to not need mansplaining regarding my breasts?

[Minimalme]

I have had some localised breast pain for last couple of months.

GP examined me and said she could feel "something" so referred me to the breast clinic.

Appointment today and was told the male
Consultant wouldn't wear a face mask but I had to.

He examined my breasts which I found really difficult because he is male.

He has concluded the pain I feel is because of my underwired bra being too tight. I told him it isn't and the pain has been consistent and I don't sleep in a bra and often wear non underwired bras.

He told me that he "still thinks it is" caused by my bra.

Then he refused to do a mammogram. He said as am 49 I will get one soon anyway.

DH has taken a day off work so I can be dismissed after a 5 minute examination.

I am upset, angry and importantly, still worried because this man has dismissed my GP's concern using his special powers of mansplaining.

I am now going private. We are not comfortably off by any stretch of the imagination.

YANBU. After my father and sister in law both died due to medical malpractice/negligence (both ended in court cases) I have very little faith in so-called medical experts.

I went to see my GP due to a throbbing pain in my neck (I rarely go to the GP so hardly a hypochondriac), and she was so dismissive. At one point she aubibly sighed and said "what were you hoping for today?" I said hopefully a blood test. She sent me away with a sheet of neck exercises - no blood test. I went for a private MRI which disclosed a cyst on my thyroid.

Go private OP. I don't have mammograms as they're too painful but I pay privately for thermal imaging.

Yes, he's a medical professional, but unfortunately there is plenty of evidence that male doctors in particular often do dismiss women's pain and genuine health concerns, even when they are meant to be in that specialist field. Take the vaginal mesh scandal for example.
Mansplaining is unfortunately a thing that a lot of men do, and being a doctor doesn't preclude them from that. I hope you get a second opinion, OP and are able to get to the bottom of it.

I am in my 40s and got a free mammogram via action cancer. Maybe worth checking if this is offered in your area before going private?

I've been living abroad for the past 5 years and I've been to gynaecologists twice in the last year with breast pain - no GP first like the UK, instead you go directly to a gynaecologist for any issues relating to breasts, reproductive health etc. Both times, they used an ultrasound to investigate, as well as manually checking them.

I think mansplaining is the perfect term for it. Instead of trusting a woman to know the difference between bra-related discomfort and concerning breast pain, and investigating further, this male doctor was dismissive. Even if he suspected that the bra is to blame, surely you can't take chances?!

She wouldn’t have found that out on the same day if it was.

There's nothing obvious about it. I'm in my very early 40s and was referred to the breast clinic last year on the 2 week urgent pathway due to a lump in my breast.

Both of my grandmothers and 2 aunts died of breast cancer.

Clearly there was a genuine concern that it could have been cancer.

Equally clearly of course I didn't need my husband to miss a day's work for it.

Very odd.

Yes, it's 50 in the UK, though some regions are trialling earlier ones.
The issue is that the younger you are the more false positives you get, so it's a balance - increased risk of cancer in older women, resources, not putting women through unnecessary procedures and worry due to a false positive.

It's not just as simple as it being better to have them earlier.

Unfortunately you might not get a mammogram when you're 50.
It goes on areas so you could be 51, 52 or even 53 depending on how big your area
you live in is.
I was 51 before I had my first.
Please contact PALS and complain.
Good luck

We have mammograms from when you turn 40, and then you get called every year. We are strongly encouraged to go every year too, it doesn’t cost anything. I don’t get why it would be from the age of 50, I have several friends in the early 40’s who have had breast cancer sadly.

When Inwas a teenager I remember Mum saying her elderly male GP had even recommended a particular brand and style to her when she had recurrent pain. He based this on many years of seeing women patients and what they had told him.

Male medical professionals are known to dismiss women's pain. Endometriosis takes on average 10 years to diagnose, for example.

I would ask for a second opinion and demand a female doctor. Do not be fobbed off!

It's not mansplaining

Unless the OP is medically trained in this field, why should they trust her to know the difference between bra related pain and something more serious

There have been a few posters on here who had similar and it turned out to be pain from using an underwire bra.

Ok, I still think 50 is way too late. Better safe than sorry. It only takes 5 minutes.

I had a pain in my breast. Referred through the long process not the two weeks one. Got told off by consultant for wasting his time as pain is not a symptom for breast cancer. (I never thought it was. Are there no other conditions than cancer which affect breasts?) He told me if the pain happens again, under no condition am I to go back to see him.
I did, however, get a mammogram done. So I guess that's something.

