Does Breast Cancer Hurt - honest truth from bc patients
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whoops I mean ladies.
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Was just online and noticed your post come on this topic. I read back from Jan 10 or so. What I have been thinking all along for you, and the radiologist confirms my idea - you find a new doctor and clinic or team. I certainly hope you live in a place where it is possible and your insurance or medical care will allow this for you. Because already the stress you have been through for no reason is to me unacceptable.
Hugs for you. You will build your BC team, if that is what it is, one by one. You need to be able to trust them with your life. You have BCO here, part of the team, and now to find a doctor who will get you in asap and not leave you doing the heavy work with techs who turn on you. Mine swirled around that office like the good witch and had me in for test almost immediately. You need that until you know what is causing this pain.
Let's talk cysts, benign even. They are displacing breast tissue and that could really hurt, though not always. Malignant, the same, could, and maybe doesn't. At least you know from reading this thread - bc can indeed hurt and no one can tell you otherwise.
This is called a journey for a reason, and here it begins, sorry ladies, not the trip you hoped for. I have all hope the pain and cysts and all are not bc and can be easily remedied.
Keep sharing, and check out the other thread, at the top in intro, for the symptoms of breast cancer and all the women who shared on that thread. A lot more than pain can be clues to follow too.
LOVEEssa
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BUMP Topic - Too important.
Thanks Y
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Thanks so much for your help and advice Madbluebird. Hugs.
Val
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Mine Hurt off & on for 4 years Vail. But I had a team that would check things out. It's so true what MadBlueBird said. If you have something growing & its displacing the tissue/nerves around it. Why wouldn't it Hurt!????!!!! It doesn't have to be BC it can bs a plain ole regular cyst. If youlive in the US in Pennsylvania pm ME here I will get you to the right place. There is NO reason why that Dr. can't drain them to relieve the pain & when they drain they still have or should send the fluid for Pathology! Let us know how things are going!
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That's what I really believed would happen to me, draining an infected duct or a cyst. I could feel it, it hurt. My sister said , bc doesn't hurt she heard. I thought, well then. And she said her friend had a something drained and was all good. And I went in (finally) because I figured I was doen with the pool wherre the infection probably started. My nurse practitioner almost a doctor then told me, this is bc until proven otherwise. I was like, wow, you aren't going to try draining it? No, she said, you need tests, mammo, US first. She had me line up for tests the same day but I couldn't go until the next day. She was aggressive, as I said, like the good witch swirling around her offices, got it all done, always made it happen. I appreciate her all the more when I read stories of those who have to demand their due testing and concern from medical staff. Just thought I would share that. And one more thing, with all the concern she had, I still heard, bc does not hurt come from her. Now she knows it does.
LOVEEssa
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Mom was stage one and had pain. She had never had a mammo even though she had regulars check ups. the doctors had never sent her. 3 mo after a regular exam she felt pain, went to the doctor and it was stage one.
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Essa nothing was seen 4 years ago. But now with my DX I believe that was close to the start of it all since it's a fast growing BC I was DX with last year. In fact nothing was seen in my yearly mammo 7 months prior to the mammo & US for pain red area that found a complex cyst. My breast surgeon who I have had since my fist biopsy 5 years ago this coming May for suspicious calcifications found in my second mammo at age 41. Also the same breast (L) as the BC found last year different area. He thought this complex cyst was nothing but it turned out to be a solid tumor not a cyst at all. So sometimes all the pics can be deceiving. The pain & redness that led me to get checked early was at the first biopsy site at the nipple. But the achy pain I had been having off & on for 4 years was right where they found my tumor. I will say the last year the achy pain was happening more often & for longer times. I am just glad I had Drs that didnt blow it off & say it's nothing or wait & see attitudes. I would rather have a B9 DX than a DX a year or more down the road with a more advanced tumor! I would have fought for testing had my Drs tried to blow it off. I would of found a new Dr for sure! I know that is easier said than done for many though!
