I’m worried I have IBC
Okay, so, I have hypochondria and extremely bad anxiety. I googled my symptoms, which I know is a bad thing to do. By the way, I'm 21, and have no family history of breast cancer. Just thought I'd say that before getting in with the other details. I've noticed, under both of my breasts, right under the nipple is a small dimple. They are close to the same location on each, but look a little different. One looks like a straight line, and one you can barely see. Ive taken pics and you can see it more in the camera roll. I don't feel the dimples, but I can see them. One looks like discoloration, like a bruise. I do squeeze there, rather hard, when checking my breasts. The reason why that one freaks me out badly is because I saw a picture of a dimple on a lady's breast that looks a bit like mine on my left. I'm sure all breast dimples looks pretty much the same, but it's a bit different than the one on the right, but maybe because my left breast is a bit bigger and saggier. The thing is I rarely do self breast exams, I haven't paid too close attention to my breasts, until this anxiety. Breast cancer never crossed my mind. So, I don't know if these were there before or not. My aunt says that having some dimples on fat boobs is normal. My boobs are a bit saggy, I am a bit overweight. I assumed, maybe it's cellulite. I do have that around other parts of my body. When I stretch the skin above my chest, and look at those locations, I don't see any dimples, I only see them when taking pictures with the flash of my phone. With my arms raised up. I don't see them standing normally. Is this a good sign? Would a IBC dimple show even when skin is stretched? I do have an appointment July 9th to see an OBGYN (for different reasons, but I'll bring it up when I see her.) Do you think I should be concerned? I heard IBC is EXTREMELY rare, especially with my age group. I just want this anxiety to go away!
Also, I should inform that I do not have any other symptoms. My breasts aren’t red or swollen, my nipples are normal, they aren’t too hot. No itchiness. I have pimples in my breast,though. I do, however, have this back/shoulder pain that comes and goes. I heard that could be a symptom, too! 😰 Though back and shoulder pain have MANY other causes that are not cancer related.
Comments
-
Please rest assured that you don’t have IBC, so rest easy until your obgyn appt when this will be confirmed
-
thank you! I just went into the bathroom and looked put my flashlight on the bathroom countertop. Used a mirror and looked. They both looked the exact same. I feel a bit better now.
Thanks to that and your comment.
-
Our bodies change all the time and in my thirties I felt I was still learning about all the new and disconcerting things my body could do (that were still almost always normal and not a problem). At your age, even more so! It's good to learn more about your health and body and to pay attention, and it's good that you have solid health insurance that is letting you get a doctor's perspective on it. But overall, if you can internalize the message that hoofbeats is probably horses and not zebras, it will help your peace of mind long term!
Sometimes the obvious cause of anxiety is not actually the underlying cause. I wonder if there might be other things going on in your life that your are anxious about, and these breast changes have become a sort of focal point for it? That kind of mis-triangulation is definitely something that can happen. Taking some time to think about other possible causes could be very rewarding.
All that said, finding a change that concerns you and bringing it to the doctor is exactly the kind of self-care that we should be doing, and don't let anyone make you feel guilty or alarmist for it. It's almost always better to just see a doctor that you trust, rather than going down the rabbit hole of googling and self-diagnosis. If your doctor makes you feel guilty for asking them questions, they are not helping.
Categories
- All Categories
- 679 Advocacy and Fund-Raising
- 289 Advocacy
- 68 I've Donated to Breastcancer.org in honor of....
