Anxiety over lipoma

[emmalj0]

Hi all I'm in a really bad place at the minute and I'm struggling big time. Iv had this lump on my rib where my underwire sits under my breast for four years now. I was doing OK but something has triggered all my anxiety again and iv been googling again about sarcomas. Iv had ultrasound done last one in December 2016. The radiologist and the Dr's can all feel this lump but nothing is ever seen on the ultrasound which scares me something is being missed. I saw a specialist January 2014 he said it felt benign and to just keep an eye on it. I would say it's grown slightly from 0.5cm to a cm over this period. It does move under the skin. All my family have had enough said I'm ruining mine and their lives. I'm scared it's sarcoma as iv read some can grow slowly over many years and this is all that sticks in my head.

[Gary A]

I don't get the logic here. Nothing is showing up on the ultrasound and that must mean something bad?

Surely a cancerous tumour would show and the fact that nothing can be seen is more likely to mean its benign.

Besides all that, I don't know what else anyone can say to you. If a team of doctors and medical testing aren't enough to put your mind to rest, what can be said by anyone here?

Your family are right, I'm afraid, you're ruining your life.

[emmalj0]

I understand what you saying I do. I can't get my head around though if it's palpable to everyone why doesn't it show up? Does a fatty mass look the same as surrounding tissue? I am ruining my life because I can't switch off. It's a fear of dying I wish I really didn't care about death but it consumes me every minute if the day. I'm scared. Eventually be told yes it is sarcoma and will be too late to help me. I know u think I'm pathetic

[Gary A]

No, I don't think you're pathetic, not at all.

As for the ultrasound, it's maybe best to briefly describe how they work. Ultrasounds bounce sound waves off of whichever tissue is being examined. The frequency of these sound waves changes when being bounced off of abnormal tissue.

Fatty tissue is normal tissue. Cancerous tissue is not, as it is a collection of abnormal cells. If you had a cancerous tumour, the sound waves on your ultrasound would have identified abnormal tissue. That it didn't surely proves that your lump consists of completely normal tissue.

[emmalj0]

OK thanks I am trying to get help