Breast Cancer Symptoms - a comprehensive list from those w/bc
Comments
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Tracy - Dx at 27 in December 1999
Symptoms:
- A palpable lump
- Fatigue
My doctors all thought it was a Fibroadenoma (I'd had several prior to my DX), and that I was "Too Young for BC"). This lump felt different though. It was harder and immobile, unlike my prior DX Fibroadenomas. Luckily, my surgeon gave me the choice to remove it or "monitor for 3 months and revisit". I asked him to remove it, and to everyone's shock it turned out to be stage 1B IDC.
Tracy
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I was DXed with IBC in December 2013. Symptoms came on overnight and were:
Inverted nipple
A squishy mass that was only felt in a scar from a benign surgery done 10 years earlier
Treatment was begun very quickly because it was IBC: within two weeks I had my first chemo. I'm now starting my second year of NED. I think there's no real symptom guide, we are all unique.
bride
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i can't believe how many people have slipped through the mammogram crack! So infuriating.
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Mammos often don't pick up ILC. And dense breast tissue can make mammos less effective. It's not perfect, that is for sure.
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I had a partial hysterectomy one month after my father passed, due to heavy bleeding over a long period of time and low iron. 7 months later, a roux en y bypass surgery, lost 150 lbs, followed by extended abdomnioplasty , breast augmentation with saline implants and removal of 12 lbs of skin. During all of this, my mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. My grandmother passed from cervical cancer. I was checked regularly by my gynaecologist. I move down to a different province(my hometown) 6 years later and thought I was fine. Maintained weight loss, started to lose more weight. Hot flashes, night sweats, memory loss indifferent to anything that was once fulfilling. Went for yearly screening(wonderful Dr). She did complete checkup. Arranged for me to have diagnostic mammogram Andy regular mammogram. I couldn't figure out why she set up both. I found a hard walnut sized lump in my left breast and a pea size lump in my right breast. . No pain, but I a man worried. There is no history of breast cancer in my family , but cervical,ovarian,and bone. My diagnostic is this Wednesday and i am
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Well, I return. Mets. And so I add the symptoms experienced this time.
The cough. I thought it was an allergy to my daughter's short-haired dog. Or was it from getting accidentally exposed to moldy garden hay when my mask fell off. Or the moldy bag of peat moss? An allergy / asthma doc confirmed asthma but from what? Massive dust mites? Trees I had lived around my entire life? Asthma arsenal in hand so I did not end up in the ER and the cough continued. After tx I was worse, not better. Phlegm that never stopped. When I tried to take a bite of food I coughed. Could it be I ate too many tomatoes, nightshade plant fruits like peppers and potatoes from my organic garden? Histamine overload? I stopped those, fermented, pickled, onions, sugar, nuts, seeds, eggs, GLUTEN. I got worse. Hoarse, cranky. Wheezy. Breathless. Could not lean to the right, pain or sore in side, and coughing. Also could barely talk. Coughing seizures in the night.
FIVE doctors, DNPs, oncologists later seeing me on multiple appts. "I don't think this is cancer." I trusted that doctor and believed it though I had bumped up an appointment by a full month and expected to be getting a scan scheduled. But he said.... The vocal chords having flipped was a possibility. Pulmonologist appt but it was too far away to wait. Could not sleep on right side, saw stars. Started to black out when coughing. Swollen areas popped up in clavicle, chest. One doctor proposed either MRI or CT. Then did not get anything done despite five calls from me. Meantime, equilibrium took a hit when swelling from nodes around neck pressured onto right ear. Am now at the point of a wheelchair doe to fall risk and blacking out when i cough if I am standing. Yup. Cannot pick up anything or lean over, lift arms over head or do much now. And cannot turn head to the right, a cough is the result, and it hurts.
Good news. The oncologist in charge of my care was called on his private number by Hubby on Friday when his staff again put off an earlier request on an appointment and did not give him the full message that I NEEDED a scan. My onc had me in the PT CT scan on Monday. I won't throw him under the bus but I am very unhappy and working my way through this one.
Bad news. Cancer had spread on right side of body to multiple node groups - multiples in each group for the most part. Also seems mets to liver. I think I followed that part correctly. Partial blockage to the superior vena cava vein, major heart vein (not artery, my heart on ECHO was great). So almost Superior Vena Cava Syndrome but not it. Partial blockage in airway on right and a collapse of the anterior top lung lobe - thus the back pain on LEFT side in my case.
SUMMARY: cough, hoarseness, breathlessness, endless phlegm, sore side, back pain! swelling around soft tissue areas though for me that came last.
My labs were drawn every month. No clue whatsoever. by the way, thyroid cancer of which I had every symptom does not reveal itself on labs. So I was quite concerned there too. A few more labs await tomorrow, to be certain this is bc reoccurrence. Or was it ever really gone?
Best of life and love to all of you. It's just another adventure. This time, for me, I am going to have to step up and explain to them why they have some explaining to do.
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Thank you all for sharing. You are all absolutely amazing and brave. I'm not diagnosed yet but very worried about my swollen armpit node and breast pain.
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I had no symptoms whatsoever other than an intense itch that started about 8 months prior to my diagnosis. Although I googled breast itching and it was included in BC symptoms on some sites, I really did not think I had BC - maybe that's what I wanted to believe. Anyway when I went for my annual mammo, I was called back for US at which time they did a 3D mammo and immediately scheduled a biopsy. Still I refused to think BC especially when I read that the vast majority of biopsies were negative. Needless to say, I was dead wrong!
