Ive found a lump .....?!
Question: Ive found a lump .....?
I'm 37 and my mother had a cancerous lump successfully removed 2 years ago. It was a rogue lump and NOT the hereditary kind. I don't want to ask my mum the procedure, firstly because hers was found following a routine mammogram, so she won't know what happens if you go through a GP, and secondly, because i just don't want to worry her un-necessarily until i know more.
What happened to those of you who found a lump following self examination? Did you go to your GP or did you seek help elsewhere?
I am in the UK by the way.
Thanks for any answers.
Answers:
First, to stop you worrying too much, remember that breast cancer is unusual in someone your age - only 5% of those diagnosed with it are under 40.
Also, most breast lumps (even in women over 50) aren't cancerous; at least 80% of those considered serious enough for biopsy are found to be benign. Even those of us who've had breast cancer - and are therefore at increased risk - are advised to wait two weeks before consulting a doctor when we notice anything like this; that way if it's simply hormonal it has a chance to settle down.
Some GPs are dismissive of younger women's concerns about their breast health because so few young women develop breast cancer. If this is the case with your GP, be prepared to be a bit forceful. As your mother had breast cancer you should be treated as at increased risk simply as a precaution, even though hers was, like 90 - 95% of breast cancers, not hereditary. Usually this simply means that your routine mammograms will start when you are ten years younger than your mother was at diagnosis, is you haven't reached 50 by then. But be sure to mention your mother's breast cancer to your GP.
When you see your GP, s/he will examine your breast. If s/he is concerned enough to refer you as an emergency, you must receive a appointment within two weeks.
If you get a referral, you will have a physical examination, a mammogram and an ultrasound scan, and a biopsy if anything suspicious is noticed.
How soon you get your results varies form area to area and hospital to hospital; through breast cancer support networks I've met women who reported anything from same day to two weeks. At my hospital the policy was 48 hours.
If cancer is found, you must be offered surgery within 4 weeks of diagnosis.
But do remember, while you're waiting for your appointment, that the odds are very much in your favour
Good luck
you should go to doctor immediately.
just go see your gp they will order some tests and get it checked