Referred to breast clinic, diagnosed myself with breast cancer secondary liver cancer

[HopeI'mWrong:P]

I'm a 31 year old woman. I have multiple hard lumps in one armpit - one is about 2cm and I have a couple of 1cm ones. They're not painful and I have no signs of infection. The only thing making me feeling better is that they're moveable. But they are very hard. So I'm terrified. My breast is also thicker on that side. I had an ultrasound on the thickened bit 3 years ago and was told it was normal thicker breast tissue, but that I also had a cyst. But these lumps I can feel are new and, as mentioned, rock solid. I'm calling the GP surgery tomorrow to make an appointment. I've been having a lot of back ache and still have undiagnosed bowel issues, so that's making me feel more worried.

Has anyone else had hard armpit lumps that turned out to be benign?

Thanks

[Fishmanpa]

Do a search and/or read the posts at the bottom of the page. In the time I've been here, I don't know of one case that's been sinister.

FMP

[HopeI'mWrong:P]

Thank you. I tried looking at those before I posted, but most people don't seem to have said that the lumps were rock hard like mine. That's what's worrying me the most :( And the fact that it's only one armpit.

[Fishmanpa]

Just based on your post history, I think you'll be fine. Let us know what the doctor says

FMP

[HopeI'mWrong:P]

I went to the doctor yesterday and she said she could feel the lumps and thickening too. She has referred me to the breast clinic on a 2 week referral. Pretty scared. Wouldn't be so worried if the lumps weren't so hard, but they're solid.

[Fishmanpa]

Just have to wait and see what they say. For what it's worth HopeI'mWrong:P, I truly HopeYou'reWrong as you've been before

Positive thoughts

[HopeI'mWrong:P]

Thank you, Fishmanpa. Really hope so too. Mind is racing - keep linking it to all the pelvic, hip and back pain I've been getting and thinking it's breast cancer that has spread from my lymph nodes to my bones. Feel so sick :(

[bobby84]

Me! I have a rock hard, pea sized, movable yet very noticeable (both visually and felt) lump in my armpit. 2x ultrasounds = cyst. Sometimes it gets smaller, sometimes bigger but always there.

[HopeI'mWrong:P]

That's reassuring, Bobby - thanks for letting me know. As mentioned, everything I've read online says that cysts are "fluid filled sacks" and that hard = worrying. So glad to hear that yours is a cyst! Ultrasound is apparently very good at telling between benign and worrying lumps, so I'll be happy if they tell me the ultrasound shows cysts. It feels like I have one lump and then also swollen lymph nodes, but the GP did say they can react if there's a cyst there, so I'm hoping for that!

Thanks again

[HopeI'mWrong:P]

This is the most scared I have ever been. Long story short, 2.5 years ago, I was referred to the breast clinic due to some thickening of breast tissue on just one breast. Was scanned and told that I just had a cyst (no biopsies taken). Since then, as stupid as it sounds, when checking my breasts I have avoided that area because I knew I would keep doubting what they told me. However, I recently did check the area again and have found that there's even more thickness and at least 3 rock hard lumps in my armpit! One is the size of a small marble, one is slightly smaller and the other is pea-sized. Because I haven't been checking, I have no idea how long they have been there. I have been referred to the breast clinic urgently and just have to wait for that, but I'm going insane with worry. I have since learned that the type of breast cancer that my symptoms fit with (which accounts for around 10-15% of BC cases) often isn't picked up on mammograms or ultrasound scans, and is only found using MRI.

The reason I believe that this has spread to my liver (or at the very least, to abdominal lymph nodes) is because for the last couple of months I have been unable to lay on my left side without my upper right abdomen hurting. I get pain and this feeling of pressure start to build up to my neck. It's so bad that I haven't been able to sleep on my left all this time and if I do roll on to that side during the night, I wake up in pain - a very worrying symptom. Btw, I also have undiagnosed bowel inflammation but not so much the signs of IBD (diarrhea). So yeah, I'm basically broken - both physically and mentally. My bf isn't being supportive but I understand why. Throughout the years I have diagnosed myself with numerous conditions, or worried that I will get them. So I get why he doesn't see how this is different. But these are truly the most worrying symptoms I have ever experienced and it's actually one of the most likely diagnoses I've been faced with. I'm 32 with no family history of breast cancer but I have been a heavy drinker for around 10 years - no sprits but about 5-6 units of alcohol (about half bottle of wine) every day and often more at weekends. I actually only recently learned that the breasts are one of the most susceptible to cancer following alcohol misuse. Have quit now, but still, it appears it's too late.

So yeah, here I am. Dying. Scared. Alone. And it's my own fault - I have done this to myself. Both by drinking too much and causing the cancer, and also by not checking my breasts well enough and allowing it to spread. Don't know how I'm going to handle them telling me - I can't. I have a teenage child who needs me. Can't believe how much I have let them down. Sorry for the rant. As mentioned, I can't talk to my bf about it (until diagnosed) and I can't face telling my family. For anyone who has read all of this - thank you.