to want a 2nd opinion on a breast lump?

[MajorClanger123]

Went to one stop breast clinic a week ago about a breast lump and pain. Was examined and had ultrasound.

Sonographer couldn't see anything (couldn't even find lump - kept asking where it was and I tried to show him but tricky when lying down). I didn't realise but they don't scan entire breast - just areas & around where you can feel lump.

Doctor was lovely & reassuring, said all fine & breast tissue per scan all normal. I did ask "what could the lump be?", reply was 'maybe an enlarged milk duct'. I was so relieved that I skipped out of clinic happy.

Fast forward a few days.... still feeling the lump, still wondering what actually it is and still wondering why it wasn't seen on the ultrasound. I've rung the breast clinic and a very nice lady said she'll post all my reports to me (I thought I might stop stressing if I read that).

AIBU to want to know (a) what exactly the lump is and (b) to be feeling still slightly nervous about the lump? Should i just accept that all is fine (I', 38 by the way, have breastfed 3 kids heavily from the boob in question - it was like a dummy for my 3rd child ).

Oh dubious don't!!
No notes yet.... I phoned Tuesday so if they've not arrived by Monday I'm going up to the clinic (literally live 5 mins down road from hospital) and asking them to sort them there and then. I Swing from feeling totally fine to totally worried again bloody tits!!

The problem is we are all looking for a 'lump' but what they mean by a lump is not what we often find and worry about. At any time in my cycle I can feel soft squidy lumps in sections of both my breasts. Boobs are made up of mammary glands and fat cells and they aren't supposed to be smooth to the touch! A lump is a hard, immobile thing that usually has irregular edges. Your anxiety sounds a tad extreme considering you have had an ultrasound on the area. And no you can't get an 100% this is exactly what this is most of the time. They didn't see anything so you don't need to worry.

Still no notes a week after calling for a third time. Feeling a bit peeved about it now - I checked my address with the secretary last time, that was correct, she said all 3 times she'd personally see my notes were posted. I'll call again tomorrow & maybe suggest I collect the report from the hospital myself as I live so close.
So still nothing to report

That's shocking! As you live so close it'd definitely be worth popping in. Or camping outside. I phoned the clinic I went to yesterday for a copy of mine.

Are you feeling any happier?

Yes I think I am dubious, but I'd still like to read through my notes regardless and I do still have the occasional wobble about it all.
Interesting to see how long your notes take to come through, and what you actually receive. The first time I telephoned to ask, I got the impression I'd have a full, comprehensive report (she said there was lots of information included). The 2nd & 3rd times it sounded like I'd just have a copy of the summary letter sent to my gp.
I'll phone tomorrow and suggest I go pick up anything they have to give me.

I'll keep you posted!

The copy of my GP letter arrived today Major. Any luck with yours yet? Apparently I have unremarkable breasts! It's been reassuring to read that all the breast tissue appears normal so I am trying to file it all away in my head now under "get a grip woman".

Ah mine arrived today too dubious! It was actually very reassuring - very thorough letter, acknowledged that there was a small lump deep within the breast tissue (even gave its positioning upon a clockface), but that it felt clinically benign and in keeping with glandular tissue. The targeted ultrasound reported showing no abnormality.

Phew! Feel relieved - am similarly filing mine under "pull yourself together". I will still keep an eye on it, deep lump is still there, but pretty much no pain anymore, and i'm doing regular breast checks each month. Thanks for sticking with me and my slight neuroticism on this one!

Well that was worth the wait then! And reassuring as you weren't sure if they'd even seen the lump on the ultrasound were you? But it had been seen and was fine. Excellent news

Thanks dubious! Yes I'm glad that the lump was actually mentioned, including its position etc.

Glass of wine tonight me thinks... I shall do a quiet toast to our 'unremarkable breasts'

Thanks to everyone else too, who contributed to this thread. Hopefully it'll provide reassurance to anyone else who finds it on a future search through mumsnet.

