Breast pain and found lump, terrified, guests due in an hour

[Geranium879]

In need of a huge handhold please. I’m 40 and have two young daughters. I had some strange pain in my right breast yesterday , and again the morning… I have now found a blueberry sized firm lump around 1 inch away from my nipple. It’s roundish and mobile but definitely “different” to the rest of the normal textures around it.

I have guests due in an hour… family friends… my daughters have been so excited they have actually been counting down the days. I feel sick but I need to get dressed and carry on. I can’t let everyone down.

my husband has a disability and we have no family help, I’m NC with my own mother die an abusive childhood. My husband would not be able to cope with the children on his own. For fucks sake why did this have to happen.

im going to put some nice clothes on, tidy up a bit and plaster on a smile for the rest of the day.

one thing I have on my side is that I have private health insurance and they have a fast track service for things like this, but alas I’ll not be able to call them till they open at 9am tomorrow.

my kids school nativity show is tomorrow too :-(

i would be extremely grateful for any virtual support anyone is able to give. Thank you in advance.

Did you breast feed? I have lots of similar lumps that have all been checked out and I've been reassured that they are all cysts. My consultant says it is more common in women who have breastfed as the hormones can impact the glandular tissue.

I had a lump and am mid 30s. Was fast tracked and so scared. Had a scan and it was a bloody blocked hair follicle, it felt quite deep. There are so many things it could be that’s not cancer so try to not stress.

Mobile is a really good sign. My cyst was in the same location as you describe, deep in the tissue, it was fairly hard but smooth and about 1cm across. Hope you’re ok - finding something is always a shock and it’s hard to really believe it most likely is fine. Please do make an appt though just to get checked.

@Geranium879 I know how frightening it feels and once you discover something untoward it’s difficult to think of anything else

I was diagnosed with BC in July last year , however for those saying pain isn’t usually a symptom.. my only symptom was a tender slightly larger breast . I’ve had a mastectomy , chemotherapy and targeted therapy .
in July this year I found a lump in my remaining breast and spiralled , however it turned out to be a fatty lump

what I’ll say to you , is until you are told it’s cancer , it’s not cancer .. I know it’s easier said than done but try to do something nice to distract yourself this evening before tomorrow’s appointment
remember that 8 out of ten women who attended the breast clinic have a benign condition x

Thanks everyone, yes I did breastfeed . But my kids are 6 and 8 now

I was you last week. Absolutely terrified.
mine was a cyst. Very common apparently. It’s so painful suddenly.
Were all here to support you xx

My kids are in their 20s so breastfeeding was a long time ago! Still have noduley lumps though.

It definitely sounds like cysts. Pain isn't a symptom of breast cancer. I know because my breasts occasionally start hurting and then lactate, and my GP surgery doesn't care at all.

I does feel rather like it did when I was very engorged and needed to express or feed. The painful feeling.

Totally agree and they do mammograms, ultrasounds, biopsies and consultant all at the same time in the same place.

Don’t rush to private necessarily. Most insurers need a referral anyway so you can’t just call up doctors and make an appointment and assume it’s covered.

It’s worth getting it checked but please don’t panic. It’s most likely to be a cyst which happen all the time.

My cancer was a painful and mobile, but if it’s any consolation, everybody that saw me was completely shocked as this is clearly unusual.
Always get yourself checked out, as you are doing oP
I was similar in that I said we would be fucked if I was unwell, no support network etc. actually it’s been the most beautiful year having all kinds of people step up and look after us. Still having chemo now but it hasn’t been like I thought it would be, there’s so much love and help available

My daughter was told when she found a lump - and then some more - that the more lumps the less likely that it's a cancer. Good luck.

I would give your GP this - 15% of breast cancer is lobular and 2 of the symptoms are breast pain and discharge. It grows as a spidersweb to start with and at that stage feels like lots of really tiny can hardly notice lumps then grows into a big lump - mine went to a 5cm lump overnight and there were 3 cancers on the MRI. Its probably not but GPs often give out incorrect information re breast cancer. I was told mine would be nothing but have a 1 year of intense treatment then 10 years of tablets. Yours is probably nothing but the GP is wrong to say it can't be cancer, it doesn't meet the NHS referral guidelines though.

lobularbreastcancer.org.uk/signs-and-symptoms/

Pain is a symptom. It was my first symptom. Please go back to your GP and insist on a breast clinic referral. It is negligent for them not to have you checked out for breast changes that are unusual.

It is far more likely to be nothing. Get it checked out, you should be seen quickly and have your mind put at rest. Hugs to you.

However, I've had breast cancer and it was painful.

Edited to add: I see Mrs C has also confirmed the pain thing. I wouldn't want women to find a lump and think because it's painful they don't need to get it checked out.

Important to be aware that you will always get a speedy referral in the NHS for this also, referred to as the 2 week pathway.
Our wonderful NHS.
Sending you strength OP

Oh absolutely. But private appts are often faster and a whole lot easier and nicer.
I started with NHS but didn't fancy the wait . Which worked for me with my BUPA cover.

I went through the NHS two weeks in my 30s. The mammogram with the private hospital in my late 40s hurt considerably less.

Unfortunately I am in Scotland and a friend who found a lump in her breast last year had to wait eight weeks to be seen, we do not have the two week wait here. Although very fortunately for me, I have my private insurance, so I’m being seen in 24 hours.

We're with you. It's going to be very crowded in that consultation room. 🤗 Have a nice evening, watch some comedy.

Wishing you all the best OP.

keep us posted.

@Geranium879 there is no longer a 2 week wait in England either. It was replaced 2 years ago with the faster diagnosis standard (FDS). In terms of diagnosis you should not have to wait more than 28 days to get a diagnosis and no more than 62 days from the date the hospital received the referral to starting treatment.

I have had a number of urgent checks due to lumps, the last one being just normal breast tissue. I have also had a number of cysts which can be painful.

I hope all goes well for you.

You are doing exactly the right thing getting checked as soon as possible & also making sure you know what your baseline is for future reference.
i had what turned out to be a cyst in my late 30s (it’s still there, apparently) and in my 50s breast cancer - operation, chemo, radiotherapy,
That was eleven years ago & while I am not the same, I am still here.
At the time an older woman I knew asked me what my diagnosis was & then said “Oh, I had that too.”
She thought for a bit & added “and that was 45 years ago”.
it was good to hear.
All the best

Thank you so much everybody for your words of encouragement, I will definitely update and keep reading your messages until I go in tomorrow.

It varies massively between areas. I’m Forth Valley and was seen at the one stop shop breast clinic less than 48 hours after seeing my GP. A friend in Fife had to wait an eternity (or what felt like it).

They are great at these clinics. Mine did turn out to be cancer but it was hard, nobbly, fixed and painless.

I had similar recently. It is horrid and really scary. Painful, lumpy breasts. All was fine - it is age/peri and density in the breasts. I needed mammogram, ultrasound and then MRI (not in UK so not sure this is normal) before it was confirmed all is ok.