One thing after another - breast lump

[carriewriting]

I am seriously starting to feel like I'm cursed.

I'm already stressed about the brain MRI I'm having next week and the dodgy liver function blood test result from last week.

Now I think I've got a lump in my breast.

I found it last night and have made it so sore from checking and rechecking it. It's about 3 fingers width down from my collarbone.

I'm perimenopausal and my cycle is all over the place so I don't know if it's hormonal or not.

I managed to get an appointment with a GP in my usual practice today so I guess it's one step at a time, but I can't help linking everything together and thinking I've got breast cancer that's spread to my brain and liver.

I have annual mammograms due to my health anxiety and my last one was 9 months ago, but I've read that breast cancers that appear between screenings are usually aggressive :(

Sharing it here helps a bit. Praying it's just a cyst or something benign.

[Hijikata]

It is very common (and unfortunately equally as easy) to connect dots that aren't really there. It is also something we are all guilty of.

Dodgy liver tests can be from any number of things. In 2012 I was taking a lot of panadol (acetaminophen - no one should take this, aspirin or ibuprofen may be slightly bad for the stomach but you are not going to overdose on it like the thousands a year who accidentally do on panadol) because I had irreversible pulpitis - the only thing I have ever self-diagnosed correctly and it was not subtle at all, and my liver tests went through the roof. But even a little bit will make the go higher for a while. In fact, there are so many things can make them go high for a while.

Like I said the other day, your MRI is going to be clean, everybody's who have ever posted here has been.

As for a lump in the breast, I'm a boy so I don't really know anything about it, but I do know that almost all lump found in breast are benign.

Good luck friend but you're fine

[carriewriting]

Thanks Hijikata, I don't have anyone to talk to about this so posting here helps get it out of my head a bit. I saw a young GP and she couldn't feel the lumpy area until I pointed it out. She said she thinks it's just breast tissue, but she's referred me for a mammogram and ultrasound to be sure. So now I've got the brain MRI Monday and Mammogram on Tuesday next week and then see my regular GP for results on Thursday when fingers crossed all will be well.

[Hijikata]

Thanks Hijikata, I don't have anyone to talk to about this so posting here helps get it out of my head a bit. I saw a young GP and she couldn't feel the lumpy area until I pointed it out. She said she thinks it's just breast tissue, but she's referred me for a mammogram and ultrasound to be sure. So now I've got the brain MRI Monday and Mammogram on Tuesday next week and then see my regular GP for results on Thursday when fingers crossed all will be well.

All will be well. My wife has swelling under her right pit, the doctor checked it and said she wasn't really sure but it didn't feel all that dangerous, but just in case she ordered an ultrasound. Just turned out to be fat tissue. Bodies are weird!

[pulisa]

Where did you read that breast cancers occurring between screenings are aggressive?

Does reading/researching help you manage your HA? I'm sorry you have to have more tests and I really hope you can get some definitive results which help to reassure you.

[carriewriting]

Thanks Pulisa. I don't know how many times I have to learn that Googling never leads to anything good!

[jojo2316]

You are really going through the mill at the moment aren’t you? I suspect the problem here is hyper vigilance. In your heightened state of awareness you are interpreting normal breast tissue as a lump. You are getting it checked out, which is good, but my guess is it’s nothing. I know what it’s like to be in the middle of a hail storm of health scares.... and I also know that psychology can have a lot to do with it!
Have you learnt any techniques to calm yourself down?

[carriewriting]

Thanks JoJo. You are right that I am hyper vigilant. Have been for years and was making reasonable progress with a therapist before COVID. I am focussing on exercising every day, eating well and using guided meditations. I had also started yoga on YouTube, but tonight I'm wondering if that might be behind this breast scare. The top of my breast is really tight and painful when I move and when I'm still. I thought this was from me poking and prodding, but I guess it's possible I've pulled a muscle in my chest too.

[jojo2316]

All very plausible explanations. And you had a mammogram 9 months ago which was clear. It sounds like you are taking positive steps to help yourself though, which is great. Which of your many worries is troubling you the most?

[carriewriting]

Hmm, today I would say the breast, but before then it was the liver blood test and before then MS after some eye problems. Last year I nearly had a nervous breakdown after a blood test showed my protein level was slightly elevated, but 3 months later it was back to normal. I don't cope well with uncertainty, but I have some great resources from my therapist that I'm going to start using again. Hopefully I can start seeing him again soon. Thanks for your kind reply, it's helped me remember to counter my catastrophic thinking rather than letting it overwhelm me.

[Elen]

Hi

This is just a courtesy reply to let you know that your post was moved from its original place to a sub-forum that is more relevant to your problem.

This is nothing personal - it just enables us to keep posts about the same problems in the relevant forums so other members with any experience with the issues can find them more easily.

Regards

Elen Admin

[pulisa]

I would question whether you really need another mammogram so soon after the last one-mainly in view of the additional radiation. I hope that an ultrasound will be sufficient to put your mind at rest, particularly as your GP reckons it's just breast tissue. I had a similar problem a while back which was diagnosed as glandular tissue after ultrasound. The breast specialist didn't want to subject me to unnecessary radiation.

[carriewriting]

Update: I had the mammogram and ultrasound today. After the first two images were taken the operator went to show them to the radiologist and then came back to get one more image from a different angle. She said there was a small area in the right breast that the radiologist thought was a lymph node and wanted to check. She did the right breast and then said she might as well do the left as well. After that I had the ultrasound and the technician said the radiologist usually liked to see anyone who had a lump so not to be concerned if he came in. He did come in and asked me to show him the area in my left breast and he went over it again and said it's a ridge of tissue that didn't look suspicious. Then he said the mammogram had shown a spot in the side of that breast and when he found it he said it was a cyst. I asked about the lymph node in the right breast but he didn't seem to know what I was talking about. He checked the notes and said no, it was just the cyst in the left breast that showed up and that from his point of view everything looks okay, but to check in with my GP. Of course I am struggling to put the lymph node thing out of my mind, but on the whole it seems like a positive result. I see my GP on Wednesday to discuss the report.