I messed up :(

[ktdid2000]

Hi everyone,

I've posted quite a few times on this forum about my BC fears starting almost a year ago last August. I was examined several times by my GP and my OB, and got 2 ultrasounds spaced about 4-6 months apart as a result. Both ultrasounds came back negative, but found a few simple fluid filled cysts. One of them, on my right breast, is quite large and I can feel it any time I do my self exams. It was detected on ultrasound last Dec.

Last night I committed the mortal sin of health anxiety sufferers and started looking up stories about people who's suspected cysts turned out to be BC. I honestly have no idea what led me to do this as I knew where it would lead me - I must be temporarily insane or something. :(

Now I'm panicked once again about this stupid cyst that I can feel. I keep poking and prodding at it (again), and it feels about the same size and shape as it always has but maybe even more noticeable since my little guy has decreased his nursing and the boobs aren't as full as they used to be. I am worried that this thing has not gone away in so long, and I keep having back pains and such on that side and it's driving me nuts.

Everything that I've read says that simple cysts are SUPER easy to diagnose via ultrasound with a specificity of like 97% or something like that. In other words, it would take a really poor radiologist to diagnose a simple cyst when it was something else (there are other types of cysts which are questionable and should be checked out). My report specifically said "simple cyst".

I have no clue why I'm freaking out again other than it hasn't gone away and it's so obvious that I feel like it MUST be something worse. Why is my HA kicking up again?? Why do I seek out information that contradicts what I've been told?!?! :(

[BumbleGirl]

That's what anxiety makes you do! And it's a vicious circle. You will Google over and over until you find something that either reassures you or scares the crap out of you.
If it reassures you you will feel better for a short time and then find the urge to Google again!
If it scares you then you will keep googling to try to find something to reassure you!

My mum had breast cancer a couple of years ago and at her scan they told her they were almost certain it was cancer because of how it looked xxx

[StephA]

I was treated for breast cancer four years ago and if you had something suspicious they wouldn't have put simple cyst on the report. Trust them. Forget about the cyst and enjoy your baby.

[SeagullTerror]

The same thing happens to me, I read stories of extremely rare cases online which scare me. I would trust what the doctor told you, I don't know the first thing about breast cancer, but I do know you should trust what they say. Those are VERY rare cases you've read online.

[ktdid2000]

Thank you for your kind replies!

I'm trying to stay positive but I'm approaching the rabbit hole of HA again. I agree with you StephA, if it was the least bit concerning they wouldn't have put simple cyst on the report - there are very clear criteria for those. Still, because it's so obvious to me, I guess it's near the surface, I'm still worried about it. Maybe it's a size means bad type of thing? If I couldn't feel it it would be easier to forget about it. :(

I also wish it would have gone away by now...I can't find any good stats about how long these types of things can hang around but I did find one article that said about 45% go away after 1 year and 67% go away after 5 years. I'm at the 1 year mark now so maybe this one is just going to hang out for awhile.

I think the trigger for all this is that my friend just got diagnosed with Stage 4 BC. She is a young mother like me, just stopped breastfeeding her second baby due to treatment and volunteered on the board of a local milk-sharing organization with me, so we're both booby advocates. I think she's only a year or two older than me.

The stories I read are hard to forget and can scare me quite a lot, but this one hits close to home and makes me question everything that's happening to me all over again. :unsure: