View Full Version : How to break the reassurance cycle??
Hi all,
I've posted on here and on the women's health forum as well about a simple breast cyst that I was diagnosed with in 2016. It's pretty small, about 7mm x 4mm and through repeated ultrasounds (3 to be exact) has stayed pretty much the same in the 1.5 years we've followed it. It's annoying because I can feel it - it's soft and squishy. When I initially went to my docs they couldn't feel it but did an ultrasound anyway to check it out. When they found out it was a simple cyst they dismissed it and said I didn't need to follow up or anything like that. Of course, me being me I've found various excuses to get it re-scanned to check it again for my own piece of mind. It comes back with the same diagnosis each time.
Now I've convinced myself that I need to go to a breast specialist to get it checked out. Hubby thinks I've gone insane since it's just been sitting there doing nothing for 1.5 years and no one is concerned about it but me. From what I've read it's very hard to mis-diagnose a simple cyst - only the complex ones need to be checked out to confirm. BUT in the course of my googling (ack!) of course I would come across the 1 in a million stories that scare the crap out of me. I have no idea if what they are talking about are simple cysts or not - likely they are not - but some people on a certain forum have said that their cysts have turned out to be BC and now I'm terrified!
How do you stop the reassurance cycle??? I'm doing everything I'm supposed to - I got it evaluated, it turned out to be benign, and I've even followed up with it just to make sure. BUT STILL that little voice in my head won't let it go. :(
I've done this before with other things and usually what ended up happening is whatever it was would eventually go away and I would forget about it. This is stubborn and not going away and I need to find out some way to stop worrying about it even though it still exists!
Thanks :(
it's just been sitting there doing nothing for 1.5 yearsIts not changed right, nothing at all has changed. I'm telling you now, as someone who has had breast cancer, 1.5 years later there would have been a significant change. I'm not going to go into lots of details, as it will trigger people on here, but size of it, the other tissue around, the lymph nodes and lots of other things would also have changed. They biopsy cysts if they have any teeny weeny concern at all ...you were really fortunate and yours was a very obvious cyst (they can see fluid inside often) which a radiographer and consultant were certain about.....did you have it drained?
You've had more checks and tests done than even someone with breast cancer, or who has had breast cancer. Do your monthly 'breast aware checks', monitor and only return if you feel breast changes. It is really simple honestly.
tryingtosurvive1
29-01-18, 01:41
It sounds like everyone is on the same page with this being benign, except you.
It seems you are caught in an OCD cycle of touching your body and worrying and touching your body and worrying. If you can stop examining yourself except during monthly exams you can probably break the cycle.
No one is worried but me. :(
The reason this freaks me out so much is that it's still there. I've heard something like 50% are supposed to go away by a year and 90% are gone by 2-3 years. It's the nature of these things to spontaneously resolve and i can't figure out why this one is hanging around.
Then again I've found very little about how long they can last since I guess most people don't follow up on them. :(
It's not easy, but here's how you do it:
- STOP googling it.
- STOP asking for reassurance from your husband, docs, etc. just follow their recommendations for follow ups.
- STOP examining it yourself.
If you can do those three things, you should be on your way to firing yourself.
DId I pointlessly write a reply? I'm sorry, but as as person who HAS ACTUALLY HAD breast cancer I wrote you a reply and you've totally ignored it, to be frank. Most people, myself included would be simply delighted to be told what you have been told MULTIPLE TIMES and get on with their life. You know, you've had so many checks, and yet each year at my scan I have ONE scan and whatever that says I have to accept it.
....its 7mm x 2 mm, the size of a cooked grain of rice and hasn't changed ! (I'm astonished you can keep finding something of that size to be honest) It HASN'T CHANGED, some resolve ,this one hasn't gone because loads don't.
WiseMonkey
29-01-18, 09:22
DId I pointlessly write a reply? I'm sorry, but as as person who HAS ACTUALLY HAD breast cancer I wrote you a reply and you've totally ignored it, to be frank. Most people, myself included would be simply delighted to be told what you have been told MULTIPLE TIMES and get on with their life. You know, you've had so many checks, and yet each year at my scan I have ONE scan and whatever that says I have to accept it.
....its 7mm x 2 mm, the size of a cooked grain of rice and hasn't changed ! (I'm astonished you can keep finding something of that size to be honest) It HASN'T CHANGED, some resolve ,this one hasn't gone because loads don't.
