Would you trust GP regarding breast lump

[Notateacher2020]

Hi all,

In summary- smooth flat/slightly rounded disk sort of thing in breast. Perfect circle. Like a squashed very small grape! Not omg noticeable but I've felt it so its there.....
Went to GP this week, one whom I feel has lots of experience and I usually trust whole heartedly with other things. Mental health for example.

She felt lump and said it's too smooth to be cancer. She has felt cancer and it doesn't feel like that. She said it feels like normal tissue or glandular. She told me to forget about it.

Would you? Without a scan? I really want to trust her but have a little voice in my head, what if.
Suffer with a little anxiety in general so that doesn't help things.

What are your thoughts?

Please insist on referral.
My GP said my lump felt benign and nothing to worry about. She referred me anyway and the appointment came through in a week. A scan showed a suspicious mass. The biopsy confirmed cancer. Fortunately caught early and treated successfully. This was 18 years ago. No issues since.

Get it checked. It's probably nothing but, Early diagnosis is important.

They should definitely refer. When I went with a lump the gp described it as the size of a pinhead but referred anyway for reassurance.
The clinic i was referred to were really good and said they saw a lot like that.
It was all OK.

I was called back after a mammogram: the consultant radiologist said she was pretty sure it was just a little cyst after an ultrasound scan as it had smooth edges but she carried out a biopsy to make sure. I'm so glad she did, it was cancer, and her actions definitely saved my life.

Please do not accept a diagnosis based on a manual examination.

Hi all,

I have emailed the surgery requesting my call to discuss referral be brought forward to Monday to get the ball rolling.

We shall see. Thanks again everyone. This is unchartered territory for me, thankfully.

Absolutely not.
3 friends have had breast cancer in the past couple of years and each time their GP was surprised.

Thank goodness they are all finished treatment and doing great.

Insist on a referral for peace of mind.
Wish you the best.

Insist on a two week wait referral to breast clinic. Best to have a mammogram & possibly an ultrasound than accept it & something be missed.

Echoing everyone above - you should be referred urgently (2 week wait pathway) to a breast clinic, as per NICE guidance.
I’m a doctor (not a GP or breast surgeon), but have experience in this area. It’s not optional, and you shouldn’t need to ask nicely .... your GP is being negligent and potentially endangering your health by suggesting they can definitively rule out cancer by how the lump feels.
Hope all goes ok

I saw my go on Wednesday for a lump, she did say it was very smooth, I am being referred though as any lump needs to ge checked.

My doctor thought mine was a cyst but like Babyshark I'm sitting here with one breast. Please insist, really hope it goes well for you

Ask for a referral. I went to GP as I had a swelling in my breast. She gave me antibiotics, she thought it was mastitis. Suffice to say it turned out to be breast cancer. I had to have a mastectomy, chemo etc. No history of BC in my family. I was 39 years old.

Nine years ago I went to the GP because I could feel a lump in one breast. He told me it felt like normal breast tissue to him but because I'd had a benign cyst removed from that breast ten years before he would refer me to a consultant to be on the safe side. Three weeks later the consultant told me it was cancer.

So, yes, I would push for a referral, OP. Your lump probably is a cyst but it's best to have peace of mind.

I had similar at around that age and it was just a fluid filled cyst.
But the GP should surely refer you, to be sure. Can you see another GP?

I am your age and was sent to the breast clinic because my GP said although it didn't feel like cancer GPs get it wrong and the guidelines say to refer on. I'd be happy to wait until We'd because then you should not referred under the 2 week rule and seen quickly. If she says no, ask to speak to the practice manager who won't be happy taking a risk.

*wait until Wed because then you should be!

A GP found a lump in my breast when I went to find out where the burning feeling was coming from. (Age 26 at the time didn’t feel the lump myself)

I was referred ASAP. Turned out to just be fatty tissue and it’s incredibly common.

I’d get a second option just to be on the safe side. You can rest your mind then :)

I’m also very weary due to previous experience with my GP. I was ignored and palmed off with a bad stomach 6 years ago. I kept going back, they kept sending me away.
4 weeks later I was taken into emergency surgery with rumbling appendicitis and an extreme stomach infection which has since caused some damage.

Not saying they are always wrong, but for your own piece of mind, get checked :)

Morning all, I'm shocked so many people have had poor experiences with GPs dismissing lumps. I know there are lots of positive stories too where women were referred immediately.

I have asked for the call to be brought forwards to Monday as opposed to Wednesday, so will see if that happens and firmly make my request then.

Ps thanks to those replying in the night! Had a very un- restful night

Well she probably is right. But 'probably' isn't enough to ensure that you're sleeping at night without worrying so you're absolutely right to ask for a referral. Something like this is too important and don't be fobbed off when she calls you.

A very experienced GP examined my lump and told me it was a cyst. I was referred to the breast clinic a few years later for something different (which thankfully ended up being nothing) and the original lump was indeed shown to be a cyst both by ultrasound and on examination by the breast surgeon. So I think there are probably some lumps which are obviously cysts to the eyes (and hands) of doctors.

Yes I know what you mean @HipHopBanzai. Hopefully mine will turn out like that! I need to know now....especially after this thread!

It's totally false that cancerous lumps are always hard and irregular and that you can tell if a lump is cancerous or not just by feeling.

Your GP should have referred straight away as per the NICE guidelines, i can't believe there are still GPs who don't do this.

My DH is a GP. EVERY lump is investigated. Every single patient with a breast lump is referred. You cannot tell if a lump is cancerous by palpation. If that were the case, who'd bother with mammograms? Your GP is sailing so close to the wind. If your GP does not refer, even after you request a referral, pay for a private mammogram and put in a complaint to the practice. Best of luck, OP.

Ah thanks everyone. Can't believe initially i thought i was being a worry wart and was worried GP would just eye roll. So glad I asked

If i fall within guidelines for an nhs referral I can't see why I shouldn't get one....

Guess the issue is she says its not a lump as such and i say it is.

@Notateacher2020
Please don't let these awful experiences cause you excess worry though.
Remember a lump is far far more likely to be non cancerous.
But as a pp said, if gps can tell by feel, mammograms and ultrasounds would be expensive and unnecessary.
You are doing right by insisting on referral under the 2 week pathway, otherwise you may continue to have that question mark in your mind and that's not healthy.
I hope in a couple of weeks your mind will have been put at rest.

You must get ultrasounded.

The GP said it was just a fatty lump, and so did the oncologist who first examined me at the breast clinic. Thank god the GP refered me and thank god they ultrasounded me before I left because it was not a fatty lump, it was cancer. Young, no family history, non smoker etc. Utterly minimal chance it was serious. Get seen.