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I took a geneology test from a popular online dna testing site; I then used those results and submitted them online to have a health-related genetic report created. The results showed that I had a 5x greater risk of developing breast cancer. After becoming aware of this risk, I started paying more attention to my breasts and noticed over a period of about 9 months how they appeared to become very "vascular"; I could see blue veins running under the skin of my breasts when I had never seen that so obviously before. Turned out that I had bilateral synchronous breast cancer when I went for my 3-D mammogram, which was recommended due to my dense breast tissue. Never felt a lump.
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Hi DeeEm,
I found a small, hard lump in the outside of my right breast a few months ago (slightly smaller than a pea), and being in professional school, moving cities, to changing insurance, I put off getting it checked. It also just seemed so superficial, pretty mobile, and smooth. I just wasn't incredibly concerned.
I had an appointment with my nurse practitioner 2 days ago thinking she would tell me it was nothing to worry about, and, of course, I'm here, so that is clearly not what happened. I have an ultrasound 3/18, and I am dreading this week + of waiting.
When I got home from my appointment, I just stared at it. I knew to look for lumps, rashes, discharge, and hadn't noticed any other symptoms aside from this little bump. As I stared in the mirror regretting that I had put this off, I noticed the increased vasculature of my right breast compared to my left. I have always had somewhat 'veiny' breasts, and from the front they seemed relatively comparable. But when I turn to the side, the outside of my right breast has a lot more visible vessels that appear larger and that virtually all to lead to this bump. It makes so much sense to me as a symptom. I am mad I had never noticed it before now, and I appreciate you posting your experience noticing it.
I also have developed a much stronger odor in my right armpit in recent months. It almost smells like 'stale' BO and happens so quickly after I shower I find myself reapplying deoderant multiple times a day.
About a month and a half ago, I developed a stress fracture running and had my vitamin D levels checked. I had severe vitamin D deficiency (8).
I've also been stressed and drained, but I am in veterinary school, so that is to be expected.
I have always had trouble focusing and memory problems, but in recent months, it has gotten to the point that it has affected not just my school/studies, but my relationships. It has been very frustrating to me and those around me. Last month I decided I had to do something about it and went back on medication for ADD. I had no idea that people thought that may be a symptom attributed to breast cancer.
I am only 26 years old. I do check some boxes for risk factors, though: family history of bc (maternal grandmother, maternal aunt), family history of prostate cancer, low vit. D, early-ish first period (11).
Thank you for providing a special forum for people like me. It's hard to process while not having answers. Sometimes I feel like my fear is an overreaction, and I also find myself not talking to anyone about it for fear of worrying them. I have told my fiance, but I basically said it's just a precaution and it’s most likely nothing, which I know, statistically speaking, is true. But it doesn't help the constant anxiety I feel. (Side note: I am seeing a therapist to vent and have a no-judgement conversation about my fears. I know keeping it all in and not letting people be there for me is not healthy.)
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Thank you for all this great information.
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bump
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Bump
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Ah, I wish that this thread had not been bumped.
Personal anecdotes are interesting, and for that one individual they may reflect the reality of what happened, but they don't have any relevance for most everyone else. The lists of "symptoms" over these 14 pages is so long that I can guarantee that anyone reading who is scared and concerned, but who has not (yet) been diagnosed with breast cancer, is sure to find her symptoms listed. How scary is that? Yet the vast majority of those "Not Diagnosed But Worried" readers will in the end not be diagnosed with breast cancer.
Most people who have the symptoms listed in this thread do not have breast cancer. And while most (but not all) of the posters discussing their symptoms here have been diagnosed with breast cancer, what's not known in many cases is whether these symptoms had anything to do with the diagnosis. The most common age to develop breast cancer happens also to be when women go through peri-menopause, pre-menopause and menopause, and believe me, that can cause havoc on the female body. 45 and feeling run down? Even if you are diagnosed with breast cancer, it's probably the "change of life" that is causing you to feel run down, not the breast cancer. There are also lots of very common breast conditions that many women have had over their lives - cysts, fibroadenomas, a long list of other fibrocystic conditions (60% of women have fibrocystic breasts), blocked milk ducts, etc. - that have no bearing on a future diagnosis of breast cancer. Pain in the breast because of a blocked duct almost certainly has no connection to a diagnosis of breast cancer in the same breast 10 years later (not picking on anyone's post here, I just made up this example based on a broad reading of the thread).
Certainly there are some strange symptoms that some people have had that in the end have turned out to be a sign of breast cancer. And certainly while we are often told that breast cancer doesn't cause pain, sometimes pain can be a sign of breast cancer. So I'm not suggesting that we ignore symptoms but rather that we look at each individual and her particular situation and symptoms, not a long list of symptoms (that maybe are not symptoms) compiled by other people.
35andworried, you have started your own thread and have been getting feedback about your situation. That is much more relevant to you than anything you will read here about what happened to some other person. I know you are heading to a biopsy tomorrow. The fact that you have been sent for the biopsy means that there is legitimate reason for concern, and a breast cancer diagnosis is possible. But the odds are in your favor:
Good luck with the biopsy tomorrow. Here's hoping you land in with the 80% who have a benign result.
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The biopsy results were not good.
Notice I didn't post any symptoms? However, I was curious at the time and found this thread helpful. If you read all the way back to the first post on this thread, it says the same thing you just said. Thank you for your opinion.
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I am so sorry 35andWorried
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