breast clinic nightmare

[strawberrie]

hi, i havent posted on here for such a long time really cos i'm trying to keep away from all reminders of anxiety, but i've just had the most horrendous time i am hoping i can get a bit of reassurance from the lovely people here

i have become concerned about my family history with regards to breast cancer and have got myself into quite a state about it, so i went to the doctors and asked to be referred, i chose to go private because i felt like i was having some sort of breakdown and would disintegrate if i couldnt get help quickly. My gp examined me at the time (she has examined me lots of times) and said that she couldnt find anything wrong but she would refer me because of my anxiety.

Anyway, i got an appointment at the breast clinic and was so petrified i thought i was going to pass out, and when i had my examination with the consultant he terrified me by saying he could find two lumps which he believed to be benign but he would do a needle test on them to make sure and he would also send me for an ultrasound. I think that was the worst moment of my life (so far!) One of the lumps i couldn't even feel and the other was very large but very mobile which was why it never bothered me before. I will not get the results of the needle test until next thursday which has been completely tearing me apart. But then i went for the ultrasound which was carried out by a specialist doctor and she said that she couldnt find anything to worry about, i had a couple of cysts, and the large lump looked just like glandular tissue or something like that. She was very reassuring, and told me that on my notes the consultant had marked these lumps as likely to be benign, so my anxiety levels have dipped a bit since that.

Has anyone else had an experience like this that can reassure me a bit, i am not completely falling apart like i was before the ultrasound but i still have a lot of 'what if's' in my head. Sorry this is a long post, but can anyone help (without frightening me)?

[joyce1980]

No sorry but it sounds like you will be fine, I know what the waiting is like. Thursday will come soon and they can usually tell from an ultra sound anyway.(so i think you may have your answer already)

I'll bet you will be just fine, good on you for taking care of your health if there really was anything (really i dont think there will be) i'll bet you would have caught it extremly early.

You will be ok,

[lilly-lou]

Hi
I had a lump in my breast when and was referred to see a consultant who done a needle biopsy and an altrasound, I had to wait for the results which was very stressful but thankfully all come back ok and I was told they were harmless cysts that didn't need to be removed.I hope this can give you a bit of reassurance

lilly-lou

[ellida]

I had a breast lump last December and had to have the tests done etc. The consultant was pretty certain from what he saw in the ultrasound that all was ok and the other tests then backed that up. These specialists have an enormous amount of experience in these things and wouldn't say anything to you if they weren't pretty certain they were right.

Hope this reassures you a little - and I know how awful it can be waiting for the results. Hang in there and all will be fine,

Exx

[sheba2]

Its brilliant that you have been to have yourself checked and I know how anxious a time it is when waiting for any results. But I would take heart from the ultrasound tests. The people who do these are very used to seeing both good and bad things and I'm sure would have kept quiet rather than build false hope. I had an ultrasound test on my kidneys last year and the sonographer said everything was ok but just had to be signed off by the doc before they could release the results. I know its hard but try and give yourself something positive to do each day until thursday and then hopefully the time will pass more quickly. Best of luck

[JennyW]

this sounds exactly like me. I too get very anxious about checking my breasts and was at the clinic in March. The consultant examined me and agreed that my right breast was quite lumpy and I had a mammogram and u/s there and then and to book follow-up appointment to go through the results.

The lady who did the u/s found a lump which she said was a cyst (I didn't even know it was there) and spent quite a lot of time on one particular area which concerned me but at the end she just said that everything looked ok.

During my follow-up appointment the consultant explained that there were quite a few cysts and nodules in my right breast and that I have very glandular tissue, but nothing to worry about.

You sound find and what they are doing is all perfectly normal. IF there was the slighest chance they were concerned about anything, you'd of been called back in a shot, they don't risk waiting now. Our breast cancer screening is excellent in the UK

[strawberrie]

thanks for the replies, i am finding this all very hard and it helps to not feel quite so alone

[Piglet]

You know I went through this back in January where they found I had at least 2 cysts in my right boob which I had drained and yes I too have very granular boobs (nice - hi I'm Piglet and I have very granular boobs) but I totally indentify with you over how 'bonkers' you get over it - it's the waiting hun that's what it is, it gives us way too much time to build the most scary scenarios we possibly can.

I'm still having a few hormonal type issues too so I've got to have a blood test done to check my hormone levels and I've decided to come off the pill now.

My advice would be to try and keep occupied so as to avoid dwelling on it unneccessarily and also to do a progressive muscle relaxation cd to stop all those fears turning your muscles rock hard (my hands became like claws I was that tense). Don't forget to do your 'Thought record sheets' too - this helps you to keep some perspective and stops you from putting the horse before the cart which us anxious lot do all the time - imagine Piglet here overtaking a horse and cart in her haste to run from fear.

Lovie you don't need to run from fear (the faster you run the more it chases you) let it reach you and go past you and on its way

Love Piglet

[bex1970]

I had almost the same scenario - and actually asked the sonographer whether they would speculate as to whether something was ok if it wasn't? He said that if something was bad they would NEVER say that they thought it was ok - it's not worth being sued for and they aren't actually allowed to say something is ok if it's categorically not.... It's not worth their while to reassure us just for the sake of our peace of mind - imagine how furious you would be if you had been assured that it was 98% benign to then be told that it wasn't. I think that they would just stay quiet. Waiting for the needle biopsy result is so scary, especially for us HA sufferers but the ultrasounds are pretty good and my sonographer told me that they can really tell from that if something is good / bad.... after all, they do hundreds of them all the time, they just do the biopsy to be 100% sure and because it's part of the package. I'm pretty sure you're going to be grand and rest assured that they wouldn't reassure you if they weren't able to.

[strawberrie]

thank you so much guys, it is reassuring to hear your stories. I seem to swing from moments of calm to moments of complete panic, but hey i just have to think its only a few days to get through and even if the worst happens i'll just have to handle it!