Pea-Sized Lump in Underarm Area -- Terrrified

stressbelle
stressbelle Member Posts: 7
edited February 2019 in Not Diagnosed But Worried

Somewhere around the beginning of the year -- can't remember exactly when -- my fingers brushed against a little lump in my armpit. It's near where the armpit hits my upper arm. I just ignored it because I've had a couple of similar under-the-skin bumps in my stomach and they've always gone away (one of them about seven years ago, one just recently). Then I felt it again and realized I should probably have it checked out, and my panic began to grow when I realized I could see the bump under my skin in a mirror. I am pretty thin -- close to underweight -- but I can't, as a general rule, SEE my lymph nodes. The ones in my groin have been prominent since I was a kid but this is new.

It's a small, lentil-sized bump, pretty rubbery, very moveable, right there near the surface of my skin. Painless, though I have some tenderness in the skin around it. I just weaned my toddler a month ago. I also noticed some red, inflamed razor burn in both armpits a few weeks ago, probably around the first time I noticed the bump.

I had a visit with a doctor the next day (I'm new in town so a new doctor, actually an APC) and he talked about how we'd do an ultrasound of the area. Then he gave me a manual breast exam and made some comment about how it was pretty easy to feel my tissue and that he didn't notice anything. When he felt my bump, he said, "Oh, this is the best kind of lymph node to have. It's just a shotty lymph node." And said it was too small to scan. However, as I've had a maternal grandmother/maternal great-aunt who are both breast cancer survivors, he said I should start mammograms at 35 (this is in three months). He also gave me a CBC which was all normal.

I walked away feeling OK but my anxiety has come back really badly. I guess I always saw breast cancer as scary but curable, as I know many breast cancer survivors. However, I've researched and now know that finding it in the lymph nodes is worse than finding a lump just in the breast.

Is a pea-sized lump really too small to scan? I'm going back to the same APC on Friday for an overdue physical and pap smear. I also had a second doctor's appointment Monday with a different clinic -- is it worth going for a second opinion? I don't understand why he immediately dismissed it as a shotty lymph node. I just feel like until I have more clarity about this bump, I'm going to be crazy with worry. Thanks for any insight or advice you have!



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Comments

  • djmammo
    djmammo Member Posts: 2,939
    edited February 2019

    stressbelle

    Can you see this lump/bump when you raise your arm? Does it feel like its in the skin or just below the skin?

    In general nodes are not that superficial, and are located more toward the chest than the arm. Also as a rule of thumb abnormal nodes are not that small. A good licensed medical sonographer in a breast center or hospital radiology department would have no problem scanning that.

    Let us know what they say at your next appointment(s) since no matter what this is you want a definitive answer. And while you are there ask them if they think it could be a sebaceous cyst.

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  • stressbelle
    stressbelle Member Posts: 7
    edited February 2019

    Thank you for your response! Yes, I can see it as a little bump under the skin, perhaps the size of a pencil eraser or smaller. It's not super prominent but I can see it when I look for it. It feels like it's just under the surface of the skin and able to move/slide around easily. To me, it doesn't feel like a pimple or bump that's inside the skin; I don't think I could pop it or squeeze it at all.

    I was very surprised when the doctor said it was too small to ultrasound as it's so close to the surface and visible externally. I have another much tinier bump above this one, about the size of a grain of sand, and I'm worried the doctor accidentally felt that one instead. I really hope they offer a scan because not knowing what this is feels very concerning to me.

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  • stressbelle
    stressbelle Member Posts: 7
    edited February 2019

    Just to update, I expressed my concerns to my doctor again and he was able to schedule an ultrasound next week. I'm feeling less nervous about things but it will be nice to have some more clarity.

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  • stressbelle
    stressbelle Member Posts: 7
    edited February 2019

    OK wanted to update this again for anybody who has a similar worry ... the ultrasound showed a "non-aggressive or benign-appearing" nodule that is most likely a fibroma or lipoma. I'm hoping this is the case. Nobody who's seen it has seemed too concerned and it is very small (about half a centimeter), plus has smooth margins and no shadowing. So I'm going to try to keep an eye on it and not let the worry get to me too much.

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  • AliceBastable
    AliceBastable Member Posts: 3,461
    edited February 2019

    I was wondering if it might be a lipoma, since you said you could move it around. I'm glad that whatever it is seems to be benign.

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  • stressbelle
    stressbelle Member Posts: 7
    edited February 2019

    Thank you, Alice! I think if the doctor had brought up the possibility of a cyst or lipoma/fibroma to start with I might've been less worried, but since he suggested it was a lymph node I really wanted to get some clarity. I may have it removed if it continues to worry me but I know lipomas are generally harmless. And at least this got me on the right track to start having early mammograms with my family history.

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