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My breast was painful for several months before diagnosis and I passed a mammogram 6 weeks before mastectomy for stage 3 cancer (lobular which does not show up on mammogram) so if you have painful breasts and think it is more than menstrual cycle don´t give up, trust yourself and get more tests - lobular only shows up well on MRI....and it does not have a lump either just tissue changes.............as time went by my old breast became more and more painful and heavy and it also hurt around my shoulder and shoulder blade on that side
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I experienced some acute, tender to the touch pain last week while exercising, on the outside of my left breast. Found some lumps that dont appear to be in the right breast. I am 30 years old and 12 weeks post partum, breastfed for 4 weeks. I went to my Dr who said it feels like a fibrocystic area and he isn't worried but I do go for a mammo and u/s next week as he sends everyone presenting with new breast issues for screening. He gave me the whole "breast cancer doesnt hurt" line. The pain had mostly gone away between the onset last Friday and my appt Wed but after exercising Wed night and Fri morning this week, it's back. However now I'm noticing my pectoral muscle, neck, shoulder and ribs on the left are sore and tight and it seems as if the muscle pain is causing the breast pain, not the other way around but there is like shooting pain into the breast. This my baby holding/feeding/carrying arm too so is getting its fair share of use. is it likely that is the case rather than the pain originating from the breast? I have been worrying myself sick even though the Dr said not to worry and I am so anxious about the screening next week
there seems to be a greatly varying degree of information out there and I know google is not accurate but obviously a lot of Drs are saying cancer doesn't hurt when clearly, it can. 0 -
Bump for info
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Boy if that is ever a myth. I consider myself lucky that my underwire irritated mine or I wouldn't have gone in to have it checked. I had burning pain and nearly passed out when they did the mammogram. I didn't have a lump, just pain.
My 2cents, if you feel pain get it checked.0 -
Mine hurts. Getting the bugger removed on Friday (excisional Biopsy/lumpectomy). Hoping for a diagnosis of something! MRI didn't show the lump, ultrasound did. Best wishes to everyone else!
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Essa, did you ever find out more about your pain responding to emotion? Do you think it was psychosomatic or possibly related to estrogen or something else physical?
I ask because my as yet undiagnosed lump is constantly achy/uncomfy but seems to maybe get more achy/painful when I am anxious/upset. It's probably in my head but it was interesting to see you say that about yours.0 -
Hello,
I just discover my lump after having grey and white discharge. Its on the lower area of my breast on the left and can only be felt when I lay down. The doctor could only feel it when I lay down also. The doc said its about 1 cm andd bean shaped.The lump itself does not hurt, but my breast does! The right gas no discharge or lumps, but too is sore, kind of like when I was nursing and got too full. I haven't breastfed in 12 years so the doctor said its probably not a milk duct. She too said pain is a good sign . I feel very hormonal, weepy and tierd. I get a mammo January 28th. I glad to have found this site not only to read other experiences, but it helps with not feeling alone. There is no bc In my family and I have never known anyone with bc, so all of my questions and concerns are left to my doctor. Thank you for starting these. discussions. :-)
P.S. Has anyone else experienced discharge?0 -
WOW, thanks for the infoJulz4, I think the docs think this is in my head. Update as of yesterday, my medical doctor read my ultra sound results that said.......MOST of the cysts are benign. Ahhh, so does that mean there is a problem? AND the radiologist highly recommends that I go for an MRI. My doctor didn't go into detail. MOST, what the hell does that mean? So the MRI office just called and I have a feeling I will get this done tomorrow.
I don't know what to expect. Though for the last couple of nights, the itchiness has started big time! and I keep taking pictures of my hive rash. At times my left nipple looks like it is pointing down, but the feeling of leaking is driving me nuts. No fluid as of yet, but I'm constantly checking like the hoover damn was opened.
Are MRI's pretty good at seeing everything?
Thanks ladies.
Hugs
Val from Ontario, Canada.
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Good info to know that the lobular bc does not show on mammos.
Val - I really only like MRIs and thermograms for giving me the trust facts. But good luck getting them paid for by insurance, eh.
I recall my nipple pointing down too. Don't know if I mentioned it or remember which one was but one was different than had been in my lifetime and I attributed it to growing old. *___*
The pain in mass area, even now with the mass removed, I have the same pain. I get po'ed or anxious or sad and it hurts right there like a ZING. I don't think of it as psychosomatic, feel it is very real and I need to pay attention to the stressors because somehow stress feeds cancer too.
Pain and itching can also be healing times. After the surgery I had a lot of both as I healed and with the alternative choices, during healing times I itch inside. There is a lot to pay attention to.
Thanks for the bumps on this thread.
LOVEEssa0 -
MadBluebird-Essa.....eh....funny girl.
Well we are experiencing -45 temps...burrI'm covered by the military for the MRIs. Whew. Truely lucky on that part.
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ValL sorry I was MIA (Working)! I am too glad you are covered by an MRI!!! I had the mammo & US the same day. They wouldn't do the request MRI by the Radiologist. So I went to BS who did the fine needle biopsy...path said Atypical Hyperplasia. My BS wanted a Bilateral MRI & he fought for it & got it! MRI said BC so then I got a Core Needle biopsy. Long & drawn out but it was so I only had to go under Anesthesia once! Had the MRI been done first I could of cut out One biopsy & maybe 2 months of waiting!
