Odd question: Did your gut tell you?
Comments
-
I was born with rose colored glasses and see the bright side of everything. I had found a lump just like this 4 years ago of about the same size and wasn't concerned. Saw my Dr. a couple months later for my annual and asked after the fact if the lump was a problem. Didn't think about or touch it after that. He said no problem and it went away. I go to the doctor once a year for my annual and say to him every year "Tell me I'm perfect and I wont bug you for another year."
Found this lump 4 days before my annual scheduled mammogram. (I dont' normally do self exams but felt like I should. Kind of like flossing your teeth for the week before your dentist appointment) Even through the rose colored glasses I knew it was cancer. I wasn't shocked at all when they told me. Normally I am not very in tuned with my body and have the worst intuition of any female but this time I knew before the mamo, ultrasound or biopsy came back.
I'm glad you asked this question because I find it remarkable that I knew from the moment I found it even though I had found one before and am usually Cleopatra (The Queen of De Nial.)
0 -
I turned 53 in September. All during the summer, I kept having this foreboding feeling that I would not live to see 54. Couldnt figure it out. On October 21, I was diagnosed with B/C and had my mod rad mastectomy on November 18. That feeling is now gone, I can see years ahead of me again. Still have to do chemo and rtx to finish cleaning up the mess that tumor created, but feel like it will be ok. I do remember, that during my diagnostic studies, I felt a fear I could not shake.
0 -
My mom had bc when she was 49, so I knew I was supposed to go in every year for a mammo, sometimes I would go, sometimes I wouldn't. I figured my lifestyle was so much different from hers, i didn't smoke, rarely drank and watched what I ate. Well in October my gyno pretty much went off on me telling me that I was at risk and why hadn't I had a mammo in 2 1/2 years. I said geez, I'll go. I may owe that man my life.
I had my mammo, and the gyno office called me saying I had dense breasts and I should have an ultrasound. Right then and there, my gut told me my number was up and that I had BC! I went for my ultrasound, and within an hour my gyno had already had my results.Which further reinforced what I thought. Off I go for the biopsy, I watched as the needle went in, and the lesion did not collapse. Further telling me it's cancer. Saw my BS and she said she was shocked to tell me that I had IDC, she didn't think it would have been that. I had been preparing myself for the word cancer, but I really thought it was doing to be in situ. Boy was I wrong! I am 47 with 3 kids. I guess when you know, you know! Min
0 -
I sensed it for a long time... long before I felt the lump.
I'd been losing sleep for months and feeling fatigued. I lost my father to cancer a few years ago, so now and then I'd worry, "Suppose I have cancer." Then I'd brush it off: "I'm just out of shape and becoming middle-aged."
Also, there was a strange intution - almost as if my subconscious or someone else was trying to send me a mental message. (I've always been a skeptic, but there were really crazy things happening that turned me into less of a skeptic.) For example, I would think of something, and then it would happen, or I'd see it soon afterward. I also had a constant feeling that I had to get things done because there wasn't much time. My sons were involved in a big competition for which we'd invested hundreds of dollars, and I kept worrying: "Suppose someone gets sick that day?"
Then, by accident, I felt the lump, and I knew IMMEDIATELY. I spent that night searching the internet, trying to find a reason to believe it wasn't cancer. But, every website described what I found as cancer. The doctor at radiology said "cancer" the day after my 46th birthday (and right before the competition). It felt almost as if I'd given myself cancer by worrying so much.
BTW, six weeks after finding the lump, I still haven't been scheduled for surgery. My gut tells me it's spreading. They just biopsied a lymph node. All the waiting is making me very worried.
0 -
my gut told me I had cancer. The minute I stepped into the radiologist's office and she told me the lump was suspicious I knew what it was.
I cried on the way to the car. The strange thing was, when she called me to tell me that the biopsy was positive for IDC I didn't cry at all. I just knew it wasn't going to be good.
0 -
Didn't have a lump,and wasn't thinking anything on my call back,until they started withso many compression views,then US in my arm pit,and kept asking me if I had just gotton over a cold,or have I been sick,then the tech called in the radiologist and he asked me the same questions,thats when it hit me something wasn't right.Never in a million years did I think this could happen to me.No family history,and mammos yearly.
0 -
I had my yearly mammogram December 16, 2010. Six days later, I woke up around 4 a.m., relaxed, on Christmas break from work till the new year. I casually ran my hand over my midriff and immediately felt a "thickening" on the underside of my left breast. It jolted me awake. My first thought was, "There it is." I jumped out of bed. I'm not sure why that was my first thought. But I had occasionally wondered what a lump would feel like. This was not a round, pea-sized lump, but a thickening oval shaped mass.
It was 3 days before Christmas. I was having lots of company coming for three days straight, starting Christmas Eve and still needed to get all my groceries. I decided to get them early, come home & tell my husband about the lump; then call the doctor. By the time I arrived home from shopping, the radiologist had left a message for me to call. When I did, she said they had found an "asymmetry" in my mammogram. I then informed her of the lump. She said, "The report doesn't say anything about a lump." I said very firmly,"Trust me, it's there."
