Young mum awaiting biopsy results

Hi there, I'm 8 months post partum and a new mum to a lovely little girl. I'm breastfeeding and four weeks ago discovered a painful lump under my breast. I initially thought it was a recurrence of mastitis but the GP didn't think it was and put me on the 2 week pathway. It took a while for the appointment to come in and so I went to have a scan privately where the consultant thought it was due to lactation changes and thought it was filled with fluid but that I should go to my NHS appointment for a biopsy to confirm.

So I haven't been worrying about it too much since this, but I had the appointment yesterday and the consultant radiologist and breast surgeon I saw disagree with the private consultant and said the lump seems to have a knobbly edge and they also located a lymph node they were also concerned about. They did a biopsy of both the lump and lymph node and told me they have given the lump a grade 3 - indeterminate.

I've been feeling really overwhelmed by this after thinking it was just due to lactation. I'm trying to hold things together but with such a young baby I just feel so heartbroken. I keep looking at her and thinking awful things, like what if I miss her life? She won't remember me. I know it's probably a very small possibility of that happening but just the thought of it is hard to bare. I wanted to ask for your advice on how to cope with the waiting, they said it would be 2 weeks. I've read that there is a low percentage of grades increasing after biopsy but I've also read that breast cancer can be more aggressive in women under 40 (I'm 35) and I could really do with some clear understanding of the stats. 

Thank you for your help 

  • Hi Lucy_Dev,

    Welcome to Cancer Chat.

    Congratulations on your little girl. I'm sorry to hear you're dealing with this uncertainty - I can understand this must be very difficult with everything you have going on, and also with having received conflicting information so far.

    It's never easy waiting for appointments or to hear more. We have a post here about how to cope with waiting for news, which may be helpful.

    Try to take things a day at a time while you wait. In the meantime, hopefully you'll get some more replies to your post here soon. We're always here for support if you need it, and there will be others here who understand or who may be experiencing something similar.

    We also have nurses available if you'd like to talk things through at all. You can reach them on freephone 0808 800 4040 - Monday-Friday, 9-5.

    I hope you hear more soon.

    Wishing you all the best,

    Ben
    Cancer Chat Moderator