Breast cancer scare, cannot stop panicking

Not quite sure what to do anymore !

i suffer with health anxiety and have for years. I'm 21, have a few health issues (asthma, pcos) 

and nearly 3 weeks ago I found a lump in my boob it moves around easily. The lump is oval, right at the bottom of my breast, it has been painful like a dull ache pretty much all the time. The lump goes from hard to squishy daily.  Nothing I can't cope with. I'm on birth control pill also and I often forget to take it. 
 

I went to my doctor she examined my breast said the lump feels pretty large, she told me to just wait 3 weeks see if anything changes and she'll ring me back. 
I don't have any family history of breast cancer or any cancer really my grandad has stomach/bowel cancer but that is down to drinking excessively.  
 

im now freaking out because I have pain under my armpits and arms, shoulders and back. I have had this for a few months it's constantly switching arms and got told by a physiotherapist it's probably a trapped nerve but It keeps coming and going. ( this was before I found the lump in my breast) and yes the back pain defo gets worse when I lay flat. But my anxiety just screams at me that it's all related and to panic 
 

I couldn't help myself and started to google because it's on my mind 24/7 I don't really have close family to talk to about it and now I'm panckinig so bad I feel like I'm going to pass out :( it says all these symptoms could be breast cancer related and I'm honestly just terrified I don't know what to do, I don't know if it's all related or not. My head is spinning and I'm just thinking the absolute worst case scenario all the time :( 

  • All I can try to reassure you with is that breast tumours are usually hard and not move able.  They also usually don't hurt. Any lump that hurts is usually not cancer. I can't imagine a tumour feeling different from one day to the next and if your doctor truly suspected cancer you would immediately be referred. I have anxiety and know it's hard but my advice would be to stop feeling it and try to forget about it for 3 weeks. It could be a cyst or another benign lump.

  • Jo.bs is correct. The gp would not have sent you away for 3 weeks if they thought it was breast cancer. You would have been referred. 

     

    Also, the fact that you’re getting pain in both armpits suggests that it’s not caused by breast cancer.

     

    Go go back and see them if it’s still there, of course. But  try to take comfort from the fact that the expert, who sees breast lumps all the time, does not think this needs to be urgently referred because they do not think you have cancer. 

     

     

  • Thanks for your reply! 
    I'm trying to stay positive but it's really hard when there's nothing to do but think all day, Thankyou you've reassured me. 
    My doctor is due to ring me next week, the three weeks is almost up but I've been finding certain things help with pain. Such as cabbage leaves (weird but it works) and hot baths. So I'm hoping for the best, I reckon my doctor might send me for a scan anyway as it's not gone away yet 

  • Thankyou for your reply ! 
    Yeah I'm trying to keep all positives in mind my arm/ back and shoulder pain is an annoyance so I think on top of the lump I got carried away, i got a lot going for me my age which is a positive. But like I said it's really hard when you have nothing to do all day but think, I'll keep this thread updated when my doctor rings me on Monday or Tuesday. I have a feeling she'll just send me for a scan to see what it actually is, hoping for the best. Thankyou :)