Mum has pain and a lump

[LookingForAHandHold]

Hi everyone,

Just looking for a handhold really as my mum has given me devastating news tonight.

She's had pain in her breast for about two weeks now, she's gone to the doctor and while she can't feel a lump he's felt one and sent her on the two week wait pathway for a mammogram at the hospital.

I'm only in my 20s, I'm terrified and just want to cry. I can't lose my mum 💔 just looking for some reassurance or any positive stories really.

I thought most breast cancer lumps were painless?

I have no idea, I don’t know anyone who's had breast cancer, but her doctor seems concerned

I was told at a breast clinic when I was referred that pain was actually a good sign. My sore lump turned out to be a cyst which they diagnosed easily in the appointment and I went away with my mind put at ease.

My sister had BC and pain was not one of her symptoms.

Most breast cancer lumps are painless. I currently have a massive breast lump which was diagnosed as an abcess by urgent care on Wednesday. I'm due to see the surgeon on Monday and have it aspirated / removed after urgent care gave me initial antibiotics.

Hope all turns out well with your Mum. Appreciate it is very worrying, but she's in good hands and the two week pathway means you don't wait long. Care and treatment is excellent these days on the NHS.

Oh bless you OP. The waiting is horrid but it doesn't mean she has cancer. The GP is making the best call to get her checked out.
I found a lump when my daughter was in her 20s like you. For me, it was cancer - this was 6 years ago now and after surgery and chemo that took around 8 months in total, I am fit and well.

From my experience, I have had painful lumps in my boobs on and off for years, they were (almost) all benign cysts. The one that actually was cancer there was no pain at all. So a painful lump or painful feeling in the breast doesn't automatically mean cancer.
Keep your chin up OP and try to keep things as normal as possible for your Mum and you. Take one small step at a time. And remember that in two weeks you may be told she doesn't have cancer. If the news isn't so good, there is so much treatment and expertise out there - and lots of survivors and thrivers! Sending hugs to you and your Mum. Let us know how she gets on xx

I think only the inflammatory breast cancer comes with pain. It is rare, but aggressive so it is good that your mum’s symptoms are being taken seriously.

They will likely do a 3D mammogram and an ultrasound and if anything suspicious comes up, will take biopsies then and there at the appt. I think only 1 in 5 women sent on the 2 week pathway have breast cancer, so odds are she has something benign like a cyst.

Try not to worry, if it is cancer, medicine has moved on a lot for breast cancer, so your mum’s odds are quite good.

Thanks everyone ❤️ it's just hard to not get negative about it all, I only have my parents and a brother, and I don't think my dad would cope with anything happening to my mum 💔 going to try and keep positive but I'm finding it really difficult 😞

If you can offer to go with her to the appointment that will mean you can lean on each other as I am sure she needs support through this as well.

I’m another one who had a mum who had a lump that turned out to be BC which was not painful. So I hope your mum’s sore lump is a cyst.

My mum’s breast cancer was about 30 years ago when I was in my 20s, like you are now, and she’s happily and healthily mid-70s now.

Good luck to you and your lovely mum, my love ❤️

My mums had 2 sore lumps and both times turned out to be fat necrosis, not all lumps are cancerous but I understand the 2 week wait cancer pathway sounds morbid. Hopefully its nothing to worry about x

Thank you 🩷 it sounds really stupid but three years ago, my dad was poorly during the summer, we had our cat put down in the October and then in the December my nan was diagnosed with cancer.

This year, my dad was sick, we got our other cat put down almost exactly to the day, and now this. It feels like some sick cosmic joke

Our brains find patterns sometimes, it’s how we make sense of the world. Can you look around for some positive things and find the connections in those instead, as a counterpoint to your ‘sick cosmic joke’ outlook (which of course is totally natural) at the moment.

She's just said the hospital want bloods, which has me worried all over again.

This time of year has been really hard for me since my nan passed and now I feel like any joy I'd been finding has gone 😞

Pain is usually a good sign I.e not cancer. GPs will refer on the 2 week pathway unless they are unequivocally able to rule out cancer - clinical negligence is always a fear.

I’ve been through a 2 week wait for painful breast lumps twice, both were cysts, drained at the clinic.

The second time, the consultant said it’s a breast clinic not a cancer clinic, anything unusual come to us, which really helped.

Best of luck to your mum.

That’s probably to check for subtle cancer signs that sometimes show up in the full blood count.

Unless she is luckily getting that new test the NHS is testing? Galleria I think. It tests for dozens of cancers all at once.

I had BC 10 years ago should it be cancer it's very treatable nowadays but most lumps are not cancer. Wishing her well. Take care.

Thank you all ❤️ I'm going to try and put it out of my mind for tonight and try to focus on the fact that pain is weirdly, in this situation, a good thing ❤️ I'm obviously supporting my mum through this but I don't want to burden her with how anxious I am

Sounds like a good plan. Sounds from your other recent message like you could do with some light and cheerful things in your life right now to fill your mind with brighter things. 💫

The pain is apparently really bad, she says now she's been in pain for at least four weeks.

This is terrifying. No news from the doctor or hospital about an appointment either so we're basically waiting in limbo for the confirmation

My mum and dad are now arguing about this as it's apparently been going on for a lot longer than this. Coming to terms with the fact that my mum is actually probably very poorly and our world will be turned upside down before Christmas is killing me. I can't live without her. I just can't.

Sorry to just shout into the void, but I feel like I can't talk to my family at the moment as we're all obviously so worried about mum

I keep cycling between thinking the pain is a good sign, Google has said it's a rare sign of cancer and it's more than likely just a cyst, and that the cancer research leaflet she was sent says that more than 90% of people on the two week wait pathway don't have cancer. And then I think that she's tired a lot (but she has said the doctor thinks it could be an iron deficiency), and she's muddled at the moment. Could just be the stress.

I just keep getting randomly emotional. Still no news on when her hospital appointment is, which scares me

It's really unlikely to be cancer OP.
And even if it is, treatment for breast cancer is pretty good these days.
All lumps end up on the two week pathway, so you don't need to panic about that.

Hopefully it's a cyst but if not, just to give you something positive, both my Mum and sister have had breast cancer and both are still here many years later.