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.

Hope all ok OP. Sending best wishes

Sounds like a cyst which tend to be perfectly round and mobile as you describe. I had one earlier this year which was drained and biopsied just to be sure but they were fairly certain if was just a cyst which are very common in peri aged women.
of course get it checked out but ifs far more likely to be a cyst than anything else . My doctor told me that the sinister lumps tended to be more irregular in shape and fixed x

I had unusual symptoms that arent usually associated with breast cancer, but it turned out it was. I remember crying in the consultants office saying i 'couldnt do it'. She was lovely & said i could. I had surgery, chemo & radiothearpy. It wasnt always easy, but all the staff were lovely and i just took things one day at a time. I could & did get through it.

I hope everything is ok, but if it isnt you can get through it. 💐
If anyone has any symptoms, even if atypical go & get them checked out asap.

As some who went through the exact same experience a few weeks ago I was told in the breast clinic pain tends to not be present with anything nasty and tends to be cysts x wishing you all the best

Can you tell these family friends? This is a time to lean on loved ones so even if it is nothing youve some love and fuss?

I was seen in 2 days on NHS last year. They said it was fatty tissue. Good luck.

I’ve had loads of breast lumps that fit all the criteria for being concerning. Not one has been cancerous. The NHS breast cancer pathway is really amazing. You’ll get a referral appointment almost instantly.

I had similar last year OP, very sore and an obvious lump. Went to GP and he referred for a mammogram, but a week later when I went for it the lump had basically disappeared. I felt a right wally. The consultant said most likely hormonal.

I was told this too and so didn’t get my painful, mobile lump checked out in a hurry the next year but it was indeed an agressive cancer. It really upsets me that clinics Tell people this, I know they are trying to reassure but it’s dangerous

If it is painful likely a cyst. Very scarey though. Best wishes.

Just to give you a positive story, I had pain this year and I did have cancer. Everything happened so quickly, I did have a mastectomy but that got it all and no chemo was needed. I’m out of active treatment, I am on hormone blockers and of course down one boob, but it was 4 months of appts / surgery and I’m well. I have young children and felt sick every time I looked at them after being diagnosed, but we’re all moving on now. Good luck, OP. Even ‘bad’ news often isn’t as awful as you immediately think!

One thing I will say, and say to everyone since, please get critical illness insurance if you don’t already. We did have it, and it was a very welcome cushion when I had so much time off.

Almost certainly cysts. Hang in there! xx

I've had two lots of cancer in one breast (ductal and lobular) over 15 years. NHS was brilliant both times. Lopsided now but old lady and don't care. Sometimes wish they had evened me up so no more bras! Or even moved the other one into the middle!!

I've been blessed with lumpy breasts, I've been to the breast clinic 3 times and had lumps come and go in between (because i know what they feel like now I usually wait a little bit longer now before going to the GP and they usually disappear) . It does sound very much like a cyst to me. Good luck tomorrow x

Not RTFT but : just got through the second load of tests due to lumps in my boobs this year.

1. hopefully you’ll already be on the 2-week pathway now having spoken to BUPA / GP.
2. I think others have said but the consultant told me that if it hurts, it’s most likely a cyst or calcification, not the big C. Also if it’s mobile it’s more likely a cyst.

If it’s a cyst they’ll likely drain it, or if calcification they either take out using a biopsy needle or if it’s too deep as in one of mine they stick a titanium measure alongside / onto it and keep an eye on it.

Big big hugs, xx

Very likely a cyst. I had one which appeared overnight and was quite large, like half an egg. Unfortunately I was in Paris with my daughter for a little half term trip and for the rest of it I walked around fretting about the lump.

The reassuring thing was that I had literally had a mammogram a month before and got the all clear.

NHS was great in this instance. I did an online consultation request and got a call with an appointment at the surgery the day after getting home. Dr was reassuring and said likely a cyst, very unlikely it would appear so suddenly otherwise. She referred me to breast clinic and I got apt 10 days later. Was examined by specialist nurse and student, they both said felt like a cyst but was sent for an ultrasound where a consultant confirmed it and aspirated it with a massive needle (didn't even hurt). I left the hospital walking on air, i was so relieved. Everyone i dealt with was lovely and although lots of reassurance I was told I had done the right thing, always worth getting checked out.

Hoping the same for you!

Haha this made me laugh 😆 which I didn’t think was possible today. Thank you x

That’s what I was going to say. Cancer is usually silent not painful. Thinking of you OP

Hope all goes well tomorrow, my friend is seen regularly for cysts, sometimes they drain them other times they leave them alone.

I'm also being seen soon for breast pain and puckering so I know how scary it is, my appointment is on the 22nd.

Sorry to hear about this. I hope your appointment goes well.

I’m glad you have an appointment. I know nobody can know what the outcome will be but when I had lumps and was sent to the express breast clinic (also in Scotland but was seen within two weeks), the doctor told me that generally if the lumps are mobile as mine were it is not cancer. With cancer they tend to fixed and do not move around when pressed. Hope this may offer some reassurance. Mine were cysts.

Pain and weight loss were the main symptoms for me. My GP surgery didn’t care either - I saw three different GPs over several years before I was finally referred and by then I needed aggressive treatment. I agree that for the OP it sounds like cysts.

Mobile is a good sign. Definitely get it checked but try not to panic.

Right breast is absolutely excruciating today with shooting pains into my armpit. Appointment is T- 3 hrs .

All best of luck, OP xx