Ultrasound showed that the lump became smaller within 8 days so we think it's a fibroadenoma!
Hello everyone! I've been reading the posts on this subreddit since I found a lump in my right breast 3 weeks ago and just reading about what symptoms people had and what they went through helped me SO MUCH. So I want to also share here what my journey has been like!
I'm 26 F and found a lump in my right breast that seemed like it suddenly appeared over night. I don't do regular touch exams on my breasts but my boyfriend touches my breasts a lot during sex (which we recently were having almost everyday yay thank you smut!!) and he didn't notice anything until that day. I vaguely remember my dog jumping up and hitting my right boob but I don't know if that caused the lump or if it was already there for awhile. It just seemed like it appeared overnight.
Short version :
I found a lump suddenly on 8/7 and decided to wait after my period was done to get it checked out. My period started on 8/12 and ended on 8/18. I went to a clinic on 8/19 and got a mammography and echo scan, they found one lump on my right breast and doctor said he thinks its a fibroadenoma but suggested a biopsy as well. I didn't get the biopsy and went to a hospital on 8/27 and did an ultrasound. The doctor said that the lump had gotten smaller since the ultrasound (which was only 8 days ago) and that she thinks its a fibroadenoma and if I wanted to, I could get a biopsy but the fact that it became smaller makes me feel good enough to wait monitor it.
Has anyone had a lump looked at twice and was told it became smaller? I've been looking for anyone with a similar experience but can't find any!
Full timeline! (I took notes of all my symptoms as much as I could)
Before August 7 : I vaguely remember my dog jumping up and hitting me in the right boob but it just hurt a little then went away. I also remember my dog lying on my chest while I was reading a book and I felt some pain in my right boob so I just moved her head aside but didn't think much of it.
August 7 : I felt tenderness in my breasts (because I was close to my period) and also felt a lump on the lower part my right breast. It felt HUGE like 3cm or something and was very tender and weird-feeling.
Until August 12 : Breasts got very tender, more than it usually does before my period. The lump was still there and maybe got even a little bigger.
August 12 : Period came and my breasts were immediately less tender. (Still have the lump)
August 14 : Breasts became less tender / swollen. (Still have the lump)
August 16 : Felt like the lump got smaller.
August 17 : An armpit rash on both armpits appeared. I shave my armpits whenever I take a shower and I think I shaved too hard or something because my skin was red and tingly after shaving. I didn't think much of it and put on my deodorant as usual (I use an antiperspirant deodorant and please don't do this).
August 18 : When I squeeze my breasts (because I was trying to feel the lump) it would become painful and later this day after I felt and squeezed my lump I had some pain radiating to my back below my shoulder blades which was terrifying because everything online points to cancer spreading to bones ugh
August 19 : Went to a nearby breast clinic and told them I found a lump in my breast. They immediately took me to get a mammogram (this was my first time ever doing a mammogram). It honestly didn't hurt that much! The machine squeezes your breast and then the person turns a knob to squeeze it more and your boob kinda becomes like a pancake lol I have small boobs so maybe thats why it didn't hurt that much..it was actually kind of funny and oddly felt good like a massage
After the mammogram the doctor showed me the mammogram pictures and you could see a white ball looking thing on my right boob where I felt the lump. The doctor was kinda like "yup theres something". (I really regret not taking a picture of it then and there because they didn't give a printed copy or something of it so if you can, take a picture!!) He also asked about my symptoms and I told him everything. He then did a psychical exam which was basically just cupping each breast and rubbing around quickly and he also pressed on the lump for a couple of seconds. We then did an ultrasound and he took pictures where my lump was. The lump was measured to be 13.6 mm and 12.4 x 5.9 mm.
He said he thinks its fibroadenoma but that we should do a needle biopsy just to make sure and that I can come in whenever and I didn't need to rush at all. So I made an apointment for the next day!
