Breast lump and 34 weeks pregnant

[Oopsypoopsy]

A few weeks ago I found a lump in my breast, I stayed really calm about it and made an appointment with my gp who confirmed yes that's a lump and referred me to the breast clinic, 2 weeks on I have just had my appointment at the breast clinic and the lump is about an inch long, the edges are uneven and it is a solid mass so they took a biopsy. I now have to wait 3 weeks for the results! It should be sooner but there are no appointments before. Just wondering if anyone has had any experiences like this that have turned out to be nothing serious?

I have been so calm but this has got me worried! Thanks in advance. x

[Silvercatowner]

Yeah I did. So sorry.

[RupertsMum2]

Silvercatowner I think you may have missed some of the previous posts.

[Silvercatowner]

Cancerous lumps are rarely painful, in fact when I had my last breast screening the doctor told me they never are.

[Mrsknackered]

Hi OP,
How are you doing?
Thinking of you and that lovely little baby

[JoandtheTribe]

Hi OopsyPoopsy

I've just read your thread and am sorry you're having to deal with this at the same time as having a newborn!

I also had a small, early stage grade 3 cancer (although mine was ER/PR positive) last summer. I opted for a double mastectomy and immediate reconstruction because I knew I wouldn't be able to move on emotionally without it. (I have a strong family history of BC). My surgeon was FAB but was very keen for me to know that a mastectomy does not completely remove the risk of BC returning, and a lumpectomy + radiotherapy has been proven to be just as effective.

Trust your medical team and do what feels right for you and your family.

I had chemo too - it's obviously not fun, but not nearly as bad as I was expecting.

You're doing great. Just try to get through these next few months one step at a time.

Sending lots of love and positive healing vibes your way.

Jo

[LuluJakey1]

The surgeon my mum saw, Mr Clark- absolutely amazing surgeon- gave her choices. Lumpectomy, partial mastectomy, mastectomy or chemotherapy and radiotherapy. She asked what he would tell his mother to do and he said he would say have the mastectomy and get rid of the tumours, then see what the lymph gland biopsies said. That is what she did. They found another lump behind the first in the operation so it was the right decision. Biopsies were negative and she had 5 years of tamoxifen and it never re-occurred. However, she was much older than you and it was 12 years ago. Things change.
If you trust your surgeon take his advice, or ask for a second consultation to discuss it again or a second opinion if you are uncertain.
I think you are doing amazingly well Oopsy. Totally in awe of you. How is the baby?

[Oopsypoopsy]

Thank you! I'm doing fine thank you. Obviously keep having little emotional moments, have to remind myself I recently gave birth so hormones are still very strong!

Just want some insight if anyone knows why my dr says lumpectomy is no less effective than a mastectomy in terms of it returning in the future. I know someone who had the same type of cancer as me and her dr guided her towards double mastectomy. Any ideas why the difference of opinion? x

[danTDM]

oopsy you have so much to deal with. Hope everything is going as well as possible. Thinking of you

[Flyingprettycretonnecurtains]

It's been caught really early so very very treatable. A lot of the ladies who have chemo first find that really shrinks the lump down so they can have lumpectomy rather than mastectomy. In terms of surgery, the after effects of the lymph node removal are far more irritating than boob surgery. However, two and a half weeks on, I have full mobility back with just a bit of ouch at full extension upwards. You will need to rally friends and family and accept all offers of practical help.

Headgear - when I thought I might have to have chemo I asked for recommendations and annabandana stuff was recommended and looks good.

Cannot recommend the forums on breastcancercare.co.uk enough.

I am so sorry you are having to go through this but

[LuluJakey1]

It all sounds very doable Oopsy. I don't understand it all but they seem to be clear and have a plan and you sound relieved about what they said. Hope you have a bit of peace of mind niw. Enjoy your baby and get this sorted. Good luck. Let us know how you get on.

[Oopsypoopsy]

Thank you everyone for your kind messages and support! I found out today that I have very early grade 3 triple negative cancer. No signs of it in lymph nodes but they will remove a few to check. I will have 6 rounds of chemotherapy then the remainder of the lump and some nodes removed. It's cancer but as it goes it all sounds very positive. Today I felt such relief and feel like I haven't been breathing for the last week since I found out. Hopefully this will all be over within 6 months and I will have an experience that may help me to help others in the future as unfortunately I probably won't be the only one who has to deal with something like this in my circle of friends. I will use it for good! Now to get eyebrow tattooes before they fall off😦 xxx

[Footle]

Oopsy, what a hell of a thing. Congrats on your little boy , and very best wishes for a treatment plan that will sort you out.

[LuluJakey1]

Let us know how you got on Oopsy, if you feel you can. Hope it was helpful news.

