Hi Mary and welcome. As Brian has quite rightly said, a GP would not normally diagnose breast cancer or talk about treatments before any tests have been done at a breast clinic. The usual route would be to have a mammogram, ultrasound and any necessary biopsies and only then can a decision be made about a potential diagnosis and treatment. There are all kinds of reasons for breast lumps, not all of them cancer, and a simple examination would certainly not provide enough information so I wonder what made your GP jump to this conclusion so quickly?

Waiting for these initial tests and then the results is, as we all here can agree, very difficult. There is no easy way to get through it and of course your mind is going 24/7 with all kinds of scenarios but do try to distract yourself as best you can, see friends, go for walks, anything that will help you. Having been through this earlier in the year I totally understand how you are feeling at the moment and can only say that yes, it is hell but you can, and will, get there. Do come back here with any questions or queries or just to have a rant, this is a great place to do it! Take care and let us know how you get on.  Sue xx