Hello MrsJ_xx, 

I can imagine it must be a very stressful time for you while waiting to find out more and it's a shame you are having to wait an additional week for your results because your doctor is away.

I know it is really hard but try not to worry too much or anticipate what it might be. The best thing to do to avoid thinking too much about this is to keep busy and distracted if you can and as you rightly said, it's best to avoid looking things up online as Dr Google always brings up the worst case scenario. I can imagine it is hard for you to do this at the moment but it will help you feel a little less anxious. There are some helpful tips on this page on how to cope while waiting for important news. 

I hope you will also hear from others here who have been through all this before and that they will be along soon to share their story with you. 

Keeping everything crossed for you that everything turns out fine. 

Best wishes, 

Lucie, Cancer Chat Moderator

Hello MrsJ,

Welcome back to our forum,

I am so sorry to hear how worried you are, but can assure you that this is perfectly normal. Our imaginations tend to take over and take us to all sorts of dark places, as Lucie has said. Her advice is spot on. Try to keep yourself occupied to help the waiting time to pass. Do you think that feeling the area all the time may cause it to feel more tender and swollen? It is difficult not to do this, but try your best to leave the area alone.

I am glad to hear that you now have an appointment for your ultrasound and hope that nothing serious is found - it could well still turn out to be a simple infection in the area. The results of an ultrasound are often not back for 1-2 weeks, so your GP's holiday shouldn't delay thins too much. 

Try not to think of getting through the next few days/weeks. This is too big an ask just now. Take it in bite sized pieces, either day by day or hour by hour. You will find the strength to see this through. Somehow or other, we all do.

I do hope that you will keep in touch. I know that this is a scary time and we are always here for you.

Kind regards,

Jolamine xx

Thank you so much for your replies and your advice. I can't lie, I'm in a state, I'm so terrified I'm going to get a call in the next few days giving my news of the worst kind. I also know I'm making myself feel physically worse. I have been 'examining' the area a lot and may likely have increased the aches and pains radiating from it. I've been in what feels like a permanent state of anxiety. I've been obsessively searching the Internet trying to find a story that will reassure me, one where someone was going through what I am and it turned out they had nothing to worry about. But it's not working, I just seem to stumble on more information that scares me and I know I'm stupid doing it but my desperation for reassurance drives it. 
I really do sound like my own worst enemy, I know.
I take on board what you've both said and am going to try very hard to stay off Google and distract myself to get through the scan tomorrow and then the rest of the week. I did ring my doctors last Friday to ask if I would be able to get the results off another doctor if they were back and was assured I could. So hopefully I'll have them by the end of the week as the doctor I spoke to said they should be fairly quick as it's been requested as an urgent one.

I will let you know how I get on. Thank you again for your replies. 
x
 

Purely going from my wife's experience, all results are handled by the breast clinic. You will no longer be dealing with your gp during the diagnostic stage. So your gp being on leave shouldn't affect anything. I'm not saying this is 100% indicative of everyone's experience, but from what i can gather having read from posts from other members and my wife's experience, they bypass your gp.

So much so, all my wife's interactions with her gp were being referred and any future bloods.

Hi, 

please keep us updated after your appointment tomorrow. I have similar symptoms as you and I am interested to know if this is something I need to be worried about. 
 

Thanks 

Nelly

Hey, so I had my ultrasound this morning. I had a nice radiographer who talked me through it and her evaluation at the end was that she couldn't see any lumps or anything that looked sinister (I pretty much cried and told her I know we're not allowed to but if I could I'd hug her right now!) she did say I had some calcification on my ribs and surrounding inflammation which looked a lot to her like costochondritis that would explain the hard lumpy feeling and inflammation. She did add that the area was very close to the breast so it would be up to my doctor if she wanted me to get a check at the breast clinic as she couldn't scan that area, but overall where she scanned showed no signs of the things I've been so anxious about.

Obviously I'm immensely relieved, the term 'felt like a huge weight had been lifted' has never felt so real as today. I totally know I set myself up for all the anxiety and panic after searching Google, it's hard to explain but I'd so convinced myself I had a chest wall tumour following my symptoms and that I'd be getting told this week there was something concerning in there that needed immediate and further investigation. 

The radiographer advised my report would be with my doctor within a week so to make an appointment with her to discuss results and see what she thinks about the further breast examination. So fingers crossed she'll be satisfied that today has answered the questions about what's happening just above my breast, obviously I've searched up the condition and did come across it in my obsessive Google's over the last few days and my symptoms go fit. But I'll certainly see what she thinks re the breast referral.

Again, thank you to you guys for the time you took to reply to my initial, quite manic and panicked first post. I do think it might be time to discuss my anxiety with the doctor as well, as I can't really continue with these overwhelming fears that I've experienced not just this time and not just about myself. If there's ways and means to help banish or diminish the overriding and overwhelming'dark' thoughts and worries I feel about my family's and my own health I would like to try them. 
Thank you again for your consideration in replying to me and your well wishes. It meant a lot.

Hi, sorry to bring up an old topic but I think I'm going through something similar but I can find anything online apart from stumbling across your post. 

On Friday evening I noticed what I can only describe as a swelling/lump/mass on my chest bone above my right breast. It is hard, it feels like bone and its just to the right of the middle of of chest bone. It is about 2inches long and 1½ inches wide. The thing is mine is not painful at all. Was yours painful? Everything that comes up on Google refers to pain. I'm terrified I have a tumor.

I seen my gp this morning and she said she isn't concerned that it's something sinister but she is sending me for a chest x-ray but this won't be for 3-4 weeks due to waiting list times. 

I'm trying not to worry, I would actually be less worried if I did have pain. 

If you get chance to reply I would very much appreciate it xx

Hey there,

Please don't be sorry, it sounds you're going through something very similar to me, physically and mentally. I had no pain on or around the hard lump/mass thing I had. 
I don't know if you read my update post but after an ultrasound on my chest I was reassured it was likely a condition called costochondritis and I also had some calcification on that part of my ribs/chest bone which I'm guessing explains that area feeling more prominent. I also had a follow-up chest X-ray and my amazing doctor referred me to the breast clinic to cover all bases as it was just at the top of my breast. Thankfully nothing was found in any of them, but I'll never forget the anxiety and stress I went through over the weeks while waiting for appointments and results. 
I truly hope you experience the same level of care as me and the doctors investigate for you, and I of course hope for a similar outcome. Costochondritis is more common that you'd think, as are uneven ribs higher in the chest. 
What I would advise to do different from me, is try to stop Googling - I wish I had. I'm sure I'd have still worried, but I know that my relentless searching for answers and hopeful reassurance online did the opposite and only caused me more worry. 
I hope this has helped in some way. 
Take care and I'm keeping everything crossed you end up with a diagnosis like mine. 
xx

Thanks so much for replying. 

I did read all your posts and I'm glad that you got the all clear. Yes I had read about Costochondritis during my googling but what was worrying me was everything I read about that said you would have pain with it and I have absolutely none. You saying that you also had no pain has definitely made me feel more at ease.

I don't even know how long this mass had been here I'm usually very good about checking my breasts every month but the past few I admit I have been slacking. But I don't even know if I would have picked up on it then as I usually do my breast checks lying down and the mass is definitely much more prominent when I'm standing.

Was yours quite large feeling? Did it ever go away or is it still there? 

Again thank you for replying x