Breast lump

[MrsBBx]

Hi, i am feeling quite anxious so please be kind. I just wanted to see if anyone had been in a similar situation as me.

I noticed a hard lump in my breast a couple of months ago. The lump is so hard it felt like bone. I paid privately to see a breast surgeon who sent me for an ultrasound. The ultrasound showed absolutely nothing, so the surgeon said it was probably just lumpy breast tissue. At the time i was ecstatic and didn’t really ask any questions.

Fast forward two months, the lump feels bigger, and is quite sore/uncomfortable. I booked an appointment with my GP who agreed that there was a lump but seemed to think that because I’d had an ultrasound 2 months ago, it did not need to be investigated. I explained that the symptoms had changed (pain) and that i was still concerned. He eventually agreed to refer me but said that the breast clinic may not agree to see me based on my recent scan.

My main concern is the fact that the lump is painful and seems bigger than when i had the ultrasound scan.

How accurate are ultrasound scans of the breast? I am 33 so too young for a Mammogram.

The lump in my breast is rock hard. Surely that can’t possibly be normal breast tissue?
The GP suggested that it might be a cyst because of the pain, however, surely that would have shown up on the ultrasound 2 months ago?

I am just feeling really confused and worried about the situation.

The reason i questioned the accuracy of the ultrasounds, is because i had a breast lump investigated a couple of years ago (I wasn’t particularly concerned about it but i had it checked prior to having implants as suggested by the surgeon.
On the first ultrasound it showed up as (you guessed it) nothing, despite it being obvious to feel. I asked for a 2nd opinion a few weeks later as it didn’t make sense, and the lump was clearly visible on the 2nd ultrasound.
The radiologist didn’t know what it was, didn’t biopsy it, but said it had benign features and was not cause for concern.
Even though it wasn’t anything serious, I have lost a lot of faith in the system if things can be so easily missed.

Sorry for such a long post. I hope it makes sense. If anyone has any advice, or has been in a similar situation, please let me know :)

I’m not sure if I have posted this in the right place- I’m new to Mumsnet, but any replies would be really appreciated.

I think you’ve done the right thing being asking for another referral esp if you’re concerned. I think if you have very dense breasts then some scans may not be very accurate. (Don’t mean to worry you). I think younger women commonly have denser breast tissue ….
just to ask are you constantly touching it as this could make it tender? (I say this as it’s what I have done in the past!).
I have had breast cancer 6 years ago now (late thirties) so I would always say to people to trust your gut.
your symptoms have changed so don’t be fobbed off- ask for a more in depth scan (ideally an mri) although these are more expensive so would be unlikely to get one but you can always ask!

will keep my fingers crossed for you!!! Try not to worry it’s likely to be nothing but unless they can tell you exactly what it is I would keep requesting an answer ….

I would get that checked again though would imagine its something other than cancer - I had lobular breast cancer which was hard and painful - felt like a walnut with uneven edges but stone like to feel - and that often is missed by ultrasounds and mammos until stage 3, it grows as a spidersweb to start with so is hard to spot. If I raised by arm my breast became very misshapen and different to the other breast. The pain was in my rib.

Its quite uncommon to get it at your age but not impossible and symptoms like that I would check out. I am paying privately for a breast MRI for follow up as the NHS will only do mammos which missed 2 out of 3 of my lobular cancers before and just got the 5cm one.

@Bananawotsit thanks for your reply. I have been told that i have dense breasts which would explain the inaccuracies of scans I’ve had in the past. My husband said the same- i do tend to touch it quite a lot, which probably hasn’t helped.

I’m sorry to hear you’ve had BC, i hope you’re doing well now? How was your BC diagnosed if you don’t mind me asking?

Funnily enough, I have just been reading about MRIs. I was wondering if it was something I could request, so I will definitely ask if I don’t get a straight answer this time. I know I shouldn’t Google things, but i have read there are certain breast cancers that are hard to detect on both ultrasounds and Mammograms, which makes me wonder how they can discharge someone after an ultrasound. Should I at the very least demand a biopsy?

I think the fact that i am having to really fight for answers is making me more anxious. I feel like I have a huge weight on my shoulders and absolutely no idea what to do for the best.

Thank you for the encouragement. I will definitely keep pressing for answers xx

@Penguinsa Thank you for sharing your experience. I’m sorry to hear that you were diagnosed with BC and that it was missed during previous tests. I hope you are doing well now?

Although it is very worrying that some cancers can clearly be missed on ultrasounds, I am glad that i will be able to justify my reasoning for a second opinion. Why do they not offer alternative screenings for this type of Cancer if it is fairly common for it to be missed on Mammograms and Ultrasounds? I’m presuming it all comes down to cost 😕

My lump is very hard and almost rectangular. It is on my left breast (at the outer side where my ribs are). To touch, it almost feels like a broken piece of sticking out as dramatic as that sounds. I have nothing like it anywhere else, in either breast, and I only noticed it 2 maybe 3 months ago. I had breast implants 3 years ago (no problems with them whatsoever), and have breastfed two children (now 7 and 4). I am quite aware of any changes in my breasts for these reasons, so i know this is not normal for me.

