolina. So having people on here to share what I'm going through and not sugarcoat things has been helpful.

    My GP appointment was today, I was told I had a mass on the right side of my right breast that went under the nipple which could be causing the stinging like sensation. He said some of the mass was mobile but not much, also that it was larger than I thought. My lymph nodes did not appear to be swollen however they are very sore. I didn't even have to point out where the lump was, My doctor found it very quickly. While feeling he said we need you to do a mammogram and ultrasound as soon as possible, also possibly a biopsy at the same time.

    I have scheduled my mammogram and ultrasound for the same day November 8th. On his request he did but biopsy per radiologist (im not sure if that is verbatim of what he wrote) I was wondering if that means if the radiologist thinks I need one will he do it then or does that mean I will need a biopsy on a later date due to the radiologist who may be working that day will not be able to do it?

    I must say I cried when I got out of the appointment and have been having pretty bad anxiety attacks, the feeling of having a heart attack, jaw pain, muscle stiffness and other things. I am currently taking clonazpam which I take for my generalized anxiety order. However I didn't think with hearing the news, yes its a mass and here are the steps you need to do next, would cause me to panic for some reason.

    Did any of you have anxiety attacks or deal with them on a regular basis and then felt them get worse when told there is a possibility of cancer? . I am going to wait or at least try to wait another day or two to see if they get better. If I don't have any relief I am thinking of calling the doctor to see if I can be on a different medication or go to higher dose until at least the results come in.

    So final questions would be did you have a biopsy done the same day as your ultrasound or did you have to go back? Also dealing with the anxiety, I need to function daily and be there for my daughter and not in constant pain from the attacks. Would you recommend asking if there is something else I could take? Also did anyone have to be on anxiety medication before or even after they were told there was a possibility of breast cancer?


    Again thank you to all who have commented. I truly appreciate everyone! I know everyone has a different case with different symptoms and that is why I wanted all the honesty.

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  • AprilMay
    AprilMay Member Posts: 44
    edited November 2018

    Hi, Lissa. I’m sorry you’re going through this. It’s the pits. I have suffered panic attacks for thirty years. My anxiety was terrible when I was told that there was something suspicious on my u/s and that I needed a biopsy. The biopsy was done four days after my imaging and the results were available three days later. Some facilities can do biopsies the same day as imaging but some have specific days for them.

    I had a previous script for Ativan but it had expired at the time. By the time I was truly a mess with little sleep and unable to eat much during all of the waiting, I really wished I had asked for a new prescription. If you feel you need it, don’t hesitate to ask your doctor. I had my six month follow up after B9 results yesterday and you can be sure that I refilled my prescription just in case it didn’t go well.

    I hope the process goes smoothly for you and that your results are good. Please talk with us as much as you need to. Hugs

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  • AliceBastable
    AliceBastable Member Posts: 3,461
    edited November 2018

    After I had the mammogram, I was scheduled for ultrasound and, if necessary, a biopsy the same day. The ultrasound tech and radiologist looked at US results, then radiologist said "let's do the biopsy now if it's okay with you." I didn't have a problem with that, and the biopsy didn't really hurt, a little stinging for numbing the area, then a little pressure. Better to get it over with and on to the next step, if necessary. Good luck to you.

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  • sherrmue
    sherrmue Member Posts: 25
    edited November 2018

    Hi, lissagayle,

    Just read your post this minute and that you went to the doc today. No words can really ease the worry you must be feeling. Can say there are many reasons for breast pain and a lump or lumpiness. A clogged duct, infection,broken blood vessel, an area of the breast with more breast tissue and therefore more sensitive to hormones and much more.

    I knew since childhood my grandmother, her sisters, their cousins and my mother had breast cancer. It didn’t help very much, really.

    Anxiety! yes! I don’t tend to be an anxious person and have always hit crisis straight on, but my diagnosis threw me for a loop. I had to take some Ativan for awhile at first. Don’t hesitate to ask for what you need from your docs. They are there to care of all of you.

    Please let us know how you are doing if you feel like it.

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