Nipple piercing reaction or breast cancer concern?
I have had quite the scare the past few months. In early august I got nipple piercings in both breasts. After around 3 months I noticed a strange lump under my areola on the left breast. It was round, movable, and sort of squishy. The skin around my breast appeared normal at this time. The lump seemed to grow and shrink depending on the day and was painless and nontender. It worried me for a bit but I had difficulties setting an appointment due to Covid and insurance conflicts. I finally had an appointment set for a checkup for last month which was then canceled due to my provider being “unavailable". Since it was a small lump and very movable under the skin I didn't think too much of it - assumed it was a cyst and just decided to “wait it out" (bad judgment I know)
Since then my mysterious lump has…popped? I'm really not sure what happened. I woke up one morning and the lump was gone but the area felt tender. Over the next few days a bruise formed under the skin and it appears like fluid is trapped under the skin. This bruise has not gone away since it appeared roughly in mid December. The skin around the bruise is often dry and flaky. Some days the bruise looks worse than other days but it never fully disappears. Some days there seems like there is fluid trapped under the skin and other days it seems flat and simply bruised. The “edges" of the bruise feel a bit more firm than surrounding tissue. I once again have an appointment set for Jan 20 but Covid has made this ordeal such a nightmare. The bruise is right next to my areola and is about an inch and a half in diameter
I am only 24 and have no history of breast cancer in my family. I am wondering if this is more likely a reaction to my piercing or if it can be something more.
Comments
-
Hi Jillian
Given your young age, and you have nipple piercing recently, chances are that it is not breast cancer. It could be reaction, infection in that piercing area. Of course, it’s best if you got it checked out by your doctor. Jan 20 is around corner, so hopefully you will be just fine -
Jillianavra, welcome to BC.org! We are sorry that you are experiencing these changes and they are causing you concern. We second what tntnsd says. Breast cancer is not a common diagnosis at your age. Nevertheless it is important for the health and wellbeing of your breast to understand what's going on, so we're glad you finally made an appointment. We hope that you will quickly learn the cause of your bruise and that it will not be attributed to cancer.
Please come back and let us know how it goes!
Best wishes,
From the Mods
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