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Lemonslemons16
Lemonslemons16 Member Posts: 25
edited March 2019 in Not Diagnosed But Worried

Persistent pain and discomfort in one of my breasts led me to have my doc check it out. She noted “dense tissue” in the area where I pointed out pain and ordered a mammogram and us. Will I found out the results of the mammogram at my appointment? I’ve read others waiting weeks and my anxiety is awful already and I haven’t had the test yet.

I’m 35... no family history. I have had 2 surgeries to reve sebaceous cysts from the breast in question (both were visible and not in the site of current discomfort). I had a lump in my armpit during pregnancy 3 years ago and had an us in the area (can’t renember if it was in my whole breast) and they didn’t see it on us and it resolved within a few months. I can’t renemver when my current pain/discomfort started which is upsetting me the most... has it been for years? It was never severe enough to make me think something was really wrong.

Now I’m obsessed with the pain and feel like it hurts more than ever (I’ve been poking and prodding my breast so much they have bruises.) I’m fearing it’s ILC... I’ve read folks saying they were told these tumors could grow for years. I had a new NP mention an area on that breast to my PCP 4 years ago and she dismissed it. What it there then? I’m so frightened. I have two year olds and my head is in such a bad place right now.

I can’t find any causes of pain that seem appropriate in my case...

Bra? Well then why doesn’t my left hurt? Why does it hurt even when I’m not wearing a bra?

Mastalgia? Non-cyclical, unilateral Mastalgia appears to be rare in folks my age.

No meds, no infections. Not nursing.

And is discomfort when pressure is applied to a certain part of the breast even Mastalgia? Oh and the nipple pain that is intermittent? My symptoms don’t seem to make sense for fibrcystic breasts either... I don’t notice an overtly lumpy quality. Why would my doc answer me when I asked if by “dense tissue” she meant abnormal? She didn’t say whether it felt worrisome. But she repeated her statement when I asked.

I don’t find a whole lot of threads on here about pain complaints in the absence of lumps and imaging results. Any one?

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Comments

  • Salamandra
    Salamandra Member Posts: 1,444
    edited March 2019

    Hey Lemonslemons16,

    I'm not an expert but I believe that many kinds of growth (most of them non-malignant) in the breast could end up in an awkward place and put pressure on a nerve and cause pain, depending on their exact location. It's also possible to do something like pull a muscle in your chest that could feel like breast pain. The dense tissue your doctor felt could be a complete red herring - many women, especially younger women, have heterogeneously dense breasts naturally. Bodies do strange things.

    When women experience breast pain around diagnosis (not common) it is usually because of the location of the growth pushing on nerves.

    It is also completely possible to have a lump (cancerous or not) that is located in a way that you couldn't feel it. The rare cases when breast cancer is diagnosed without finding a lump in the breast tend to be when the symptoms are also not in the breast - but in a lymph node or elsewhere in the body.

    At my mammogram/US, they told me right away after the US that they wanted me to have a biopsy. I'm not sure how soon after that the official results were ready. You could ask them about your birads rating. If it's 3 or lower, they're confident it's not cancer but will schedule follow up screening. If it's 4, they don't think it's cancer but want a biopsy just to make sure. If it's 5, they're pretty confident it's cancer but there's a chance it may not be so they do a biopsy just in case. AFIAK 1 and 2 are not suspicious at all for cancer. 0 means they didn't get enough information to make a call either way.

    I think chances are unlikely that this will be cancer for you. But even if it's not cancer, it's something in your body that's causing you pain. Don't let them brush you off just because they're sure it's not cancer. Ask for a referral to a breast surgeon or other specialist who can help you figure out what actually is going on in your breast and deal with it.

    If the anxiety is really getting to you, it's just fine to ask your doctor for some chemical help. If they are suspicious of cancer, it will be a very long and excruciating path of testing and waiting until you really have the information you need to understand your situation. Ativan or similar has helped many of us get through it. Now's the time to deploy your coping skills, whatever works for you.

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  • Lemonslemons16
    Lemonslemons16 Member Posts: 25
    edited March 2019

    Thank you for your thorough and thoughtful response.

    Regardless of what I learn on Thursday at my imaging appointment, I know that I need to seek help to manage this anxiety. It’s likely that the pain will remain and continue to cause me stress and worry.

    I know what you say is true about pain. However, I’m guilty of latching on to every post someone has made on here about pain being a first and sometimes only symptom. It was the only thing that led me to my doctor. Hearing her remark about the dense breast tissue only alarmed me because she wouldn’t answer when I asked how it felt compared to the left breast. It actually just dawned on me that she commented later that my left breast (pain free) is denser. But she began to take measurements with her finger of the area she had said was “dense tissue” and then said “well you can let them know where it is”.

    I’m also wondering if nothing shows up on mammogram or US, should I push for further testing? My doctor did say I would talk to a breast surgeon about my pain so we could look into that in the event that it’s nothing. The doc was kind but not reassuring in any way and before when I’ve had breast concerns, I’ve always left feeling reassured (with other providers.)

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  • cecyc
    cecyc Member Posts: 59
    edited March 2019

    If you are in pain then you should pursue an appointment with the breast surgeon.  There is no reason to be in pain.  

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  • Lemonslemons16
    Lemonslemons16 Member Posts: 25
    edited March 2019

    I will definitely do that

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