New pain - other breast - hypochondriac?
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JoeyLiz
Member Posts: 339 ✭
Do we all turn into hypochondriacs with every new pain? Or is it just me? 
So last Thurs my right breast (my left was treated) suddenly became really itchy in 1 spot and then I got sharp stabbing pains in that 1 spot, lasted a few hours on and off. Intermittent stabby pains on fri morning so sent a msg to my BCN (this is a new 1 ive never met) and she phoned me late Fri afternoon and said to monitor for 2 wks but she would mention it to surgeon to see if my imaging (due oct) should be brought forward. Saturday no pains, Sun a few and this morning a few, all stabby, all in exact same spot. I know most literature says cancer isn't painful but I'm sure quite a few of us can assure them that it is! Last time I had bruise like pain for 5 days then a lump and a wk later a huge node. Am I being silly to not want to wait 2wks like she said? Am I over reacting? Will it always be like this, thinking the worst at every twinge?
Sorry for long boring post xx
So last Thurs my right breast (my left was treated) suddenly became really itchy in 1 spot and then I got sharp stabbing pains in that 1 spot, lasted a few hours on and off. Intermittent stabby pains on fri morning so sent a msg to my BCN (this is a new 1 ive never met) and she phoned me late Fri afternoon and said to monitor for 2 wks but she would mention it to surgeon to see if my imaging (due oct) should be brought forward. Saturday no pains, Sun a few and this morning a few, all stabby, all in exact same spot. I know most literature says cancer isn't painful but I'm sure quite a few of us can assure them that it is! Last time I had bruise like pain for 5 days then a lump and a wk later a huge node. Am I being silly to not want to wait 2wks like she said? Am I over reacting? Will it always be like this, thinking the worst at every twinge?
Sorry for long boring post xx
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Comments
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We certainly gain a heightened awareness of our bodies.
Definitely monitor as suggested but only you know your body and the worry of similarities to previous
Trust your medical advice but also if the pinge of discomfort is overtaking then trust your instincts and ask for a consult
Take care0 -
@JoeyLiz We're all entitled to be a bit hypochondriac. You're not being silly. Let's hope it's absolutely nothing. I asked a surgeon in December - "Why do I get occasional stabbing pains where my left breast used to be, and in my right breast where the papillomas were excised?" (11 months after surgery). He said, "I don't know. We don't know."
BUT: "Cancer isn't painful" is rubbish. It's been documented somewhere that pain is associated with Invasive Lobular Carcinoma and I certainly had it. I had a 12 cm tumour in my left breast, and although I only experienced tenderness when I removed my bra at the end of a day - a sort of relief from pressure - as the months went on after diagnosis, I sometimes had dreadful throbbing pains that lasted a long time, or sometimes literally as though I were being stabbed over and over in the breast. One day a few weeks before surgery I was bending over loading the dishwasher and it happened, so badly that I yelled out, "F***!!!" with each stab. Pain BEFORE surgery doesn't get talked about, and it should be acknowledged.
Of course, let's hope your pains are of the "we don't know" type - maybe damaged nerves or blood vessels readjusting.0 -
Agree with @Flaneuse - my breast surgeon says always take note of something which is painful and gets more painful. Cancer cells themselves don't have pain receptors I understand (the biopsy on my mysterious lump while still having chemo should have reassured me on that point as it hurt and the one on my cancerous lymph node did not) but cancer symptoms can certainly include pain. That said, stabby pains may be more likely to be muscular or nerve pain. 2 weeks is unlikely to be a problem (unless the pain gets much worse in which case escalate the matter). I used to get weird twinges and sensations in the 2/3 weeks leading to my annual check - that was certainly all in my head, pure anxiety. But it does get better over time. Best wishes for a reassuring result.1
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I've just investigated a sore rib. I knew it wasn't mets but I just had this little niggle at the back of my mind that was getting worse as the rib pain was getting worse. An understanding GP, a quick x-ray and it was all sorted.
The standard response is if any odd thing persists for more than two weeks, get it investigated. When I had boobs, all my life one of them (the one that eventually had the tumour) was always have aches, pains and odd sensations.
And that's bullshit that breast cancer doesn't hurt. Sometimes it does. My mother was told in 1986 that her lump couldn't be cancerous because it was painful. Well it was a tumour, a very aggressive one at that. Why the medical community persists with this nonsense is beyond me.
Hang in there, it's probably nothing, but get it checked out asap for your peace of mind. Big hug, K xox1 -
We are all on heightened alert for abnormal aches & pains .... how long since your last scans? Bringing it forward a few months is highly unlikely to be damaging for your health - but waiting another 4-5 months will do horrible things to your mental health.
Yep - if in doubt, get checked out.
Get checked out anyway!! Take care xxx0 -
I get an itchy nipple - except I don't even have a breast, let alone a nipple so is it imaginary? I think you should get it checked out as best you can @JoeyLiz Regardless of the probability that it's nothing sinister, you are never going to be able to relax without knowing for certain.1
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Imaging booked for Thursday. Thanks everyone, I swear the more you think about it the more it hurts!3
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No biggie to slip in and have a quick ultrasound any time you are concerned. Dr's really don't mind checking it out. My lymph nodes under my good arm swelled and I had an ultrasound. What we discovered was it wasn't bc at all but a reaction to some "happy pills" from my psychiatrist. I stopped taking them and the swelling went down.2
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Hoping that its absolutely nothing to worry about @JoeyLiz, it will be great to get some peace of mind.0
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Hope you get the reassurance you need x0
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@JoeyLiz, glad you're having the scans this week. As many others have said, if you're concerned..... I'll be thinking of you on Thursday
@Flaneuse, I'm not sure if I'm correct here, did you have neoadjuvant chemo?
Both I and a friend/former colleague did. I used to get little throbs where my tumour was during tthose months of chemo. My friend did, also, possibly worse than myself. She was told (again, can't remember details now, so not sure who by) that it could be signalling tumour cell death.
The truth of it? I don't know, but she had a complete pathological response while I didn't have much more than a reduction in my ki67 number - essentially a marker of the rate of cell proliferation.0 -
@JoeyLiz Very glad you're having the ultrasound tomorrow. Fingers crossed.
@lrb_03 I had my mastectomy BEFORE chemo. Caused a hassle at the hospital, because the surgeon had insisted I have chemo first; but when the oncologist told me there would be little or no medical benefit in doing so because of the subtle nature of my ILC, I made the decision. So my pain was purely from the cancer until the surgery.
On another aspect - the past couple of weeks I've had a bad chest infection and my lymph glands on the left side (my lymphedema side) swelled and ached. I mentioned it casually to my physio while she was working on my joints, and she said that happens with chest infections.0 -
Scan was all clear! Just being paranoid. Thanks ladies xx4