Went in for the sonogram and then had the biopsy. Of course, it took time due to the Christmas and New Year holiday. At first I panicked. But then I felt the comfort of God and managed to rise above the panic. A number of people relayed stories of how they knew someone who's cyst was benign. I didn't mind the stories at all, people try to make you feel good about the situation, but somehow I KNEW.
Today I received the Dx of invasive lobular carcinoma.
I'm 52 years old. What I want to say is that as much as my gut was telling me the lump was malignant, I now have an extremely strong feeling that I am gonna beat this Dx and live the long, long, wonderful life I have always imagined I would!
0 -
My mom was diagnosed with BC when she was 45. I have and aunt and several cousins with BC. I have always been careful to get all my screenings. I even took tamoxifen for four years, beginning when I was 48.I really thought this might protect me. I found the lump and thought it was just another lump. I had three negative biopsies before this. I was being followed by a breast surgeon every six months. Anyway didn't think this was cancer and it was.
rcca
0 -
Totally knew the second I found the lump. I had never had a lump, or any other breast issues my whole life, and then one evening after a bath I looked at myself in the mirror while reaching for a hair dryer. And my breast moved funny. Put my hand on the spot, and there it was - oddly enough, several months earlier, I had had a bruise suddenly appear at that spot, but thought nothing of it, except, wow, I must have really run into a door.
I knew it was cancer right away - but, since I found it in October, it took until January for the surgeon to say, I'm sorry, its's cancer. At that point, I was like, I know.
0 -
Umm, I didn't know it was cancer but right after my biopsy the nurse asked if I had much emotional support because "you are probably going to need it." I worried about that comment until I heard my results. I called the nurse back and asked her how she knew and she said "usually the ones that bleed like that turn out to be cancer." I did share with her how awful her comments had made me feel...0
-
HI , I actually had pain for months in my BC breast. Ignored it thinking nothing. Finally went in for annual mammo and found the lump. The pain was due to it being near a nerve on my chest wall. The day of mammo had an US and more scans and the doctor told me I'd need a biopsy. she was fairly certain it was BC. Next morning, Biopsy. I knew the day they called for he results theyd'd be calling that day and I knew it would be positive. It was a forboding feeling.. I hope you are ok, and if you do not like your doctor (which I think you wrote) , find another. Remember - they work for you. Find someone who will give you an MRI for more definitive results or some additional testing.
0 -
HI, I saw your post and I had a question for you. I'm 37 not diagnosed, but had developed a huge bruise over the upper portion of my left breast in 10/2010. I had seen my ob/gyn who was concerned about how large the bruise was and had thought I had been in either a car accident or had injured myself somehow. Oddly it didn't hurt, it just was really large and concerning. I had a breast exam, he found nothing, but was concerned enough to give me a referral to see a specialist. I haven't yet, it had disappeared.But on the same side I'm experiencing a pinching and on an off throbbing in my underarm. Did you experience any pinching sensations? What did your doctor say about your bruising? I'm seriously thinking of seeing a breast specialist, but assume they are going to say its nothing. I wanted to contact you because I don't see anyone else that noticed bruising.
0 -
Again, good question.. I have been getting regular mammos for years - dense breasts. Even had to have repeated last year but the repeat came back OK. This year's routine mammo showed a mass.. I had just been to the MD a few months before and she didn't find anything,neither did I. I hadn't been feeling really well for a few months(thought it was stress) but breast Ca never entered my mind. However when they did an ulstrasound with my mammo and I saw the mass I knew..... and I thought - did my body know this for the last few months? was it trying to tell me something?
0 -
I have been called back for repeat mammograms 4 times now, 3 of those which have now resulted in biopsies, and this was the first time I wasn't worried at all. However this was the time I was diagnosed with BC, so...... I guess no, unfortunately my gut feeling wasn't right this time!
Nancy0 -
For the better part of the year before I was diagnosed I hadn't felt quite right. My body seemed tired most of the time and I wasn't enjoying my life as much as I usually do. I wasn't feeling like being around people, quiet and withdrawn.
And something else I was noticing was that I didn't seem to smell the same to myself as I am accustomed to. That seems weird, I know, but I don't know how else to describe it. I thought I smelled "funny" and would ask the family if I smelled different. I think they thought I was nuts.
The diagnosis didn't come as a surprise. Actually it was a relief to finally know what was wrong and that something could be done about it because everything I was doing to feel better and be more outgoing wasn't working.
0 -
Can one of you help me? I found a lump in my right breast two weeks ago. Went to my obgyn, who referred me to a radiologist for ultrasound. He said it looks like fibroadema with a cyst next to it, but let's do a mammogram. I got a letter a week later saying there was no sign of cancer and to come back when I'm forty. My mother was my age when she died of breast cancer, (36). My great grandmother had it, my aunt, my cousin. Should I just wait and see? I'm in pain. Should I demand a biopsy? I just don't know. Please help.