As for the pain...think about it, when tissue is displaced by something growing it could/most likely press on nerves! Just thinking that this could be a cause.
Wondering if you have heard anything yet???
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Hi julz4, no problem, working also and trying to get some family time in.
I really don't understand why the "professials" hesitate but so glad your BS pushed for you. So it's true that the MRI sees everything more then an ultrasound? I'm sorry you have BC but thankfully they found it. So many people get the results when it is at an unbelievable stage.I thought about that....nerves because of the tumor building..... The itchyness was soooo bad Friday night I took my pumus stone to it....ouch i know, but the itch wouldn't go away. I keep looking at my nipple, and to me it does not look right. Kind of droopy then the other one. I don't know what to think.
As for the MRI, I can't get in until this Thurday coming, as there needs to be a doctor around when they inject the blue dye. I will keep you posted.
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Ladies,
I have been away for a few days. I say "LISTEN TO YOUR BODIES" no one knows it like you do...I know of more than one instance where the 'patient' ended up being better at diagnosing than the Doctors.
I wish you each the best in your care.
Vickie
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Yes, I had pain for at least a year. I would press my forearm, with blended elbow, on my breast and say" my breast hurts", then jus go on.
Today, it hurts if I'm stressed or have not been doing my natural therapies. The doctor said that pain could mean something good, it may ; but, in my opinion it is not usually a good sign.
Other symptoms, CRAZY tiredness and unexpalined appetite and weight loss.0 -
Hi - checking in, thanks Vickie for taking such good care of this important thread!
Bluebelle what natural therapies? Massages? Acupuncture? Supplemental? I do know if the cancer cells are going through ATP (apotosis, natural death which is being forced upon them by whatever when they didn't) then there can be pain too, I vouch for that. I don't know if chemo will do this? Did you have a surgery you are still recovering from, mine hurt for months, still does in many ways.
I am visiting two new oncs in next 2 wks, will choose one of these two in network and open-minded, then my follow-up time. Except memory issues that hit at intervals, I am doing well on my protocol. There feels like internal bone bruising in back and side though that scares my but Hubby reminded me that I was head-butted by our happy huge 160# Newfie when I was playing with him, so I just wish it would go away now then, right. Cancer makes all these little things scary I guess.
LOVEEssa
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Hi Brandie McD,
Was it cancer? I'm in the same situation, waiting to find out about a mass that shows up on ultrasound, but not MRI. I'm hoping that means it's benign. I'm getting a second opinion on the radiology. I hope you are well and the mass was successfully removed!
Thanks, Blubelle0 -
Good evening ladies,
Well I had my MRI on Thursday now I wait. I read that the waiting is one of the most anxious times, and now I know. I am crying, thinking, what if ing. I am so tired these last couple of weeks, like I can't catch up on my sleep. The scary thing for me is I have hardly any feeling of my nipple and yesterday I was running on the treadmill and the jiggle of my breast was not natural. It felt like it was being pulled on. Today after my shower and doing research I believe my left breast has "thickened", as it feels not as squishy as the other breast. Am I going nuts or has anyone experience this also?
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MadBluebird,
You are most welcome. I have found sooo much support here since my diagnosis, that I certainly hope to help other unfortunate gals....Thank you for starting it....
Vickie
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If it's ok with the women on this forum I'd love to print out some of these posts and take them to my oncologist, names removed. She keeps telling me cancer NEVER hurts. I've had invasive ductal carcinoma twice, both times had the intense bee sting type pain others have described. There is now another area with that pain and she is kind of writing it off saying it's nothing to be concerned about. Thinking I need a new doctor, and she needs new training. Thank-you for this post though!
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Hi Essa,
You may already know it, but..... To learn about what natural remedies I am using look at Topic: Alternative Therapy Working and Forum: Alternative Therapies.
I posted it earlier today.
If you want to know how it's going these past110 months, go to:
Topic: I've been treating BC naturally
Forum: Just Diagnosed
Blessings, Blubelle0 -
Yes, I have read those. I understand quite a bit on most of your choices but have little experience with most of yours. I will go now to answer your pm. Thanks - Essa
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I'm still waiting to find out what exactly my lump is because mine showed up on ultrasound but not the mammogram which was done after. The radiologist is doing it himself in three weeks from now. I was so glad to read this thread because although I do not know what the lump is my doctor insisted it could not be cancerous because it is very painful.....thus no hurry to redo the ultrasound or do the biopsy. The area where the lump is, ductal area as well as my the top of my ribs and armpits are very painful. The last two weeks have gotten worse.
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