I Found A Lump In My Breast

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Two days ago, while doing my breast self-exam, I found a pea-sized lump.

I’m not too terribly worried about it, because I’m young, and statistically, it’s unlikely I have breast cancer, but I’m getting it checked out by my doctor tomorrow.

I wanted to post this to remind my fellow women Dopers to remember to do their breast self-exams frequently. It’s too important to forget. If you find anything suspicious, have your doctor check it out, even if you’re not really sure that it is a lump. It’s better safe than sorry.

2

I wish you the best of luck. As you say, you’re young and it’s unlikely to be breast cancer. Even if it is, you seem to have caught it early, so your chances are good. Do report back when you’ve been to the doctor.

3

Thanks for the reminder. And I hope you’re okay. I had a similar scare last year and it turned out to be nothing. Please let us know.

4

Good luck, Lissa

I’ve got one too, and I’m only 35. So far, it’s been determine to be a hormonally related cyst, but I keep it in the front of my mind. You’ll feel better after you know a little more.

5

I’ve been in your shoes, and it’s scary. But mine turned out to be nothing.

Best wishes.

6

Is it visible by looking at your breast?

I only ask because I’ve attempted these self-exams before… and I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m FULL of lumps. My doctor tells me they feel normal… so what exactly am I looking for? Will it be a hard nodule? Will it feel like a ball?

7

Malkavia, most women have lumps or what feels like “lumps” of various types - scar tissue, breast tissue, etc. That’s why it’s so important to do regular BSEs: it’s not so much that you’re feeling for “lumps”; what you’re really doing is feeling for changes since the last month. If you go to the doctor and she does an exam and says there’s nothing there, then YOU do one, so you know what your baseline is. Then you do one every month so if there’s a change from the baseline, you’ll know.
You can probably google BSE and find myriad sites that will describe what tumors feel like as opposed to cysts as opposed to fibroids, etc. But you’re really feeling for changes - that’s what’s most important.

8

I’m an experienced- YOUNG /FIRM :stuck_out_tongue: breasts examiner,no charge.
Call doctor.Boner at 1 905 8977548.

9

The requisite smartass response. Worst of all, he beat me to it…

Anecdotal evidence (or is it a UL?) that a large number of breast lumps are discovered by SOs, so this is not necessarily a hijack.

I’ll avoid the obvious solicitation for someone to check me out for testicular abnormalities. :wink:

10

I forgot, in all the smarting off, to say best wishes, strength, and courage.

BTW, I’ve found a few lumps for VunderWife, all of which have turned out to be benign fatty tumors.

11

A few years ago we had a health fair here at work, and they brought in a model to feel what a “bad” nodule felt like. Sorta like a bb, but it didn’t “float” like a cyst or zit would.

Maybe your OB-GYN would have one?

12

I remember several scares when I was young with my mother. Diagnostic techniques where much worse then and she had to have several surgical biopsies. It all turned out benign and she is turning 70 next month.
BTW Lissa with your self proclaimed clumsiness I’m surprised you are not full of lumps from head to toe :wink:

Good luck our thoughts are with you.

13

No, it’s not. It’s actually a little difficult to find. It’s on the south-west side of my breast. (Most lumps occur on the north-west side, or, the top of the breast, arm-side, extending upward toward the armpit.)

Breast tissue does feel a little lumpy. I’d describe it feeling almost like oatmeal cookie dough under the skin. But a lump stands out. When I felt mine, I immediately thought, “That’s not right.” Then I thought, “Oh, shit.”

The one I have is a pea-sized nodule. I wouldn’t call it hard, but it’s not squishy, either. As I said, I’m not really worried. I immediately went on the internet and started doing research to find out what I was facing. The statistics were somewhat reassuring, and my grandmother had a lump which turned out to be benign. That bit of family history leads me to believe that I might be succeptible to the same. In my grandmother’s case, they said it was better off left alone.

The sites I read said that with a younger woman, the doctors usually prefer to do an ultrasound rather than a mammorgram, (Breast density issues) but was rather vague about what my doctor would actually do.

I assume she will want to feel it to immediately rule out the possibility that what I’m feeling is normal, and I made a mistake in thinking it was a lump. Will she order an ultrasound or mammogram immediately? Or (shudder) try to draw fluid from it first?

When I first started seeing this doctor, she asked about all of my bumps, bruises and abrasions. After the exam, she set aside her clipboard and sat down in a chair across from me. She asked in a gentle voice if there was any physical abuse in my marriage. “Oh, no,” I said with a bit of a laugh. “I’m just really clumsy.”

She gave a small sigh, “You know that there are many resources for women who are being abused, and you can tell me anything, dont you? Anything.”

“Seriously,” I insisted. “I’m just really clumsy. Honestly. I mean, there’s an office pool on how soon I’ll fall down the stairs again.”

I don’t think she believed me. That is, until I was leaving her office and tripped over the chair on which she had been sitting. I lost my balance, stumbled into the wall, and conked myself on the head.

She never asked me about abuse again.

14

Best of luck, Lissa.

As a guy that found a lump near his testicle once, I can sympathize with how frightening it can be. Luckily, mine ended up being nothing to worry about, and I’m sure yours will be the same.

Still, never hurts to send you some positive white light, so I’ll be doing that tonight.

15

Good luck to you Lissa!

And for the gents, make sure and check your ladies too. They will appreciate it, just as much as you do! :smiley:

16

You never disappoint :smiley:

17

Lissa , about a year ago, my GYN found a lump during my annual. She suggested that I just “watch” it and wait. But I wasn’t comfortable with that. My mother and my grandmother had breast cancer (both survived) so I felt like I shouldn’t wait.

I went to a breast specialist who followed up with an ultrasound (I’m 28). He didn’t see anything. He said that it was probably a hormone influenced cyst that can come and go with my cycle. I guess that’s what my GYN thought it was but she didn’t tell me that. I’ve got a much better doctor now.

I’ll be sending out good vibes. :slight_smile:

18

Most women I’ve known who have found a lump, discovered (thru a doctor’s visit) that it was just a cyst. May it be as simple for you. And I totally agree with letting your SO help out with your self-exam - much more fun! :smiley:

19

I had a lumpectomy (non-cancerous lump) before I was 20. Things were scarier 30 years ago.

These days, whenever I have a mammogram, I usually have to get an ultrasound too. I always have cysts.

Thinking good thoughts in your direction!

20

Best wishes to you. :slight_smile: The odds are it’s nothing, but you definitely want to check out any strange lumps.
My mother is a survivor of early stage breast cancer. When she first found the lump, her doctor dismissed it as simply a fat deposit because of its location, but luckily she switched doctors (for unrelated reasons) and her second doctor decided to do a biopsy. She was able to have it removed before it spread…was written up in a medical journal too because of the unusual location of the tumor.