- Test
- 322 Walks, Runs and Fundraising Events for Breastcancer.org
- 5.6K Community Connections
- 282 Middle Age 40-60(ish) Years Old With Breast Cancer
- 53 Australians and New Zealanders Affected by Breast Cancer
- 208 Black Women or Men With Breast Cancer
- 684 Canadians Affected by Breast Cancer
- 1.5K Caring for Someone with Breast cancer
- 455 Caring for Someone with Stage IV or Mets
- 260 High Risk of Recurrence or Second Breast Cancer
- 22 International, Non-English Speakers With Breast Cancer
- 16 Latinas/Hispanics With Breast Cancer
- 189 LGBTQA+ With Breast Cancer
- 152 May Their Memory Live On
- 85 Member Matchup & Virtual Support Meetups
- 375 Members by Location
- 291 Older Than 60 Years Old With Breast Cancer
- 177 Singles With Breast Cancer
- 869 Young With Breast Cancer
- 50.4K Connecting With Others Who Have a Similar Diagnosis
- 204 Breast Cancer with Another Diagnosis or Comorbidity
- 4K DCIS (Ductal Carcinoma In Situ)
- 79 DCIS plus HER2-positive Microinvasion
- 529 Genetic Testing
- 2.2K HER2+ (Positive) Breast Cancer
- 1.5K IBC (Inflammatory Breast Cancer)
- 3.4K IDC (Invasive Ductal Carcinoma)
- 1.5K ILC (Invasive Lobular Carcinoma)
- 999 Just Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastasis
- 652 LCIS (Lobular Carcinoma In Situ)
- 193 Less Common Types of Breast Cancer
- 252 Male Breast Cancer
- 86 Mixed Type Breast Cancer
- 3.1K Not Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastases but Concerned
- 189 Palliative Therapy/Hospice Care
- 488 Second or Third Breast Cancer
- 1.2K Stage I Breast Cancer
- 313 Stage II Breast Cancer
- 3.8K Stage III Breast Cancer
- 2.5K Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
- 13.1K Day-to-Day Matters
- 132 All things COVID-19 or coronavirus
- 87 BCO Free-Cycle: Give or Trade Items Related to Breast Cancer
- 5.9K Clinical Trials, Research News, Podcasts, and Study Results
- 86 Coping with Holidays, Special Days and Anniversaries
- 828 Employment, Insurance, and Other Financial Issues
- 101 Family and Family Planning Matters
- Family Issues for Those Who Have Breast Cancer
- 26 Furry friends
- 1.8K Humor and Games
- 1.6K Mental Health: Because Cancer Doesn't Just Affect Your Breasts
- 706 Recipe Swap for Healthy Living
- 704 Recommend Your Resources
- 171 Sex & Relationship Matters
- 9 The Political Corner
- 874 Working on Your Fitness
- 4.5K Moving On & Finding Inspiration After Breast Cancer
- 394 Bonded by Breast Cancer
- 3.1K Life After Breast Cancer
- 806 Prayers and Spiritual Support
- 285 Who or What Inspires You?
- 28.7K Not Diagnosed But Concerned
- 1K Benign Breast Conditions
- 2.3K High Risk for Breast Cancer
- 18K Not Diagnosed But Worried
- 7.4K Waiting for Test Results
- 603 Site News and Announcements
- 560 Comments, Suggestions, Feature Requests
- 39 Mod Announcements, Breastcancer.org News, Blog Entries, Podcasts
- 4 Survey, Interview and Participant Requests: Need your Help!
- 61.9K Tests, Treatments & Side Effects
- 586 Alternative Medicine
- 255 Bone Health and Bone Loss
- 11.4K Breast Reconstruction
- 7.9K Chemotherapy - Before, During, and After
- 2.7K Complementary and Holistic Medicine and Treatment
- 775 Diagnosed and Waiting for Test Results
- 7.8K Hormonal Therapy - Before, During, and After
- 50 Immunotherapy - Before, During, and After
- 7.4K Just Diagnosed
- 1.4K Living Without Reconstruction After a Mastectomy
- 5.2K Lymphedema
- 3.6K Managing Side Effects of Breast Cancer and Its Treatment
- 591 Pain
- 3.9K Radiation Therapy - Before, During, and After
- 8.4K Surgery - Before, During, and After
- 109 Welcome to Breastcancer.org
- 98 Acknowledging and honoring our Community
- 11 Info & Resources for New Patients & Members From the Team