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Original poster

Mammogram tomorrow and feeling silly

34 replies

Dotty2019 · 15/09/2019 17:49

I found a lump in my breast.
Went to GP and she felt it too and booked appointment for a mammogram, which is tomorrow.
I keep feeling and cannot find the lump.
Can lumps just disappear like that? If the GP hadn't have felt it then I would have thought that I imagined it, but it was there.
Also feel kind of silly now taking up an appointment if there isn't anything there.

OP posts:
Soozikinzi · 15/09/2019 17:54

Yes I’m pretty sure that can happen and no you certainly aren’t wasting an appointment set up by your GP. It can be a good idea to take paracetamol half an hour before the mammogram. This was told to me by The radiographer just as I was having my first one 🙄

Original poster
Dotty2019 · 15/09/2019 18:11

Oh thank you
Does it hurt?
I was thinking of cancelling as the lump appears to have gone

OP posts:
lljkk · 15/09/2019 18:17

Mine had shrunk by time I went to mammogram. Was gone completely a month later. tbh I will definitely wait longer next time before asking GP for referral (I'm an adult, I can make choices like that).

Felt like they were scraping my ribs off so I can't recommend the m'gram, tbh. Radiographer said thinner women can get that problem.

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cornishclottedcream · 15/09/2019 18:20

My mammogram wasn't painful but I did feel pulled around bit, so more uncomfortable than painful.
Definitely go and get it checked. Lumps can be hiding and it's much better to be sure rather than having a niggling worry that you might have ignored something. Good luck

CherryPavlova · 15/09/2019 18:21

Gracious, please don’t feel silly. Some lumps can move around a bit and are difficult to find a second or third time. Some barely feel like lumps at all.
Do go. You need to know and will hopefully sleep well tomorrow knowing all is well.
It’s uncomfortable for a few seconds as your breast is squashed between two plates. It’s over before you know it.
Are you just having a mammogram? It would usually be a one stop breast clinic so might be ultrasound and possibly biopsy if there is a lump. It’s not awful but might take longer than anticipated. You shouldn’t need painkillers for the mammogram but take a couple in case you need biopsy - they have local anaesthetic so don’t hurt but can be a bit bruised afterwards.

SpoonBlender · 15/09/2019 18:23

Don't cancel. It's probably fine and not cancer, but if it is you have so much higher chance if you get it sorted early.

And yes, it hurts - your boob gets squashed flattish, www.cancer.gov/images/cdr/live/CDR711008.jpg
But, y'know, dying of cancer is pretty painful and takes way more than a couple of minutes.

Original poster
Dotty2019 · 15/09/2019 18:24

Thank you
Yes just a mammogram
Was thinking I would be wasting their time as I couldn't feel the lump. I guess it is better to get it checked out

OP posts:
Powerplant · 15/09/2019 18:28

I have never found a mammogram painful maybe slightly uncomfortable because of the positioning but nothing to worry about. Good luck tomorrow😊

PickAChew · 15/09/2019 18:30

Always better to have your mind put at rest.

user1471453601 · 15/09/2019 18:31

Please don't cancel. Get some peace of mind by having a mammogram.

This is strange, but true. I had breast cancer about twenty years ago. I in 2016 i noticed what felt like a spot in my armpit on the side the cancer was. I kept an eye on it and after four weeks or so went to my gp. She agreed that it felt more like a spot than a lump, but given my history (at this point of already had cancer twice). On the day of my appointment no lump or anything out of the way was there.

I went anyway, apologised profusely, the consultant was lovely and reassured me if done the right thing. As I was already there, the consultant said I should have mammograms anyway.

They found a very small lump in the opposite breast that turned out to be cancer.

One short operation and three weeks of radiotherapy later, all was fine.

I just think getting total peace of mind is worth the discomfort.

And if second the painkiller advice. Mammograms aren't pleasant, but they are doable and so worth it.

