Too scared to tell family about lump

Hello….

In a bit of a tricky situation. I found a lump in February and told myself it would go away. It didn’t. I’ve realised over the past few weeks that I really need to get it checked out, but I’m already in a hugely stressful situation as I recently lost my job to AI. 

I’m staying with family for the next six weeks and likely moving back to live alone in London in mid-June. I don’t think I should wait that long to get it checked. It’s very round and hard but it’s not jagged. It does feel relatively fixed in place and doesn’t seem to have got bigger. 

I’ve got the house to myself for two weeks so going to try and go next week even though I'm petrified. My friend died two years ago from cancer so my head is obviously thinking the worst and I don’t want to tell my mum as she always tells me that drinking energy drinks will give me cancer. I can see her saying it’s my fault if I tell her or somehow making it feel that way. 

I’m 32. I don’t have any known history in my family but after my paternal aunt died we discovered she’d had mastectomy so I can only assume she had breast cancer and also kept it to herself. Gah. I’m going crazy. I just wish I had an answer either way. If I go back to London, it’s for a job that requires insane training too so if I’m sick the whole thing just won’t work. 

  • Hi Scaredfriend,

    A very warm welcome to the forum.

    You should certainly get this checked out as soon as possible. I am so sorry to hear that you have lost your job, due to A1, but glad to hear that there is the possibility of a new one on the horizon.

    Whatever the outcome of getting your symptoms investigated, this will give you the opportunity to plan around it. Not all lumps are cancerous. Only 20% of those who attend the breast clinic get a cancer diagnosis. Many people have benign cysts or fibroadenoma. The fact that your lump is not jagged at the edges, makes me hope that this might be the case with you. However, the only way to be sure is to have some tests to find out. I'm sure that you appreciate that, if it does turn out to be cancer, the sooner it is attended to the better.

    Do please keep in touch and let us know how you get on. We are always here for you,

    Kind regards,

    Jolamine xx