Who found their own 'lump'
Just out of curiosity who found their own lump?
Forum Discussion
51 Replies
- in march 2012. i found my lump trying on a new bra, went to Dr's on 2nd march 2012, she sent me for a mammogram ultrasound and biopsy all in the one day on 6th march... got dreaded phone call on 7th march 2012 that I had a 1.2 cm cancerous lump (the mammogram results showed nothing at all) I'm so glad my dr booked me in for ultrasound and biopsy as well....I went to see a breast specialist in Adelaide 400 km away on the 9th of march .... he had booked me in to have a bone scan,and chest X-ray .... He also booked me in for a lumpectomy and sentinel node biopsy which I had on march 20th and I got my results 23rd march, my margins were clear and so was the sentinel node biopsy ( Big sigh of relief ) the cancer was hormone positive he got me to have 6 weeks of radiotherapy which I started 7th may and finished 21st June. and I started taking tamoxifen in July 2012
- Hi Sarah, really good to hear you are doing well 3 years after. Certainly agree about mammograms.
I had a mammogram in Nov 2009 which I was finally told was fine after being called back for higher intensity films. Then in April 2010 i found a lump very low down in my breast thought at first it was just my period lumpy breasts so ignored it for a while as I had had my mammogram - right! Wrong I ended up having a 49mm grade 3 tumour which had spread to one of my sentinel nodes so after a lumpectomy ended up having a mastectomy, 12 more nodes removed, chemo and radiation. Am pleased to say nearly 3 years on I am very well and enjoying my life. I just have no faith in mammogrmas now!
Sarah x
- Hi Karen Sorry to here your bad news. I have just finished my 6 TAC treatments and as I had a mastectomy did not need radiation am now on tamoxifen. It is all very scary to start with but I found once into the treatment things settled somewhat. Chemo was nowhere near as bad as I feared as I was happy to follow all advice. And as my sister in law told me, stop thinking if the chemo as something horrible and start thinking that this is a medicine that will make you better and may just have a few side effects. Thinking like this actually helped me a lot before I started my 6 treatments. Hope things go well for you Robyn
Hi, I'm so sorry to hear of your diagnosis, and being 'scared' is normal . . . I think 'petrified' was more fitting to how I felt at the time! [many of the 'pink ladies' here would agree with me!!]. You're at the right place if you need someone to 'talk to' or just to vent . . . I had chemo [4 x AC, 12 x Taxol, 18 x Herceptin, 35 rads] and, thinking back, it wasn't ads bad as I thought it would be but, just remember, everyone is different. I think having a supportive network of family/friends/med staff is a must - go out for coffee/get-togethers with your friends, keep positive and you will get there.
Good luck, I will be thinking of you on Wednesday . . .
Sure I only checked my breast's in October when I got a "How to Check your breasts" information. At the end of November, 2012 checked again and found what I thought must have been my rib in the lower left breast but didnt have a matching one on the other side so off to the Drs, Ultrasound, (previous U/S only done in May, 2012 showed a cyst which was biopsied and fine) and cone biopsy confirming the news. Lumpectomy and 2 Lymph Nodes removed during surgery which tested Neg but at follow up appointment was told 1 Lymph node did have a little bit of cancer in it.I have also tested HER2 positive. I am seeing Oncologist this Wednesday to be told what my treatment will be, which so far have been advised will be chemo, Herceptin and radiation. I'm worried about seeing Oncologist and hope I have a nice positive one. So my journey is just beginning and I'm scared
My experience..was a little strange. I wonder if someone .. "up there/ out there "..was trying to tell me.. to get onto it.. I was 42 in the Febraury '98.
We had just moved to a new house in Sept 1997.. The kitchen bench was about BREAST height and I kept having the same thought frequently...." Be careful you do not hit your chest and breast on it. " Maybe it was just the new place and getting used to the layout as I moved about the kitchen, to dining room and outside?
Well.. In about March in 1998, I was bringing in the washing basket from outside.. and swung around coming in the sliding door..lo and behold.. I hit my R Breast with the basket ... " That hurt".. I said. It was then I felt a sort of firm lump under the sore spot, which was above the nipple on R side.
I thought I better see the GP promptly; so I made an appointment. In a day or so had a mammogram, ultrasound and biospy.... SHOCK/ HORROR... It was Early BC. ( BREATHEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeee). The lump was 2 to 3 cm.. Had axillary clearance.. one node positive out of 11 nodes. Lumpectomy, chemo, radiation.. oestrogen, progesterone receptor negative.
In 2003.. I found another spot on the other breast..toward the outside upper edge. It was EBC too.. sentinal node..clear.. so had lumpectomy and radiation.
I agree.. Get to know what is normal for you.. in shape, feel etc. I have yearly double mammogram and ultrasounds now.. So far so good... Kathy.
- I also found a lump in right breast in the shower, in April 2012. What a lifesaver showers are, it seems they are much more reliable than mammograms! Diagnosis took until August as everyone was quite sure it was a cyst, GP could hardly feel it, mammogram showed nothing, ultrasound showed cyst (most probably) fnb nothing, core biopsy showed cancer. Because of pain (quite a lot) they thought they'd infected the 'cyst' with the fnb and put me on antibiotics and a 7 week delay before core biopsy. So my message is the same as many others, check yourself and follow up on anything that doesn't feel right. BTW, turned out to be a 2cm DCIS, grade 3 TNBC, no nodes involved.
- I also found a lump in right breast in the shower, in April 2012. What a lifesaver showers are, it seems they are much more reliable than mammograms! Diagnosis took until August as everyone was quite sure it was a cyst, GP could hardly feel it, mammogram showed nothing, ultrasound showed cyst (most probably) fnb nothing, core biopsy showed cancer. Because of pain (quite a lot) they thought they'd infected the 'cyst' with the fnb and put me on antibiotics and a 7 week delay before core biopsy. So my message is the same as many others, check yourself and follow up on anything that doesn't feel right. BTW, turned out to be a 2cm DCIS, grade 3 TNBC, no nodes involved.
I also found my 3.5cm lump in the shower. There was also a small bruise as though I had knocked myself. It wasn't picked up on regular mammograms/ultrasounds every 2 years, or by GP's manual examination 6 months prior. 2 core biopsies followed by a double mastectomy 2 weeks later, 12 x weekly chemos, 28 radiation treatments. Then a hysterectomy as a precaution. 2012 was taken up with treatment from April to November.
Looking back, my left breast felt bigger in the months beforehand. It really does pay to "know your breasts" and check out even small differences. BC is such a sneaky animal we all need to be on our guard.
Michelle xx
