Self breast exam with HA

[sunshine1982]

hello everyone,

i have a question, and maybe someone can give me some tips. I have HA and also fibrocystic breasts. So Always lumpy and bumpy.

Now i discovered a lumpy bit in my left beast, more in the upper outer quadrant. I can only feel it when sitting up and arm by my side with fingertips. Every other position of fingers flat it is gone. So even sitting up and raising my arm it is gone.

They did an ultrasound last week and everything was fine. But now i worried if they checked the whole upper outer. I quess so because we did a baseline so they checked the whole breast, but HA makes me worried he didn't.

So what do you think? Am i doing the breast exam wrong? Should i lay down in stead of sitting up. And does breast cancer really feel like a frozen pea etc?
And does poking with fingertips makes you think it is a lump but actually is not?

Maybe anyone has some tips or kind words because my mind goes in overdrive.....

Thanks a lot!!

[Carys]

So what do you think? Am i doing the breast exam wrong? Should i lay down in stead of sitting up. And does breast cancer really feel like a frozen pea etc?
And does poking with fingertips makes you think it is a lump but actually is not?

yes, you are doing it wrong.

Yes, you should be laying down.

No, you shouldn't use fingertips.





Seriously, you are doing all the things you shouldn't to be honest, and counter to self-exam advice. I have literally just got back from a surgeon doing a manual examination, and have had plenty of them, and was taught how to do them properly.

Firstly, stand infront of the mirror, look front on, and see if there are any visual changes - raised areas, skin changes, dimpling, puckering. Lift your arms in the air and look again, checking for anything that looks 'abnormal'. By 'abnormal', that means something that looks different from the last breast exam you did.

Here is a handy video about what to look for, and I will dig out the 'self-exam' one too....

https://www.breastcancercare.org.uk/...k-your-breasts

I can't find the self-examination one right now. However, lay down and use the flats of your three middle fingers of handthe hand opposite to the breast you are checking, run them firmly around the breast tissue, working around the edges and into the middle in kind of 'sweeping motions'.

OK, here is a good version that gives all the details....

https://www.wikihow.com/Do-a-Breast-Self-Exam


Only check after your period, no more than once a month.

[sunshine1982]

Wow what a great response! thank you so much! I actually know everything but my ha keeps saying: what if it is cancer? Your post really helps! I truly hate my boobs, but maybe its better if i just accept the lumpy bits...

[Carys]

You are welcome !

They did an ultrasound last week and everything was fine.

Ultrasound is the tool of choice for younger women with dense breast tissue and those with fibrocystic breasts. It gives better images than a mammogram will. If they have seen nothing, then you are absolutely clear.

[sunshine1982]

Do you also think it is possible for a lumpy bit to spread out when lying down? And that is the reason i cant find it anymore lying down?

---------- Post added at 12:30 ---------- Previous post was at 12:29 ----------

Yes i know ultrasound is a great tool but i worry they did not scan everything. Because i didn't watch the ultrasound wand to see if they scanned the whole outside. But he did a baseline so it should be ok.

[Carys]

100 percent yes! No word of a lie here.....I've been having 6 monthly breast checks by professionals and have had this very issue arise for me. There have been sections where standing up I have thought 'thats an odd, enlarged/hard/lumpy area', then laid down and its gone, turned one way and it is kinda there, the other way and its gone again LOL You only have to look at what the breast internally is made from, its all sorts of fat and glands and bits and bobs, sometimes they all 'pull' one way and feel a certain way, that causes concern but they are gone when lying down.

But he did a baseline so it should be ok.

Its definitely OK. They aren't in the habit of leaving bits out you know, and they will need a really good base-line if you are fibrocystic!

[jojo2316]

Because I have bad HA I totally outsource my breast checks. My doctor does them. I’m not sure that is helpful advice but EVERYTHING i feel feels like a lump!

[Carys]

LOL Well, thats because we are full of lumps and bumps naturally, it is what is NOT natural/not normal for you that is being looked for.

[sunshine1982]

Thank you thank you!! That is what happens with me. All those lumpy bits. And then it is there, lying down not, on the side also gone. Standing up its there, arm up gone. So frustrating but this post helps a lot!!!
I read somewhere that you should look for a consistency of a rock, frozen pea etc. Is that something i could do? Just check lying down with 3 fingers and looking for a rock? Do you think at that point i do everything i can to take care of myself? And not to feel quilty when i do get something malignant? Especially for my daughter.

[Carys]

And not to feel quilty when i do get something malignant?

I'm concerned about the WHEN in this comment, not sure why you are presuming that you will definitely at some point get bc? I don't think you said your age, but you sound younger than 40?

Do you think at that point i do everything i can to take care of myself?

Absolutely! A breast exam once every couple of months is sufficient to notice any early changes. However, if a woman is unlucky enough to get a form of BC, there is no guilt to be imparted to the woman.