[Flyingprettycretonnecurtains]

Wishing you well. Congrats on your lovely boy. There is a lady who posts on breastcancercare.co.uk forum who was diagnosed when heavily pregnant and is in a similar situation to you. Breast cancer is very treatable now - am proof of that. Eight weeks ago this all started for me and after a lumpectomy and sentinel lobe biopsy, i have been declared cancer free. Just got radiotherapy to go and years of hormone treatment. Bc is a huge spectrum with lots of language and terminology. This bit, the waiting for results and settling of treatment plan is the worst bit. The forums on bc forum are brilliant. The 'I am recently diagnosed' board is really useful.

DO NOT GOOGLE. Do not look at stuff that you don't need.

Pm me if you want any more info or a handhold.

[LuluJakey1]

All fingers crossed you get good news tomorrow about tretment plan. Will be thinking of you. You sound amazingly together and calm. I don't think I would be as brave. I have a 6 week old and am reduced to tears by any little thing at the moment, never mind something as scarey as this.

[SirVixofVixHall]

Oh Oopsy, I was really hoping it would be a fibrous benign lump. So sorry it is bastard cancer. Must be incredibly tough for you with your new littley (congratulations on your new baby ). I have several friends who've had breast cancer, and are doing really well. They have had differing sorts of treatment, but most types of breast cancer seem to have pretty good survival rates now. Not all of my friends had chemo, one just had surgery and is really well, eight years on, nothing has resurfaced.

[Wishingitwaswarm]

Oopsy stay strong x

[Graceflorrick]

Thinking of you Oopsy

[Oopsypoopsy]

I'm ok thank you. Just got home today, baby has a feeding tube down his nose but I'm trained how to feed him. He's getting there and I'm expressing milk for the time being which is good as I didn't think I would be able to feed him as he couldn't latch on. Got an appointment on Monday to tell us the full diagnosis and hopefully we'll find out the treatment plan. This is scary, I've no idea how bad it is so I'm just hoping they say they can treat it and I have a good chance of coming out the other side of all of this. I have too much to lose not to so it really is terrifying! I'm still finding it hard to believe this is happening. x

[LuluJakey1]

How are you doing Oopsy?

[Mrsknackered]

Congratulations OP I hope you are enjoying your little boy.
I hope that this is treated quickly and as pain free for you as possible.
Please update if you feel you would like too, I'm sure others have been checking back as much as I have.
You must be dealing with a fair bit at the moment but you sound like you've got your head firmly screwed on. All the best to you and your baby. X

[Oopsypoopsy]

Wow thank you lulu, yes very reassuring! I just read that whole thing before you had it deleted, the short version is an easier read😂! I really appreciate that thank you! I'm hoping to find out the extent of the cancer soon and find out what treatment will be best. x

[LuluJakey1]

Congratulations on your baby. I hope Amber's words of wisdom help you to stay calm at what must be such a scary time

[LuluJakey1]

Op. I have asked for my previous post to be removed as somehow a large chunk of text was pasted rather than just Amber's words of wisdom which I have put below. These are from the Lacies thread in Health.

amber's words of wisdom

If you've read through any of our threads then you're likely to have come across reassuring posts from amberlight. She is not a doctor, but reads lots of research papers and provides us with the highlights.

• Found a lump? 9 out of 10 will be benign.
  
• Found out it's breast cancer? 19 out of 20 will be just in the boob. And can now be removed/zapped/poisoned successfully.
  
• Found out it's breast cancer that has spread beyond boob and armpit? If it's in just one other place, we're seeing results where 80% of those can still be zapped/surgeried/poisoned and it works.
  
• If it's in more than one other place, e.g. liver, bones, lungs, then teams can give up to seven different forms of 'holding treatment' for many sorts. That means that it converts it to a long-term nuisance, similar to living with diabetes or similar. Annoying, certainly. There are no guarantees. Some will have a sort that is truly tricky. We'll never deny that.
  
• Pretty good research happening around sensible amounts of cheery exercise, e.g. brisk walk every day. A glass or two of red wine now and again. Vitamin D. Curcumin and black pepper supplement. Lactoferrin supplement. Avoiding bright white/blue light at night as much as possible. Having a cheery social network. The oncology journals are reporting the findings on these. Talk to your teams about what they think might help.
  
• I know that sounds weird, but (generalising) faster growing cancers are greedy, and drink chemotherapy and other potions at top speed... thus dying horribly and fast. It's the slower growing ones that can be more tricky. On the oncology graphs, the difference in life chances between slow growing and fast growing is barely enough to register. Both are excellent now. It's just info for the specialists, so they know which potions and zappings to use.