Hi Madgirl07,

A very warm welcome to our forum. I am sorry to hear of your symptoms. Most of us find that our emotions are all over the place when we discover any unusual signs. Fortunately, not all lumps are cancerous. It is a fact that only 20% of people, who are referred to the breast clinic, will get a cancer diagnosis. In many cases, the lumps are due to benign cysts, fibroadenoma or naturally lumpy breasts.

I know that this is a worrying wait, but you have done the right thing by getting your symptoms investigated. Don't add any significance to the fact that your appointment came through so quickly. Appointments have to be cancelled or re-scheduled for many different reasons and, it sounds as if you may have managed to get one of these. The team at the clinic will be keen to fit in as many people as possible, before the holiday period and you have been fortunate to get one of these slots.

I am sorry to hear that so many of your family have been affected by cancer and understand why you are so anxious. I am glad to hear that you have steered clear of consulting "Dr Google". We usually advise people to avoid doing this, as much of the information is poorly researched, out of date and aimed at the more spectacular cases. This only serves to Increase your anxiety and doesn't gives you any answers. It is understandable that your thoughts should turn to your children. Try not to get ahead of yourself, as there have been tremendous strides made in the diagnosis, treatment and after care of cancer, in recent years. I lost my mum and several other family members to breast cancer. I have had 2 bouts myself and I am still here 14 years on. I still lead a busy and fulfilling life and look forward to the dawning of each new day.

Breast cancer is seldom painful. Lymph nodes under the arm can sometimes cause a throbbing type of pain. The tests you'll have at the clinic will discover whether or not, there is anything amiss.

You will find the staff at the clinic are usually very understanding of your feelings and will do their best to put you at your ease. At your first visit, you are likely to have a physical examination of your breasts, then you may possibly have a mammogram, an ultrasound and a biopsy. It can take about 2 weeks to get the results of a biopsy, so you could still have another anxious wait. However, the biopsy will tell you whether or not there is any cancer present.

I do hope that everything goes well for you and that nothing untoward is found. Please keep in touch and let us know how you get on. We are always here for you.

Kind regards,

Jolamine xx

Thank you for explaining to me, i appreciate it loads. Yes think i maybe getting a head of myself a little. Im so glad to hear you are living a fulfilling life. Im keeping myself busy so i dont let my mind wonder. I will keep you updated. Xx

I am sorry to hear that you are waiting for results and what you are going through.  I have inflammatory breast cancer stage 3 which has spread to my lymph nodes and I am currently going through chemo.  My type of cancer is rare and aggressive and prognosis not good but it hasn't spread yet anywhere else so far as CT scan shows.  My symptoms prior to a big mass in my breast appearing overnight was discomfort in my right rib area for quite a period of time and also tingling and weird sensations in my right arm pit.  The doctors only did tests on my insistence earlier on but as I was worried about organs due to the location I insisted on ultrasound of liver and kidneys which came back normal, they did not do a gall bladder scan or other organs which I was expecting them to do, they did not do a proper test of my lymph nodes.  They then did blood tests that came back as low in iron, folic acid and B12, the hospital did a chest xray which was normal but did not tell of the risks of having chest xrays, should have referred me to a CT scan but didn't. I had a gynae check on my insistence as I have had polcycstic ovaries for sometime yet no one has done anything about it.  I feel that had a medical professional thought to check my breast area via mammogram or done a full CT scan then the cancer would have been picked up a lot sooner than when the mass presented overnight, as I believe the arm tingling was my lymph nodes saying that something was wrong and the rib discomfort was connected to the cancer,  The type of cancer I have is related to hormones and is not genetic.

I do not wish to worry you because there are several things it could be as Jolamine points out below.  People can have cysts that aren't cancerous or other things under the skin, people can have throbbing for other reasons as well,  The good thing is either way you are getting checked out as the sooner anything is dealt with the better and the better the prognosis if it is seen to.

Additionally, with lumps on the breast it seems to be that they do get these tests arranged very quickly and there are lead times to do so to rule out cancer so just because you had a quick appointment does not mean bad news, It is hard to say not to worry because the wait on news is the worst but talking to people can help.  For me personally I have been very calm throughout my diagnosis and treatment but I don't have children, however I do have a partner and family and have been talking to people about my experience and also talking to people in similar situations.  

I am hoping it is good news for you but my advice is to ask lots of questions if they do find anything untoward and ensure that you get support.