Breast Lump

[PeppaAteMySoul]

My son is 4 months old and breastfed. 3 months ago I found a lump under my arm. My GP advised it was just milk ducts swollen from feeding.
Today I found another lump. At the top of the breast on the same side as the first one. It's fixed to the breast,oval sized (about 2cm) and feels like a water balloon. (It's firmish but not hard). I've been thrown into a complete panic again and will see my GP again tomorrow. My mum says it sounds like a cyst- does it?

[PeppaAteMySoul]

I suppose I'm worried that my GP was wrong about the original underarm lump and it's actually a lymph node and this lump is actually cancer and it's spread. And I know I'm getting way ahead of myself and it's Mother's Day so I should calm down and enjoy the last few minuites of my lie in instead of lying here panicking but I can't seem to shake it.

[sufferingicecakes]

I found a lump under my arm and panicked. On examining me the GP then found another lump, which was pea sized moveable and smooth. I then thought the same as you that it had spread.

What I learnt was that if they are smooth they are less likely to be sinister. Mine felt hard but the GP thought it was fairly soft and you could get your fingers around it. She also said that although it felt largeish to me because of the fat there, it was infact much smaller. It felt about 1cm but when they measured, it was just millimetres. The one under my arm was larger and to the skin surface; you really could not get your fingers around it.

I got the first available appointment at a local hospital (happened that the marsden had the first) and was seen well within 2 weeks. Both lumps were harmless. I was so relieved that I nearly walked out of the hospital without my shoes on and had to go back for them!

Best wishes to you. You will worry (and I do not know where you are based) but you can probably go to several hospitals, just ask for the first available. My GP did it by 'choose and book' while I was there.

[PeppaAteMySoul]

Thank you suffering fingers crossed I'll be able to share a similar story. My lump(s) also feel smooth and I can get my fingers round them.

[PeppaAteMySoul]

After getting DP to feel it seems I have several lumps in that area and under my arm. More or less likely to be something bad?

[Crumbs1]

Less likely. If you're pregnant and breastfeeding the breasts change, obviously. Milk,ducts can be blocked and become swollen, the fullness created can push cysts to surface and make bumps feel more noticeable. Most breast lumps are benign particularly in pre menopausal women. Get it checked for reassurance but it doesn't sound like my malignant lump. Sounds cystic- but do get it checked properly.

[PeppaAteMySoul]

Thanks can hard lumps be cysts?

[BigBroIsWatching]

Sound alike milk ducts if you can feel plenty. My breasts feel similar towards the top of my breast and under arm. If you are overly concerned, see your GP. We cannot diagnose but it does sound like a duct.

[Crumbs1]

Hard lumps can be cysts - depends how much fluid is in them. Does sound like ducts though.

[PeppaAteMySoul]

I'm silly. I've spent most of the days feeling tearful. Can't get the thought of our 3 year old and my baby being without there mummy. I keep thinking about how sad DS was when our dog died and how he struggled with understanding she wasn't coming back. Basically my own anxieties have ruined Mother's Day. How do you stay calm in these situations? I'm shit at it!

[TheoriginalLEM]

To be fair you are not being silly at all. We can reassure you all we like but you need it from the horses mouth. Insist on a referral because only then will you rest easy.


i had a hard lump, when you said yours felt like a water balloon it rang true with me. That is exactly what mine felt like. I had taken a whack to the breast a few months previous and it caused CYST. The dr told me its where i damaged the tissue and there had been inflammation which when it went my body filled with fluid. It was drained there and then and the expectation was that there would be nothing there. I could still feel a lump albeit smaller. I was recalled to the breast clinic for reassurance and the dr said it was necrotic fat (naice) and yold to go back in6 months. I didn't receive an appointment but by that time it had completely gone as per the Dr's prediction so i didn't go back. Two years later and all is well.

I suffer from anxiety and pretty much had to be sedated to stop me climbing the walls i was so terrified. The staff at the clinic were so lovely and i had the sll clear there and then.

[PeppaAteMySoul]

Have GP appointment at 10 this morning- so scared

[Crumbs1]

I'm sure you'll be reassured but good luck anyway.