Yes, it's frustrating! There's a couple of them on here at present!
Thanks for you reply to the post :)
Oh that's so sweet of you! Thanks wisemonkey. :D
I honestly came here to this thread, and thought...hold on I've had bc; I live with the possibility of reoccurence or secondary cancer every day of my life...and I tried to help and reassure someone who DOESNT have bc and they kinda ignored me. This person has been told multiple times by professionals.
It's annoying because I can feel it - it's soft and squishy.
Well, you know what my surgery site is hard, scarred, painful and ever changing with swelling (2 years later!). I can't use my muscles across my chest as they are scarred and lets not get to lymph nodes and trouble there. I wish I had an 'annoying' 7mmx2mm soft and squishy thing that was NOTHING.
I think I need to a break from this HA board. Apologies when you get back here to read this OP, but my aim is to give you perspective. Relish the fact that you are fine, that its nothing and move on.
How to break the reassurance cycle??
One way would to stop seeking reassurance on internet forums :whistles:
Positive thoughts
How to break the reassurance cycle??
One way would to stop seeking reassurance on internet forums :whistles:
Positive thoughts That's a very good point Fishmanpa the other thing is what also helps is when members don't give that constant reassurance that a poster is after:whistles: ATB
Oh that's so sweet of you! Thanks wisemonkey. :D
I honestly came here to this thread, and thought...hold on I've had bc; I live with the possibility of reoccurence or secondary cancer every day of my life...and I tried to help and reassure someone who DOESNT have bc and they kinda ignored me. This person has been told multiple times by professionals.
Well, you know what my surgery site is hard, scarred, painful and ever changing with swelling (2 years later!). I can't use my muscles across my chest as they are scarred and lets not get to lymph nodes and trouble there. I wish I had an 'annoying' 7mmx2mm soft and squishy thing that was NOTHING.
I think I need to a break from this HA board. Apologies when you get back here to read this OP, but my aim is to give you perspective. Relish the fact that you are fine, that its nothing and move on.
Thank you. Seriously.
Under no circumstances would I ever belittle what you are going through. I've had two friends diagnosed with BC this past year, one is stage 4, and it is so scary to think about the consequences of something like that happening to me. That's what HA whispers in your ear - "It's you next."
Of course that's not true in this case, but it is difficult to convince yourself of that reality sometimes. HA is a liar and a thief. I just have to stop feeding it and tell it to go away when it comes begging for food.
HA is a liar and a thief. I just have to stop feeding it and tell it to go away when it comes begging for food.
YES !!! Yes, thats exactly right. A great metaphor. :D
I understand what you are saying about the 'its you next' but you know what none of us know what might be next, what is around the corner, or the next day or the next road. I could live to 94 and my neighbour who has no cancer diagnosis and is the same age, might have a heart attack well before me. Gosh, thats not a great thing to say on a HA forum I know......I'll try and qualify. Life is kinda a risky business, but we need to accept that along the way there might be times we need treatment,and have tests done. You have done that, had multiple tests, I have no doubt that in the course of those they would have found anything that was a problem. You need to let it go,continue to monitor, but accept that you 'aren't next'.
I'm sorry I was so abrupt, I read your post after a whole set of threads and sadly yours got the brunt of my frustration.
I’ve had a cyst for years. I check it monthly when I check myself like you’re supposed to and my doctor checks it yearly. It’s been there since before I was pregnant and my son is two months shy of being two. It feels like the same size, so I don’t concern myself with it. You have to stop touching your body, except for monthly, and let it be, stop aggravating it.
I’ve had a cyst for years. I check it monthly when I check myself like you’re supposed to and my doctor checks it yearly. It’s been there since before I was pregnant and my son is two months shy of being two. It feels like the same size, so I don’t concern myself with it. You have to stop touching your body, except for monthly, and let it be, stop aggravating it.
Thank you! It's so hard to find info on how long these things can last and of course I've never asked my doc. All I've read says they usually go away in a couple months, although other things say they go away eventually (no time frame given). It's nice to hear that someone else has had them hang out for awhile and it's just there, nothing more.
I guess nobody knows how long, or if for some people even at all, as they are benign and of no other health concern at all. Maybe it'll go, maybe it won't....but either way its not anything you need to spend further time thinking about. Getting older and living brings along all sorts of bumps and lumps to each and every one of us, and it just needs to be accepted that not everything disappears, but it doesn't matter.
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