🥂

It's really good news - most lumps are benign but media hype does cause unnecessary angst. Interestingly (or not) and not suggesting a celebratory glass of wine in unwarranted, are people aware alcohol consumption in even quite moderate amounts is linked to significant increase in breast cancer risk?
www.breastcancer.org/risk/factors/alcohol

Just wanted to add a comment about breast pain.

My experience is that there's a lot of dismissiveness about breast pain in the medical profession (and I say this as an ex-medical professional). The view seems to be that it's not worth worrying about too much on the basis that it's "very common", and while this is true, that doesn't seem to me to be a reason for ignoring it, rather the reverse in fact. Also, that it's unlikely to be an indication of anything serious, which also has some truth to it, but does assume that pain isn't serious in itself. I think there's a profound lack of understanding among anyone who hasn't experienced it for themself of how debilitating stabbing breast pain is.

There also seems to be an assumption that it is cyclical, and if you deny this that you just haven't been keeping an accurate enough record of which days are painful (uh, all of them?!). Plus, a lot of crap is talked about evening primrose oil, which, while helpful to some, is frankly used as a way of fobbing women off in order to get them out of clinic. I do think, though, that there is a strong correlation between breast pain and hormonal imbalance, and for myself what helped immeasurably - and swiftly - was cutting meat out of my diet. Maybe this will be helpful to someone.

I and my daughter both have lumpy breasts (though mine less so since menopause). I think its caused by the hormones -we've both been scanned and both okay.

I've massively cut down on my alcohol consumption this year crumbs (not that I was a crazy boozer before!) but I literally have 1 glass on a friday night, and 1 on a saturday night, both spritzed with fizzy water, after reading about its link to breast cancer.

MrsLupo and mummydummy I have just purchased 'The hormone Cure' by Dr Sara Gottfried (an American gynaecologist) and within the first few chapters, she describes how woman often have to 'put up' with a vast array of symptoms eg heavy periods, ongoing breast pain, migraine, fatigue etc as once they've been investigated as 'nothing serious' ie. not cancer or anything else nasty, we are left to pretty much deal with those niggly symptoms on our own. Her belief is that it is all down to hormonal imbalance in the key endocrine / sex hormones, and lifestyle shifts are the key to resolving these imbalances. Indeed she mentions red meat as being a major hormone effector for some women. All very interesting stuff, i'm certainly re-evaluating my diet & lifestyle etc in light of these breast 'scares' (if I can call them that).

Yes, hormones in meat are an even bigger issue in the US. Here we are protected to a certain extent by EU farming legislation (for now).

Hello,

I realise that this is a very old thread but I was just wondering whether anyone has asked for a second opinion either on the NHS or privately following an NHS one-stop breast clinic appointment?

I had a breast clinic appointment last week for redness and enlarged pores on my breast. I saw a specialist nurse who also identified thickening under the areola (which itself seems misshapen).

I had an ultrasound on the area that showed thickening, which revealed some inflammation. I then had a brief review with a specialist nurse who said that the condition was benign and I could leave!

I am concerned about Inflammatory breast cancer but obviously with no medical knowledge I have no idea whether I should be worried about it!

Would it be reasonable to get a second opinion?

ZOMBIE

Inflammatory breast cancer doesn't look like an "inflammation" to lay people, afaik (I did have a lump investigated this year, so my expertise extends to home research). The name isn't helpful, I guess.

They always play it safe & give you extra tests if they have any doubts. If you got the all clear then rejoice you're safe for now.

Hi LIijkk,

Thanks! Sorry I know it's an old thread but as it's only a year old I thought some posters might still be on this forum.

The inflammation and thickening were only seen on the ultrasound- the symptoms that I can see are redness/discolouration, enlarged pores on the underside of my breast and a blurred areola margin alongside some itching and flaking.

My concerns were that the sonographer only scanned a very small part of one breast (the area that seemed thickened) stated that I'd probably had an infection because he could see inflammation (I haven't) and then I was told everything was ok but that there was some inflammation