Three days ago I found a lump in my chest. I called today and am seeing a Nurse Practitioner on Monday (the best I could do). The lump is about the size of a nickel, squeezed into the shape of an ovoid lozenge. It is on the left side, about halfway between the collar bone and the nipple, almost directly above the nipple. It was very slightly tender when I first discovered it, the tenderness went away within a day. The lump is just below the skin. I don’t see or feel any other symptoms.
I have read up a little, and I’m not too worried that it’s cancer, but I have vacation plans coming up that I don’t want to mess up by being in recovery from some sort of procedure. So, will the NP want to send me to an oncologist, or some other kind of specialist? Will they want to biopsy it as a more-or-less first step? What will that entail? Or, in other words, what can I expect out of the gate?
It could simply be a harmless lipoma. I’ve had one removed from my arm. They removed it and sent a sample to the lab just to check. Mine was nothing, and I hope yours is too.
Kudos to you for responding immediately. Too many people tell themselves stories about how it’s “probably nothing” and put off making a doctor’s appointment. Mind you, they don’t necessarily ignore the lump. Instead, every time they think about it, they grab ahold of it, and squeeze the bejeezus out of it.
Doctors and other medical professionals will say they much rather you come in and have something checked out. You won’t be teased or belittled if the problem is benign. Instead, you’ll probably be congratulated for being smart.
You’ll probably get an ultrasound or a chest x-ray. If the lump looks suspicious, a biopsy is probably next.
My foster son once had something that looked very similar to what you’re describing in about the same spot that I think ended up being some kind of cyst - he wasn’t too clear on the actual diagnosis, but the doc wasn’t too concerned. It resolved on its own pretty quickly. Fingers crossed!
Good luck. I believe it’s probably a cyst or lipoma.
But best to check. Good thing if it needs surgical removal you’ll probably have to wait according to how a biopsy reads.
Cysts and things are way down the list as things dangerous to leave a bit. So maybe you can plan it after vacay.
Most procedures don’t take more than a day to recover from, often less if you can avoid sedation. (Often just a few minutes if you can avoid sedation.) You can probably schedule anytime they recommend around your vacation.
Saw a nurse practitioner today, kind of a waste of time, except for getting the visit and its cause on my medical record. She didn’t mention that it might be a lipoma, but she said it’s “probably a cyst.” She prescribed an x-ray, and I’m supposed to call her in a couple of days so she can interpret the x-ray. I’m not sure how much I trust that, can you tell a cyst from something else by an x-ray? But I guess I’ll wait and see. I feel like I should insist on a biopsy of some kind.
Good vibes for it being merely a cyst, and that does seem likely. One thing that could influence your thinking about a biopsy might be family history of breast cancer. Male descendants of women who had breast cancer bear an increased risk of male breast cancers, I’m told.
And yeah, an NP reads the x-ray? I thought that was supposed to be done by a radiologist (but I know nothing).
I’m a guy, and in my 20s I had cyst right next to the nipple, and I squeezed a ton of fluid out of it (I didn’t have to prick it or anything; squeezing it was enough to make that happen).
I’ve never had anything like it happen since. So yeah, it will probably be fine!
Maybe the radiologist report comes with the x-ray, and she will just read it to me. She doesn’t seem to realize that the patients can see all their lab and test results at the same time the medical staff does.
This is well under the skin, nestled in what I laughingly call my pectoral muscle.
IANAD. I worked in medical devices in systems engineering for most of my post-military career and worked beside former doctors and nurses.
IMO a biopsy is much more definitive than any imaging. Much more. The path lab will examine the sample under a microscope and tell you what exactly are those cells. Imaging can show how well differentiated the mass is, which gives you a likelihood as to what it might be.
So I had the x-ray, and I was wrong about access to the results, they only send them directly to the medical person who ordered them. I called the NP as directed, and she told the receptionist to tell me that the results were “normal.”
This does not fill me with relief, oddly enough. They took x-rays of the whole left side of my chest. Did the person reading the x-rays know what they were looking for? Anyway, I have an appointment with a new primary care doctor in about 5 weeks, so I’ll bring it up with him then.
My understanding is, yes, the radiologist normally is informed of the reason for the imaging request. This study says
It is common practice for radiologists to interpret imaging examinations and formulate a report using clinical information communicated to assist with this process. Clinical information refers to all information detailing the patient’s clinical situation and can include the current problem, co‐existing and past medical history, current medications, allergies, fasting status, suspected diagnosis and clinical question to be answered. It is used to provide the radiologist with a greater understanding of the clinical context.
I would be reassured by the “normal” report, although I would like to see the actual report too. My doctor’s practice has a web site that I can access that has copies of all my medical tests, including radiologist reports. Can you contact the NP and ask if you can get a copy of the radiologist’s report?
Not sure why an X-ray was ordered; my go-to was (back before retirement) usually an ultrasound, and that only if I wasn’t certain it was a lipoma or cyst. Standard x-rays are usually pretty useless in that sort of situation, IF the situation wasn’t more involved than described. But lacking more details, I’ll refrain from dissing the practitioner.
Small ovoid lumps just under the skin with clear margins/boundaries are generally benign. But keep your follow-up, and ask for help sooner if it gets bigger/painful/oozy. Good luck!