I may pay privately for a breast MRI as I haven’t even received an appointment for the breast clinic yet. I am going out of my mind with worry.

It is really worrying - and if you’ve noticed changes you’re doing the right thing by pushing for testing - even though it is exhausting!

I had a mammogram, ultrasound and they did a biopsy. They could tell straight away from the ultrasound and told me they were 90 percent certain it was BC but had to wait for biopsy results for confirmation. But I had an enlarged lymph node (it had spread to lymph node) and family history so that prob meant they had more evidence to back the tests up if you know what I mean.

Yes I’m all good now. The chemo was awful but worked really well on my type of BC. If it’s caught in time there are good survival rates It was in 2018 and I rarely think about it now. It is scary to got though it though.

I’ve been lucky to have always met professionals (even in my twenties) who have told me it’s better to get it checked out and for it to be nothing serious (they want this to be the case!) then to not go for the test.

Hope you can get seen by someone soon.
Take care.

My mammo just picked up 1 out of 3 (the largest 5cm cubed one) and not the 2 smaller ones, all lobular, but if they detect one lobular they do an MRI which picked them all up. I also was offered a smaller op and I said I think my cancer from feel is larger than that and went for the mastectomy and the results they found were similar to the MRI but also in a lymph node. All 3 were in same breast and as I went for mastectomy all came out first surgery though then had a further surgery to check other lymph nodes (all clear so just 1) then chemo as gone to lymph node and radio and 10 years Tamoxifen tablets. Its very tough going for a year emotionally and chemo was awful (not sickness though) but then you are clear and its just trying to prevent reoccurrence and best way to do that is exercise. The earlier cancers are caught the less treatment as the less chance they will come back. I have about a 39% chance of mine coming back at stage 4 over 20 years. Though treatments are improving all the time.

Yes not doing the MRI is to do with money and lack of MRI scanners and NICE guidelines saying just offer mammo which are annoying as there is very clear evidence mammo and ultrasound miss 50% of lobular cancers. A lot of private also require a GP letter for an MRI scan too and my GP refused to do one only offering to write one for a first oncologist appointment. I did see someone on here who had a clear mammo but had a lump and she said to them she was sure there was a lump and in the end after much muttering they biopsied the lump and it was cancerous. You might be able to get them to biopsy on NHS, I don't know if there's any scope for arguing a mammo either but that does miss same percentage as ultrasound. If they can get exactly to where lump is an biopsy it that would be accurate. Don't know how it works with implants. Its probably not cancer but I would always insist on being rechecked if anyone has a lump that they say just isn't there (assuming no health anxiety). Mine was also felt like attached to rib. The other thing I had was very slight white discharge but think I had that since childbirth and was 14 years on so not sure it was linked and a very slight indent maybe a mm but very hard to tell unless put the one arm up and then became massively misshapen but that was when lump was at 5cm cubed.

There's this https://lobularbreastcancer.org.uk/signs-and-symptoms/ for lobular though I didn't have all of them by any means. And apart from the lump at the end it was all very subtle. Hope its all fine, 9 times out of 10 it is something innocent and your age is on your side. I was 48 when diagnosed and it was rare for people younger than me to be there, most were in 70s and 80s though quite a few 45-55 so in same age group.

@Bananawotsit @Penguinsa thanks for the support & information. I know it must be difficult for you both to talk about after going through BC.
Knowing when and what to question is making me feel much more prepared for the next few weeks. I just have a really peculiar feeling- almost like I’m past worrying. I hope I’m wrong but in my gut i just feel like something isn’t right.

i’ll keep you updated x

I had a hard square feeling lump where it sounds like you’re saying. On the side of my breast towards my ribs/arm pit. It turned out to be an inflammation of the lymph nodes causing the lump. I had two ultrasounds before they determined this. It took about 3-4months but it eventually went away on its own. It was quite sore and painfully sharp, but I did wonder if this was because I’d touch it.

@Rosaofthevalley i’m pleased to hear yours turned out to be benign. When you say two ultrasounds, did nothing show up originally so you went back?
I really hope i have the same outcome as you 😊

Yes but I have a great doctor who refused to accept that outcome and insisted on another for me

@Rosaofthevalley That’s great that your Doctor was so on the ball with it. I still can’t believe how common it is for things to be missed on ultrasounds.
I obviously don’t want anything suspicious to be found, but i do feel like i need an explanation of what’s causing the lump for my own peace of mind. A vague ‘it’s probably normal breast tissue’ just isn’t very reassuring. Even more so knowing now that the ultrasounds aren’t as accurate as i assumed they would be.