Thank you0 -
Listen to your gut. If you feel lump. Bx s arent that painful. I knew mine was something when i asked for couple of valium for bxand they gave me thirty. Your radiologist is prob right, but with your history your going to worry yourself to death
0 -
ebalk,
If you have any doubts I would ask for the biopsy, based on your family history alone you want to make sure. My youngest sister died of bc in April at age 44, she had gone for regular mamos every year due to my bc diagnosis in 2005. She was diagnosed the first time in July 2010 and her lump was 7cm close to the chest wall, she had a normal screening the year prior. Her cancer came back in March this year and she died in April due to complications from bone mets and her calcium levels shutting down her kidneys.
I certainly wouldnt wait until you are 40 if you are 36 now, not with a family history.
I am not trying to scare you but you need to be extremely vigilant.
0 -
I knew immediately my lump was cancer, gut feeling yah!
0 -
Bumping for MishaT....
0 -
I found my lump cuz I was sore from carrying a bucket that was too heavy from the rocks we picked from starting a garden. I was making supper and was massaging and found the lump. The stupid family dr. I went to told me not to worry because "doesn't feel like a cancerous tumor." My gut was telling me to be scared.
Sure enough, when I had my mammogram, they sent me right to the ultrasound room. The tech left the room, brought the radiologist right away, and she wanted to do a biopsy right then and there.
Now my gut knew for sure, but it was kind of surreal. It was like I knew but I didn't. I was in a fog.
The results came back positive for ADH, but the radiologist told me that the lump was so large, she didn't trust that there wasn't cancer somewhere in it. She also told me that the surgeon would take out the worst looking parts and leave the rest since the lump was so large. I sure wish I would have told her boss what she had said (this was back in 2010). It sent me into a panic mode...why would the surgeon leave some in there that could be cancer???Luckily my surgeon wasn't a dumbass like the radiologist (who graduated from Harvard!!!) and told me she would take the whole thing out.
Throughout this whole mess, my partner, Brian, didn't believe it was cancer until I got the phone call from the surgeon. It was still horrific to get the knews from the surgeon that it was cancer even though I pretty much knew.
0 -
I am currently in waiting, I see my doctor on Monday for results from my ultrasound and mammo. It is a long and agonizing wait. I feel like just picking up the phone and demand they tell me something right now. I try to think positive, I mean thats what everyone saids right? well sometimes I catch myself thinking negatively and I smack myself for it. I have 5 kids and I am a single mom, I HAVE to be positive and WILL be positive. Everyone on here keeps talking about "lumps" and feeling "lumps", this isn't my case, I never felt a lump and still don't but something showed up on my ultrasound, (I'm confused). Should I be able to feel it? Also, it was sore on my left side of my breast two weeks ago, but since starting my period, the pain has gone away.
0 -
Nope. Didn't have a clue. No lump - it was found on routine mammogram. Even after the biopsy I was convinced it was nothing ... until I got the phone call.
0 -
llhines...if your pain went away during your period, that is a good sign. That indicates fibrocystic breasts, and cyclical pain is common with that condition.
Cysts that come and go are also part of fibrocystic breast condition. I have fibrocystic breasts myself, and a thick lump forms then goes with my period.
I also have a harder lump deeper in my breast. I really had to dig around and push in deep to find it. It's possible that you have cysts deep in the breast that you just haven't been able to find. What did they see on your u/s? Did they see lumps or calcifications?
0 -
I knew when they called me back for another Mammo, then they said they wanted to Biopsy it. The pathologist told me it looked benign yet I still knew deep inside.
I had no signs at all and no family history.
It's weird to say it but I was kind of relieved when I was told it was cancer. 3 months of testing and people telling me not to worry was really starting to take a toll.
So yes, I knew. How? Not sure I just did.
0 -
@MishaT, The person who did my ultrasound said they looked like fluid filled cysts to her, but I'm wondering how experienced she could be. She asked a couple questions during the test such as; did I have radiation when I had hodgkins lymphoma (which I did), where I had the radiation done at on my body (which was my neck/chest area) and when was my last mammogram (which was 2 years ago). I don't know what it means that she asked these questions, but should I be worried? My radiation doctor has told me that since I had radiation in the chest area, that I could very well someday develop breast cancer. I don't know what to think:(
0 -
Yes, when they told me I needed extra views and an ultrasound, I just knew it. I said to my self," I'm ready to go, it'll be yes". No one else in my family with b/c. All previous mammos neg. Couldn't feel a thing. I just had the lumpectomy and sentinel node biopsy and am waiting for the pathology results.
0 -
I didn't have any feelings that it was cancer when I felt the lump. Actually, I was sure my "odds" of it being cancer were large. It wasn't until my gynecologist called me ON THE WAY HOME from my mammogram. I had only left the office 10 minutes. I knew then that this wasn't going to be a B9 ending.
0 -
I had no idea. Went to my yearly mammogram and sent a letter to come back. That's when I started to get a bad feeling. My mom had died of BC 24 years before but I never spent time worrying about it. But it is what is. I am now 2 years cancer free and moving on.
Nancy
0 -
I just had my biopsy yesterday and although 80-85% are generally benign (microcalcs in a cluster) I have a bad feeling for various reasons. I hope and pray I am wrong. My gut is saying it is BC but sometimes our gut instinct is totally off. Other times, it is totally on point.
Praying hard for B-9 results!
0
