Found lump under armpit, GP appointment booked, what to expect.

[LumpyArmpit]

as the title says, I have found a lump under my armpit. It is hard, does appear to move slightly under fingers and is a little tender.

The last couple of weeks, I’ve also had night sweats. I put this down to illness (suspected food poisoning), my period coming on (although sweating not regular) and one night of alcohol over the weekend.

Ive also lost quite a bit of weight since new year. I’ve been actively wanting to lose weight, have been watching what I eat, cut out most alcohol but haven’t been starving myself or increased my activity. I’ve lost about 1 stone in the last 8 weeks. Have been trying to shift this weight for a number of years so the ease and speed has concerned me.

I have a GP appointment booked for Friday, but have woken up today spiralling. What should I expect from the GP appointment? Has anyone had similar and it turned out to be just a lymph node or something else not sinister?

The GP won't diagnose it. They will likely refer you to the breast clinic where you should be seen within 2 weeks. Take someone with you.
The breast clinic is a one stop shop. They have doctors, radiologists and specialist breast care nurses. You will probably have a mammogram first and then see the doctor who will have the results in front of her. The doctor will examine you and then arrange an ultrasound. They may do a biopsy at that point as well.
Then you go back in to see the doctor.
Their expertise is such that they often know at this point whether it’s cancer and they will tell you if they think it’s likely, they won’t send you home without a clue.
This can easily take 3 or 4 hours but at the end you have a good idea what’s wrong.

The vast, vast majority of lumps are harmless but the system is good for when they are not.

I had this and it was a cyst that the GP surgery removed within a couple of weeks 🤞

I had similar, I got referred on the 2 week pathway, had a biopsy, and it turned out to be nothing. With those symptoms you will probably get referred, but try not to panic. Most of these things turn out to be fine.

Thanks so much to both of you. It’s really good to know what to expect from the GP and potentially the breast clinic.

@overfedupdid they diagnose the cyst at the GP surgery? Or did you have to be referred to the breast clinic and then back to GP again.

Don’t know what is wrong with me today. Have been fine the last couple of weeks, telling myself it’s most likely nothing. But have woken up today full of anxiety and just worrying about what would happen to my boy if it turns out to be something awful. I need to snap myself out of it.

Thanks so much, and I know it’s way more likely to be nothing than it is to be something sinister. Just having a terrible day for some reason 😢

Long story short: mine was a hard, fatty lump. An annoying lipoma. Harmless though.

Lipomas aren’t all ‘squishy’. Mine is definitely a defined lump, and is quite painful if prodded.

Thanks @TheAutumnCrowthats good to know. This is a pretty defined lump as well but very ‘in’ my armpit… not sure how to describe it.

I had a pea sized lump in my armpit. The GP diagnosed a blocked sweat gland and told me it would go of its own accord. It did.

If it is right inside your armpit, like where you shave then it could be a cyst related to ingrown hairs etc. DD has suffered from these. That wouldn't expect weight loss or sweats though.

Sounds like you may need blood tests too.

I know, I wasn’t overly anxious, until I started putting the sweats, weight loss, sickness etc together and I think my mind has now just run away from me. It’s comforting to hear other say they had similar and it turned out to be minor issues though. I’m just catastrophizing today for some reason.

With a lump under arm.and night sweats I would expect them to feel your neck and collarbone area for anymore lumps.
Possibly and blood test.
I had what I suspected was a neck lump. I was asked about night sweats, weight loss and if I had anymore lumps.

Be kind to yourself. It's a situation that will naturally cause you anxiety, and it's ok to feel like this.

Breast cancer spreads to he sentinel nodes first which are between the breast and armpit. If your lump is right in the armpit it’s unlikely to be the sentinel node. If you shave your armpits regularly it’s more likely to be an ingrowing hair follicle or cyst.

Your GP will examine the area thoroughly but maybe worth doing a breast examination yourself. The best time is in the shower and using soap or shower gel. It makes it easier to feel any lumps or bumps. Doing a regular exam means you learn what is normal and familiar and what is new. Breast cancer feels very different to the normal breast tissue. I knew imm direly when something had changed. Fortunately I found it a couple of weeks before my routine screening mammogram which confirmed the lump and I was recalled the next week. I’m now nearly five years post treatment but examine my boobs whenever I have a shower. It’s just part of my routine.

I haven’t read the replies. I would be worried too, and I’ve had some health scares . sometimes lumps are benign. Try to look after yourself. I hope you feel better.