[Crumbs1]

And keep spreading the reality that the overwhelming majority of lumps are benign and most breast cancers are curable.

[hairymuffet]

Virtual hand hold

[PeppaAteMySoul]

I need that hand hold a bit more now. The doctor has sent me to the breast clinic to be scanned.

She said she thought it was a milk cyst- whatever that is- but I'm worried that she has said that to reassure me because she also said I'd get an appointment in 2 weeks. I thought that was the urgent cancer referral time?

[MajorClanger123]

Hi peppa
So sorry to hear you're going through this - don't panic at all about the 2 week referral time, its a standard referral when anything lumpy / bumpy / painful is reported in the breast tissue.

I've been referred twice to the breast clinic now (I'm 38 and have breast fed 3 babies). First time was continually painful left breast (but no lumps), the most recent time was same breast with awful stabbing pains coming from behind the nipple, plus a deep tissue lump / lumpy area.

Its standard for a GP to refer anything like that to the breast clinic - NICE clinical guidelines state the 2 week referral time. Hormones do funny things to boobs - pain / lumps etc.

If you can't wait and you can afford it, telephone your local Spire or Nuffield hospital, who likely do private one stop clinics and can probably see you quicker than 2 weeks. But the NHS breast clinics really are world class, incredibly efficient and most probably the best place to be seen about breast issues.

[PeppaAteMySoul]

Thank you Clanger I just wish the first GP I saw refered me rather than fobbed me off.
I hope it is just the hormones- I'm 24- so keep telling myself it would be very unlikely/ unlucky to be anything serious.

[Flyingprettycretonnecurtains]

Hi. I too have something suspicious. They send anyone with anything odd to the two week scan thing. Mine was only a week after I went to the dctor and I had it today. So you go and see the consultant who prod and poke. Then more than likely they send you for the mammogram and ultra sound. Their cut off for a biopsy is very low so I've had one of those too (not bad, less painful than the mammo). Then I wait for results. So actually, it gets it all done with then and there. Things might be different for you as you are breast feeding. Likely yours is milk duct thingies.

[PeppaAteMySoul]

Thanks Flying good luck with your results.
A week sounds quick and good that they do it all on the same day. Hope it's like that where I am.

[PeppaAteMySoul]

Even more scared now- the clinic called me just now with an appointment tomorrow morning. Surely if it was just a cyst they wouldn't be trying to get me in so soon

[PeppaAteMySoul]

And because it's so short notice no one will be able to come with me or look after the baby

[sadie9]

If it's anything like the clinic I was in, once you are called in from the waiting room it's quite quick through each exam area. You might be able to bring the baby in in the car seat, but not sure about that so you could give the clinic a ring and ask them. The staff are usually lovely in those clinics and they know how anxious people are feeling.
To be honest getting the appt straightaway is easier than worrying about it for two more weeks.
They could have had cancellations and try to ring around and fill the slots rather than leave people worrying. The people in the clinic don't know what issues anyone has, they just get the referrals through from the GPs and try to accommodate those appointments.

[PeppaAteMySoul]

Ok- you're right at least tomorrow I might have some idea of what's going on so deep breathes.
Do you think they'll be able to tell me anything for sure tomorrow?

[sadie9]

They should be able to give you some fairly clear info tomorrow.
They will most likely to do a physical exam, an ultrasound, maybe another mammogram and possibly take a sample of fluid from the cyst. Once the GP finds a lump, they will refer you to the clinic, even if they think it's a cyst themselves, because they aren't going to take a chance and then get blamed for sending you home telling you it's just a cyst...

[DubiousCredentials]

It's unlikely you'll have a mammogram because of your age. Breast tissue is too dense in women under 40 so you'll have an ultrasound.

I expect that the consultant will locate the lump or lumpy area and draw a nice ring around it with a biro. Then you'll go off for a targeted ultrasound just focussing on the biro'd bit of your breast. The sonographer will most likely give you a good indication of what's going on then and you'll be shown what's what on the monitor. Then back to the consultant again for a debrief.

It's all very efficient and straightforward.