Brown nipple discharge

Hi

I'm new to this forum and just wanted some advice/support. At the beginning of this week I noticed some brown discharge from my left nipple. I wiped it away and thought maybe it was a one off. Then when I took my bra off that night I noticed a brown stain on my bra. So I squeezed my nipple and more brown stuff came out. I rang my GP and they booked me in. 
 

Fast forward to today when I saw my GP. They saw some staining on my bra and asked if I could express some to show them. They saw it an examined both breasts. They couldn't find any abnormalities or lumps and asked me to get dressed. They then said they were putting an emergency refferal into the breast clinic for further investigation. 
 

I got a phone call within two hours offering me and appointment for the 22nd July which I took.  It sounds stupid because nothing has been confirmed but I have been crying on and off. I think it's mainly fear driven on the 'What if's'. I'm a single mum to two boys aged 12 and 9 and I'm more bothered about them if this is cancer. 
 

Has anyone had these symptoms before? What should I expect at the clinic? 
 

 

  • Hi [@Mumofboys22]

    I'm sorry to hear about what you're going through, I'm glad you've found the group so you have support through this and that you're getting seen quickly - although I understand the 22nd will still feel a while away!! 
     

    In terms of what to expect, I've had blood stained discharge from my left breast for a while now. My initial appointment involved an initial chat with the breast nurse who talked me through what was going to happen, I was then given a front tying hospital gown and asked to remove my clothes from the waist up and put it on. I was then taken through for the mammogram where they took a number of images of both breasts. It was uncomfortable but not painful. After that I was taken through to have a ultrasound - this was only done on the breast I'm bleeding from. After that I saw the consultant who took me through the results etc and discussed what would happen next. It was agreed I needed a total duct excision so I was given an appointment for the surgical clinic a few weeks later where the surgeon talked through what would happen. I was given an appointment for the operation for 2 weeks later and as such they did the first part of the pre-op at the same time (bloods/ECG/swab test) and given details for covid testing and pre-op isolation. 
     

    Unfortunately my surgery was cancelled due to covid so I can't advise on the actual surgical procedure. 
     

    See if they have a Maggies near you - they've really helped me today and they are offering face to face support which a lot of others aren't. Xx

  • Thank you for such a detailed reply. It's nice to know exactly what is going to happen in the initial appointment. 
     

    Do they know what is causing your discharge? 

    I hope you get your surgery soon ️

  • Unfortunately not until they've removed the ducts so I'm stuck in limbo... I'm sure you won't have the same issues especially with the news of the world opening back up and removing social distance restrictions etc