Mammogram recall - gp had pictures

Hello everyone, I have felt the need to reach out for support during this difficult time. 

I had a routine mammogram carried out at start of May, I'm 45 so booked it myself as a body MOT ... I have spent the last year suffering with gallstones and finally got my gallbladder removed in April. So just wanted to check everything else was in order.

I had a sore breast for a while but put it down to periods, hormones etc. Anyway, the pain intensified after the mammogram and didn't go away from that moment on. I got the dreaded recall letter a few weeks ago... and we have a 5 -6 week wait for breast clinic appointment!

I called my doctor as pain in boob was really niggling me - he said he had my mammogram results!! And that he could see a mass in my sore boob, a density that had an x marked beside it and that I was going to need a biopsy! I asked him was it big or small and he said he didn't know what size the lump was.  I have done nothing but panic since getting that news. I'm a single mum with 2 small kids and am just so overwhelmed by it all.

I booked a private consultation as no way can I wait another 4 weeks for breast clinic now! My appointment is next Monday x

  • TFI 

    welcome 

    good you are getting this checked but a mass could mean several things not the dreaded c hopefully yours will be ok . I also went private couldn't wait the weeks .

    I hsd BC last July I'm fully recovered now and doing well 

    good luck for your appointment.

    love Lara Heart

  • Thank you for the reply Heart I'm just so worried because I dont know how long my boob has been painfully for! I was on daily heavy painkillers for the last 6 months due to my gallbladder pain and as soon as I stopped the painkillers post-op, I felt the niggle in my right breast. 

    And the gp disclosing the results of the mammogram made me think he must feel pretty confident that he knows what he is looking at in there. So frightening!

    So glad to hear you got through BC and out the other side, it can be done!xx

  • TFI 

    It's such a worry my love I I understand I could only feel a heaviness no lump that's what scared me as if I never went for a check how long it would have been before I felt the lump and I was 48 at the time wouldn't have been called for a mamo for 2 years . 
    I really hope you get a positive outcome 

    love Lara Heart

  • Thank you Lara The lady at Action Cancer where I got the mammogram done said they don't consider pain to be a symptom but that she wouldn't discuss mammogram results with me. So it was a shocker when the GP just came out with that. 

    Anyway, a week to wait. 5-6 week referral time is horrendous, I couldn't wait that long. Lara Do you mind me asking what your diagnosis was and the treatment you had? Thank you xx

  • Sorry the chat closed before o could reply 

    I did have pain lovely I no they say pain is not associated but I did get pain when my dog pressed on me by accident it was bad pain 

    I had grade 2 her2 - breast cancer I had lunpectomy then 2 nd operation had 30 lymph nodes removed then 5 sessions of radiotherapy then hormone tablets for 5 years 

    how are you feeling today lovely 

  • Hi Laura

    Feeling more calm about it all the last few days. I spoke to the radiographer who carried out my mammogram and she told me that the GP had been wrong to tell me such news over the phone as these conversations are always had in person. And that he was in no way qualified to interpret a mammogram. 

    She said that yes there was a mass but it was very small, mm in size and its great that it has been picked up. We won't know what it is until more investigations have been carried out but certainly isn't a golf ball sized lump I imagined when doctor said he could see a mass in my sore boob!

    So feeling much more positive, have slept better last few days and that overwhelming anxiety has gone. Just relieved now that this has been picked up during the mammogram and on the way to being sorted out xx

  • TFI kels 

    I’m glad you are feeling happier , definitely your gp is not a expert in this and always see this here , best to see the professionals and try not to worry inbetween , this could well be nothing to worry about . 
    good luck let us no how you get on enjoy the sunshine this weekend 

    love Lara x 

  • Thank you :) the good weather always makes everything seem better. I will let you know how it all works out for me. Thank you for taking the time to reply. Have a wonderful weekend yourself xx

  • Hi, it being painful is a good sign believe it or not. My wife had nerve pain, but that was because it was pressing on a nerve.

    Just before Christmas, her boob got sore, and she found another lump. But the pain wasn't like it was the first time around when she was diagnosed with bc. Because it was just before Christmas, and she was worried she had had a reoccurrence, she called her surgeon. Yeah, the surgeon said he wasn't overly worried because of the pain, so she waited until Jan.

    Once it had all been investigated, it turned out it was scar tissue and an oil cyst (that was the lump), caused by the op and radiotherapy. Not sure about inflammatory BC (but that has it's own set of symptoms), but bc doesn't tend to hurt like most cancers. Cancer tends to only cause pain when it's causing a blockage, stretching something that has nerves or the tumour is pressing on a structure with nerves.

    So take the pain as a positive. BC tends to be painless for the vast majority.