Breast thickening/lump

[FromWalesAndBackAgain]

Apologies if people see this twice, I meant to put it in general health.

I know everyone’s experiences are personal but really looking for some positive stories to stop me spiralling. I have been breast feeding for a year, we are currently transitioning from three feeds to two.

over the weekend I noticed some pain in my left breast into the rib cage, and just thought it was a pulled muscle. (I currently have a broken wrist on the same side) The next day when getting a shower I thought I best check my breasts as I couldn’t recall the last time I’d checked them (which I know I’d bad :()

I could feel a lump, at first I thought it may be breast feeding related but there is no pain when I feed so unlikely to be a blocked duct/mastitis and I’ve not really suffered with this during bf. I tried massaging it and if anything it has got more painful.

went to the GP today and they have referred me to the breast clinic as presenting possibly cancer symptoms as the GP felt a “thickening and hardish semi fixed lump” The GP did say these things can be caused by hormones, and the majority of women referred to the breast clinic don’t have cancer. I’m 35 and have a young son and I can’t help but keep looking at him and getting so upset thinking it’s going to be cancer and I’m not going to get to see him grow up. I know I’m especially finding this hard to deal with as I don’t get much sleep / baby not great sleeper, and been constantly ill catching everything my son gets, plus the broken wrist, makes life feel very difficult right now)

Im annoyed with myself that I haven’t checked my breasts recently and if it is something I could have caught it earlier and I’ve let my son down .

I now have to wait for 2 weeks for a referral and I’m really struggling to move my mindset past the worst scenario - it doesn’t help that my breast really hurts when some touches the area around it so it’s a constant reminder (though the lump itself doesn’t hurt, just the area above it)

I was just about to write a similar thread but I'm not BF as my children are older.
I've recently been through the 2 week urgent referral pathway and I know how stressful it is.
I'm hoping I'm clear as they did a CT scan to check neck to groin on me in January so I'd assume it would be picked up on that (this is what I was going to ask)

My aunty also has BC and is doing really well with treatment.
I really hope everything is clear for you and you won't need it but just wanted to say I understand how you feel. It's especially hard with children.

BTW my scan was clear but had (and still have) lots of symptoms. They were checking liver, bowel, lungs etc.

@capybara80 thanks for your message! Hopefully they are able to pin point what is causing your symptoms and it is something benign!

Its horrible isn’t it, I know I’m a worrier so would have found this difficult regardless - but now I have a child I keep looking at his chubby little face and hoping he gets to grow up knowing his mum. When you have absolutely nothing to go on your mind goes into overdrive of all the possible outcomes. Need to remind myself that 1) the odds are in our favour of it not being cancer 2) if it is cancer the odds are in our favour that it will be very treatable ❤️

I know. Try to take your mind off it in any possible way. I made myself not Google anything while I was waiting for results. I think that's the hardest time.

Keep us posted on what happens and feel free to message me if you want to or are having a bad day.
Mumsnet has always been a tremendous support throughout the years and no doubt someone with closer experience to your situation will come along to add more advice. 😘

The waiting while not knowing for sure were the hardest time for me. Fearing the worst and all that meant. It turned out I did have breast cancer but they caught it in time and hit it with everything they could and I am still here 8 years later.

I felt like I’d been handed a death sentence when they confirmed it was cancer but once I knew what it was and could ask the right questions and was on a treatment path I began to realise it doesn’t necessarily mean that.

I really hope you don’t have cancer but IF you do I wanted to let you know there is hope and it doesn’t mean you won’t be around to watch your dc grow. Sending hugs and strength to help you through 💐

I had a similar experience (without the breast feeding bit) when I found a lump/thickening in my breast which the gp also felt just after Christmas. I literally dug my own grave waiting for the breast clinic appointment as dramatic as that sounds.

I had a mammogram and ultrasound and mine turned out to be a hormonal lump which I've been told is probably as I'm perimenopausal. I'm Likely to get these that come and go. Whilst at the breast clinic they also found an area of concern in my other breast (which did nothing to ease my anxiety!)...but again that turned out to be nothing! In fact when I felt the place they were concerned about I couldn't feel anything at all.