Good luck

Original poster
Dotty2019 · 15/09/2019 18:36

Will they tell me straight away if there is a problem? I thought I would have to wait for the results

OP posts:
Nix32 · 15/09/2019 18:37

I've had 3 mammograms and would never describe them as painful. I'm fairly large busted, don't know if that makes a difference, but I never worry about having one. You're doing the right thing by going.

Thesuzle · 15/09/2019 18:39

OP
Please attend the appointment, i had no lump but a hot itchy area, turned out to be grade one cancer in my milk ducts

CactusAndCacti · 15/09/2019 18:43

Hope it goes ok. Like others I found it uncomfortable rather than painful. I'm sure they said that sometimes it was necessary to repeat if you had big boobs thanks for that

I am on yearly scans (increased risk of BC) but my first was only last year.

BarbarAnna · 15/09/2019 18:50

Some people can find mammograms very painful. Some like me find them very painful sometimes, other times not so much (I have had lots). Please don’t dismiss that all the people saying they aren’t painful.

So back to the OP. Please go for your appointment. Even if it does hurt, it is still worth going. Usually they tell you there and then if they are worried. In my experience, they do a mammogram and then further tests on the day if anything of concern.

The fact that the lump cannot be felt might mean that it is hormonal. But just get it checked out. Or you will be forever feeling for it.

I was at the breast clinic for an urgent referral a couple of weeks back and received excellent care.

Good luck.

Lisette1940 · 15/09/2019 18:52

My lump had disappeared by the time of the mammogram but they checked out another lump they found. All was fine but get checked anyway.

15thOctober2019 · 15/09/2019 18:56

Yes. I had lump and GP referred me. Long wait and so paid £115 to go to BUPA the next day. Then an NHS cancellation came through and so had 2 in 3 days. Lumps all over the the 1st one- cysts it turned out but only a couple in the 2nd which were drained.

It was really painful the 1st time and I did wonder if the pressure popped them !

They don't tell you. The person doing the scans it isn't an expert to read them.

BarbarAnna · 15/09/2019 19:08

The person doing the mammogram won’t tell you in my experience. However, the person doing the ultrasound told me their finding (benign) but also others I know (positioned as almost certainly malignant) so it sounds like everyone has a different experience.

Aberhonddu · 15/09/2019 19:20

Please don't cancel, I've had several mammograms and while I found them a bit uncomfortable they weren't painful. Try not to feel silly, your GP has felt the lump too, so just go and get it over and done with, it's better to have peace of mind and to know what, if anything you'll have to deal with.

BackforGood · 15/09/2019 20:18

Agreeing with everyone else.
Don't cancel - go and have your mind put at rest.
Don't assume you will find it painful - most people find them 'uncomfortable' at most. It's just a bit weird having your breasts moved about and lifted into position by someone else, but not painful for most people.
They prefer if you haven't used either talc or deodorant beforehand as this can affect the picture quality.

Sn0tnose · 15/09/2019 20:25

Definitely go. It’s not a waste of anyone’s time, especially yours.

I have annual mammograms (increased risk). They’re not the most comfortable things, but not painful. My mum is petite (I am most definitely not) and said similar. They take ten minutes max (sometimes takes a couple of goes to get the right angle) and my results normally come through by post a week or so later. They won’t tell you anything there and then.

CherryPavlova · 15/09/2019 20:42

The national guidance is a one stop service where a breast cancer is suspected, so you should be given an indication on the same day but it might be you’ve not been referred under 2ww so you then get a letter about a week later.

Original poster
Dotty2019 · 15/09/2019 21:21

Thank you to everyone for your replies.
I will go tomorrow
Fingers crossed all ok

OP posts:
Propertyofhood · 15/09/2019 21:27

Yes, definitely better to go anyway, at least you are getting a check then anyway.

I find the first 'straight down' one isn't too bad, but the one where they come in from the side to squash them does rather bloody pinch! It's literally only for a few seconds though and is totally worth it.

Good luck!

Lisette1940 · 15/09/2019 21:27

Dotty hope all goes well for you. My consultant said 90% of the lumps at his clinic were benign. I had a mammogram which wasn't painful. Then an ultrasound same day. It was a fibrocystic lump so harmless - found out at the clinic.

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