I have just found a lump too! Mine is best described as a big grape and it's on the outside bottom edge of my breast.
GP did a visual exam then a physical. My breast clinic appointment came through within 2 days but it's for four weeks time - taking that as a good sign and 2 weeks is not going to change the diagnosis anyway.
I'm late 40s so just a couple of years away from regular mammograms anyway.
On Facebook/Reddit I've found a "what happens at.." for my local breast clinic eg info on directions and parking etc as well as the medical side which was useful. I've been advised to take a book as it could take a couple of hours for all the checks etc.
The thought of them draining what is likely to be a cyst gives me the boak.
Fingers crossed all goes well for you.

I’ve been to the breast clinic four times with lumps. They are very thorough. The lumps were fluid filled cysts, which they drained.

Of course you will feel anxious @LumpyArmpit . You will get through it though, just take one day at a time.

A lump in the armpit can have lots of causes - try not to worry!

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/swollen-lymph-nodes/symptoms-causes/syc-20353902

I was going to say sweat gland too. My friend had cancer, she’d had it numerous times and she’d made quite a few of us feel the lumps so we’d know what it felt like (she was a nurse), it literally felt like it was attached to her frame, rather than easily moved around if that helps.are you peri do you think? You’ll find weight comes off easily if you give up booze and eat healthy so try not to worry, Fridays just around the corner

Thanks a million ladies, I really appreciate the advice and experiences shared. More sweats again last night and my temp kept spiking today which did little to relieve the anxiety. But it is Wednesday and appointment is Friday so will just keep it together until then. And lots of people have been sick recently so hoping I’ve just picked something up that could explain the sweating, illness and headaches. Think I’m just hyper anxious because I lost a friend really suddenly (8 days in total) to a different type of cancer that was missed so my mind has just focused on worse case scenarios 😕

In answer to some of the queries or comments:
I don’t feel any lumps anywhere else on my breasts, neck or collarbones.
It’s to the side of my armpit, close to the breast but still in the pit, kind of hard to explain.
I examine regularly in the shower and this is new in the last 3 weeks of so.
it does feel different to breast tissue, it’s definitely more hard.
It doesn’t feel like it’s attached to my frame as such, but I don’t know if it’s actually moving, or the skin is just moving around it.

Im also based in Ireland but we have a similar pathway to England so hopefully it will be quick. Won’t be leaving the GP without a blood test and a referral. My GP is male and actually wonderful with women’s health, and knows I have GAD so he won’t refuse either of those things I’m sure.

Thanks again for all the well wishes, it’s helping to hammer home that these things are usually nothing. I’ll update again on Friday for anyone who might be interested x

@LumpyArmpit How did your appointment go?

I had this last year. Lump under armpit. Went to GP. She asked about other symptoms (there were none) and said she wanted to rule out lyphoma. I started spiralling and then started getting the night sweats. Turned out to be swollen lymph nodes.
I must have had an infection somewhere but it wasn’t clear where. I wonder if my anxiety caused the night sweats.
feel for you OP. It’s a stressful time but I had a positive outcome and I hope you do too x

Thank so much for checking in @JamMakingWannaBex Had my appointment yesterday, GP felt the lump and said it definitely needs investigation so has sent a referral to the breast clinic. Should have appointment in the next 2 weeks. He didn’t find any other lumps or bumps and heart and lungs etc are all good. Also need to pop back in and do bloods on Monday evening. He reiterated again that it’s far more likely to be nothing nefarious than it is the be something serious and I feel better having seen him and knowing I’ll have answers in a couple of weeks. GP is betting it’s a swollen gland 🤞

@rollerblindThanks so much for sharing your story as well, and I have wondered if the anxiety, or even an infection has caused the night sweats, everyone around me seems to be ill with some sort of bug at the moment. Fingers crossed it’ll be something similar, like a swollen lymph node x

it could be cyst, it could also be your lymph node.. and even that might not be sinister, if you're unwell it may well just be doing lymph node things.

Glad they're sending you for more investigation though.

i've had both, and i also have mild HS so had one of those cysts come up under there too... not fun!

Mine was a swollen gland. I actually had one in each armpit so was really spiralling and worried about lymphoma. I felt really itchy at night and was breathless (which, in hindsight, was anxiety). They were scanned twice, a few months apart, and they were happy they were just reactive lymph nodes, as they apparently don't always go down. Mine are both about 1-2cm long, hard and move a bit.

So just another little update for anyone that’s interested, and it’s nice to keep a record here for myself. I’ve had referral letter from breast clinic but still waiting on an actual appointment.

I did bloods last week and had a phone call from the doctors surgery at 8pm last night. It wasn’t my own doctor, but he said he’d been reviewing blood results and needed to contact me asap. Apparently I have a severe underactive thyroid and need to start medication today. He sounded quite concerned 😳 I’ll collect the meds today and then back for more bloods in 3 weeks. I didn’t ask for the specific levels unfortunately as I was kind of blindsided.

it seems easy enough to treat so his concern was worrying, does anyone here have experience with underactive thyroid?