August 20 : I felt and pinched my lump a lot and I think with the squishing from the mammogram my breasts started doing weird things like suddenly my right nipple would just hurt out of nowhere for a couple of seconds and then go away. That happened maybe 2-3 times this day. Also my right arm started hurting which was probably from the shaving and antiperspirant but I was starting to PANIC. I also cancelled the biopsy at the clinic and called them to ask for the mammogram and echo data so that I could go checked at a hospital. I realized that if it turned out to be cancer I feel so much better at a hospital not a small clinic. The clinic said it would cost 3000yen (15$ ish) and that I could just pick it up. I called the hospital I wanted to go to to schedule a reservation but they said I need a recommendation letter so I called the clinic again and asked for that too. The clinic said I have to see the doctor to get a letter so I made the closest reservation possible which was August 23.
August 21 : A lump appeared on my right armpit. It was maybe 2cm big and when I pressed on it, it HURT. My arm also started to feel numb tingling sensations from my right hand pinky up to under my armpit. After researching the web I think it was a lymph node swelling from an infection but still it scared me a lot because the combination of breast lump, armpit lump is NOT GOOD
August 23 : Went to the clinic and told the doctor the reason I wanted the letter was because I just wanted to be at a hospital that could look at everything because my arm started hurting and the clinic is only for breast stuff. I was a little scared that the doctor would be "angry" that I wanted to go somewhere else but that would be very weird if so and I'm glad that didn't happen. They gave me a cd with the scans on it and the letter! The lump on my armpit got a little bit smaller but I was still having tingling numb sensations.
August 24 : My right nipple would still hurt for a couple of seconds out of nowhere but I convinced my self that anxiety and stress can make our bodies do a lot of weird things and I was VERY stressed out.
August 25 : The armpit lump is gone! Still a little bit of a numb sensation in my right arm.
August 26 : Only a little bit of the numb sensation left in my right arm but the upper back of my right arm still hurts. I also realized that I hit my right arms funny bone a lot and that nerves can get damaged from doing that too much....
August 27 : Went to the hospital! I gave them the cd and explained everything to the doctor. She said she wanted to do another ultrasound and see how big the lump is. She said that if the lump is the same size or bigger we would do a biopsy. We did the ultrasound and she took pictures of the lump and under my arms. She said the lump got smaller that there was nothing in my armpits! The lump was measured to be 13.6 x 5.2 mm and 9.7 x 4.6 mm (compared to 13.6 mm and 12.4 x 5.9 mm which was only 8 days ago). She said she is pretty sure its a fibroadenoma but that I could get a biopsy if I wanted. She also said it's likely that I got an infection in my armpit from the deodorant and that would explain the arm pains (don't use antiperspirants!!!)
SO after all of this I am 95% feeling good and can finally relax a little. I know that getting a biopsy and maybe MRI is the best way to find out for sure if there is anything to worry about but the fact that the lump got smaller has convinced me that it's just a fibroadenoma. I COULD get a biopsy done just like the doctor said but honestly I'm a little scared of it and possible scarring so for now I'm thinking of doing what the doctor suggested which is to :
- Monitor the lump and see if it grows bigger over time. If it does get bigger (excluding before and during my periods), I can go back for another ultrasound and biopsy.
- Record any weird sensations or pains that happen.
- Just get a biopsy done if I get too worried about the "what ifs"
Is there anyone who had a lump that was measured through an ultrasound that became smaller?? I'm pretty convinced just from the fact that it became small that it's not cancer but thats the only thing that I'm a tiny bit worried about but I couldn't find anyone with the same experience! Also if you have fibroadenomas please share what its like and what I should look out for!
Hope this helps anyone and please try to take it easy on yourself! I would suggest not to doom scroll the internet but I'm the kind of person who would rather be educated than clueless so my advice is look up and learn the different types of symptoms, lumps, and tests related to boob lumps but don't try to diagnose yourself! You've got this and we're all in this together! <3