I'm not sure it is mansplaining. Yes, he probably does know more about pain caused by underwire bras than you do. He might not have worn an underwired bra but he will have seen plenty of women who have had pain caused by wearing one. As PPs have said, you don't have to wear one all the time to have ongoing pain as a result.

It's not just about cost. There is actually the tiniest risk of getting breast cancer from the radiation used in mammograms. Overall, the risk of dying from breast cancer because you opted out of screening and the cancer was found too late is much higher than the risk of dying from breast cancer induced by mammograms (about 300 times greater). I would assume that he has weighed up the risks and feels that in your case the risk from an extra mammogram is greater than the benefit because he is confident that you don't have cancer.

OP do you have any one-stop breast clinics near you? Maybe you could phone your GP, explain to the receptionist that you need an urgent two week referral and ask if the GP can call you back to discuss. I'd do that before paying to go privately.

I've had pain in my breasts and put it down to my bra and/or hormones. I am still here, so I suspect it was. Breast cancer is actually still very rare and issues with breasts are far more likely not to be breast cancer.

I understand your frustration but this is silly I am upset, angry and importantly, still worried because this man has dismissed my GP's concern using his special powers of mansplaining. He wasn't some random man, he is highly trained and is a specialist in his area, your GP sounds lovely but is unlikely to be a specialist although it is possible, when I had a suspected skin cancer I was referred to a particular GP when I made my appointment as he had lots of experience with skin cancer.

I hope your mammogram goes well.

In my area its a one stop shop for the clinic - assessment, tests, and results all on the same day. There was a lady in the same clinic batch as me who had to go for a biopsy and was given the preliminary findings that day and told that full results would be known in the next few days but it was almost certain that the lump she had was cancerous (I only know because she was talking about it in the waiting room). She left the clinic with follow up appointments booked so while you might not get full results same day, they are able to give an indication.

Ditto.
I had a breast 'Lump' /pain in my Twenties, and the Consultant was male, he aspirated it and I didn't get a mammogram.

The pain went away on it's own, as did the 'lump'.

@Minimalme If he examined your breast tissue, he probably doesn't think there is anything sinister is going on.
I can't imagine how expensive a mammogram is, privately?

I do remember a woman being very upset by the consultant I just saw, she was complaining loudly to her husband before I went in about ''His cheap M&S suit'', but I thought he was fine.

The GP though is not a specialist. GPs nearly always refer so nothing is missed. The GP (woman)has referred me 3 times and each time the consultant has said that actually there’s really nothing much to feel and that whilst he is happy to check over, GPs will nearly always refer as they simply aren’t specialised enough to make a proper judgment. The specialist will literally see breasts all day every day and has done for a very long time. He does know more about breasts and the effect a tight bra might have better than you do. Even though he’s never worn one. (Not really relevant). It might feel a bit humiliating but he knows more than you do. So you can choose to accept it or obviously pay for a second opinion. I don’t think it’s really okay to undermine years of NHS training and expertise as ‘’mansplaining’

Ok, I still think 50 is way too late. Better safe than sorry. It only takes 5 minutes.

Hardly! The actual test might be 5 mins for you, but look at the wider picture.
Rolling out routine mammograms for all women over 40 would be a HUGE investment.

80% of breast cancer is in women over 50.

You have to draw a line. We could all go and get tested for a million different conditions every day.

Why didn't the GP just send you for a mammogram, especially as she found a lump? can't they do that?

I'm sorry you feel you weren't listened to or heard.
In those very stressful tense meetings I've seen patients so frozen with shock and terror they were totally unable to take on board what the DR said.

Take someone with you to the next appt, with a written list of all your questions, and write down the answers. Right there on the spot.
Dr won't mind.

It still is not mansplaining - it is a mistake. One a women medic could have made. Doctors give opinions. Sometimes they are wrong. OP is right to ask for a second opinion but it is not mansplaining.

There is a issue with medics of both sexes ignoring patients and not listening. That's a doctor thing not just a man thing. I had a woman consultant anaesthetist get really cross when I queried something and she shouted at me, "I don't make mistakes". Unbelievable arrogance. Doctors are improving from the God-like creatures of the past but there is still a long way to go.

Good luck with your second opinion OP.

I have also had the experience of a long period of localised breast pain which I eventually resolved myself by replacing all my underwired bras. For a long time I didn't think it was this at all.

I'd go back to your GP first and ask them to refer you for a second opinion from there if you're still worried, but in the meantime bin all the underwires. Good luck.