Op, it's very very unlikely to be nothing but I know that won't stop you worrying. I'm sure, like me, you'll be skipping out of the consultant's office with relief when they give you the all clear. Good luck 🤞

@gillybean2 thanks so much for your message, and I’m so glad treatment has worked for you xx

Hi - your pain might be referred pain from your wrist and the lump could be fibrous tissue. I have fibrocystic breasts on one side which has caused pain for years. There is one prominent area of lumpiness that literally - as I said to the breast consultant - feels like a rough door knob - and he literally said 'yes, that's normal'. I remember thinking that I wish some of the other docs I'd seen for years had spoken about it in relaxed terms like that. It was very reassuring. Hope it is all ok. Maybe your boobs are just a bit all over the place at the mo because you've been breast feeding. Maybe this lumpiness is simply normal for you and is glandular tissue, like mine x

@Tanfastic thanks so much for sharing your experience- you hear “breast thickening” and I’ve only heard that relate to cancer so your thoughts go into overdrive.

I completely get what you mean re: digging your own grave, I keep getting triggered by everything- I saw my DS Mother’s Day card and started crying thinking that might be my last ever Mother’s Day.

I know even if it’s cancer there is a high chance it would be treatable but you can’t help your mind catastrophising and thinking it’s going to be a rare aggressive form of cancer and I’ll be dead in a few months. And it’s really not helpful when you see these stories 🙈 as I know they are in the super minority but the ones you hear about as they are so devastating!

really hoping for a similar outcome to you and thank you so much for taking the time to comment xxx

@Raffington55 i did wonder if some of the pain was related to the wrist, having a young DS means I have no choice but to pick him up but doing this in weird angles due to the reduced mobility with my cast. Fingers crossed it’s similar to you or something equally non-sinister. You just can’t help your mind spiral and always really reassuring to hear these stories to know there is lots it could be without it being cancer xx

@FromWalesAndBackAgain any update? Been thinking of you and keeping everything crossed for a good outcome 💐

@gillybean2 thank you so much for checking in ❤️ I went to the breast clinic and had an ultrasound and it was fibrocystic changes, so no cancer ❤️

Yay! Thanks for letting us know? 👍

It’s what I have on one side. Sometimes it is excruciatingly painful because you get tiny cysts in the fibrocystic breast tissue that can fill up with fluid for a couple of weeks before periods. A hot water bottle helps. Cabbage leaves in your bra also helps. It’s an exquisite pain that gets worse the more worried you get about it. So if you get it, try not to worry about it. ❤️

@FromWalesAndBackAgain so pleased that you were seen quickly and now know what it is. Hopefully you can get any help and support you need now and all those worst case thoughts have been put to rest. Thanks for letting us know 💐

@Raffington55 that is really helpful to know as it was pain that made me check and find the lump, and then I had my period a week later! ❤️

@gillybean2 ❤️❤️❤️

Thank goodness OP. Glad you are OK. I had mammogram today and found it a bit painful actually.
I have to go back for an appointment to get results.

@capybara80 they only did an ultrasound on me, as they said I’m too young to have a mammogram as it can’t read the breast tissue properly under a certain age 🤷‍♀️ But I was lucky that it meant they told me there and then during the ultrasound. Hope you get your results back quickly and it’s good news ❤️

@FromWalesAndBackAgain going th ought this now have my appt Tuesday in the clinic :( have a 7 month old and am 28, thickened area bottom of my left boob. What did yours feel like? Xx

Fingers crossed it’s nothing, I’m not sure how to describe it other than a thickening - you could feel a texture change in the breast tissue but in a bigger area than what would be a lump. But mine was just lumpy breast tissue and your breasts do go through lots of changes through postpartum, especially if breast feeding. Definitely get it checked out as better to be safe than sorry but the majority of people who go for these referrals do not have cancer - I know it’s hard to be rational when you are waiting for an appointment and you don’t have answers - I certainly did - but the odds are in your favour of it being nothing. If it is something the majority of breast cancers are slow growing and very treatable - which is why it’s always worth getting these things checked. You don’t have long to wait now and I hope you get the all clear xx

@Healthfreak95 apologies forgot to tag you in my reply above