Does Breast Cancer Hurt - honest truth from bc patients
Comments
-
Welcome to BCO northrancher, we hope you find this forum to be of help.
Pain does not seem to be a determinant as to problems being bad or good. You'll need to wait (horrid time)for results from your scans. You have a lot on your mind, with DH surgery coming soon too.
We wish you the best for a benign result and finding a solution to the minor pain.
The Mods
0 -
Thank you very much for responding and for the good wishes. This thread has helped me immensely.
I had a clear mammogram last April. My doctor, who didn't examine me, did not hesitate to order these tests based on pain alone, given my age & family history. I asked him if he would order them when the pain didn't go away after almost 2 months, so that I had some resolution before my DH's surgery.
I read in an article written by a BC specialist that when post-menopausal women present with pain and no lump it's oftentimes muscular-skeletal or referral pain from another part of the body. (Happy to post the link to that article, if that's allowed here.) I'm hoping this is the case with me. Crossing my fingers it's not serious, so that both my DH and I are not battling disease at the same time.
I'll be back to post my results, just in case it might help others with similar symptoms.
EDIT: I just wanted to add that my mother had pain and a lump. It was the pain that led her to finding that lump and it saved her life. She had a radical mastectomy & removal of lymph nodes; no chemo or radiation and she was a BC survivor.
0 -
I didn't have any pain.. Was feeling great before my routine mammogram.. Obviously it's different for everyone. I guess all we can do is if we have any change, whether it be lump., puckering, inflammation, pain, whatever...is be persistent and make sure we have the proper round of tests done. We can't assume anything, one way or the other., by whether we have pain or not.
.
0 -
Yeah it hurts. Mainly for mothers who are have childrens don't feed their childrens due to this problem. Mothers love their children. They want to feed their own milk to their generation.
0 -
There are many different signs - I had none whatsoever - no external signs, no pain, nothing. If CT scan (done for something totally different) had not picked it up it would be there still. Every doc was keen to look at my breast but had to admit there was absolutely nothing to see. Keep up your mammos.
0 -
i agree with everyone, i believe that you know your body the best and its important to pay attention in those moments when your body speaks to you..
I have awful sharp pin pricking bee stinging shock pains in my left breast and everyone under the sun says BC cant be pain including my doctor and NP but reading this proves it totally can!
0 -
I had to comment . I had the bee sting pain as well .. It Would go from my nipple deep to my chest bone. It would come and go .
0 -
So, we must get providers to stop saying such stupid things like "breast cancer does not hurt". My grandmother's and mother cancer never hurt. My auntie's and sister's cancer both hurt. It is clear to me that sometimes it hurts.
I am having two biopsies this morning. My problematic breast has been having electric shooting pains and a burning nipple off and on. I had no idea I had lymph node issues until my ultrasound. Ever since then, I have tons of lymph nodes under the arm and below my collarbone that are pretty angry.
Don't let anyone ignore your pain and say that it can't be cancer.
Wishing you all love and light and B9 results!
0 -
I have had the sharp needle like pain as well. It started months ago, although, it went away so I figured it was a fluke. When it came back, I went to my dr. which was 3-4 weeks or so ago. I also noticed thickening on that side, but I have dense breasts anyway, and often go through the thicker breasts close to my period and then it subsides, so that wasn't totally abnormal. The weird needle like pain was/is though. I go in this morning for my biopsy. What I don't understand (and will ask), is why they don't just remove it vs. take a sample. Even if it's a solid cyst, I'd rather have the whole thing out.
My dr. also mentioned that bc usually doesn't hurt, but I don't know why they say this at all. It obviously can hurt. I do wonder if like some have said, it depends on where it's located, etc. I think anything from a cyst to bc can hurt, because neither one should be there and could be touching a nerve or whatever. I've always had sore breasts certain times of the month, so I've never run to the dr. just for that. But the stabbing pain was definitely different. After reading many of these posts, I can easily see how many who are waiting for their biopsies might start thinking the worst, but I'll bet that there are just as many who had pain and are no longer on these boards because their biopsy came back benign. Just throwing that out there for others like myself who have pain and are heading in for their biopsies. I do believe that bc can hurt, but so can benign issues.
Worried but trying to be optimistic too.
0 -
I had intermittent throbbing pain that worsened over the last year and half. Oddly, it has been fairly quiet lately.
0 -
Good afternoon ladies, I hope all goes well for you! It is nothing until it is something, so take a breath and try to relax. The waiting game is the worst of it until the results come back.
0 -
Mine didn't hurt, but I knew when I first felt it that it didn't feel right.
0 -
I felt absolutely no pain at all. You would think that if something was trying to kill me I would feel it.
0 -
Hi,
I haven't been diagnosed but I do have an appointment with my primary care doctor Tuesday, March 10th, 2015. I just joined this forum last night. I have been reading the posts about the pain before diagnosis. I've had a feeling in the upper center of my left breast for several months now. I described it to my husband yesterday like getting a shot, but the bee sting would actually be a more accurate description of the pain. I have had regular mammograms every year since I turned 40 until this year. I was scheduled for mine last Wednesday but hubby was in the hospital so I had to reschedule. There has never been anything show up in my mammograms before, but, I found a hard lump in my upper center left breast exactly where the pain is coming from. The lump is about the size of the end of your thumb. I have searched the internet for information about this and found nothing until I found the blog that lead me to this site. I appreciate ALL the information I've read here but I still don't know where to turn next. I suppose I will have to wait on my doctor. There is one good thing going for me. I live in Texas where we have some excellent oncologist, cancer treatment centers here and in Oklahoma. I am doing a lot of praying but that's nothing new, well, praying for myself is new, but I do have a very deep seeded faith. I know that God takes care of His own.
0 -
for a few months before DX I would get a bee sting kind of feeling a few times a day..
0 -
I had sharp pains that would happen in the right breast which had the cancer in it. They would be sharp pains that would not last, but sure did hurt. The pains did increase as time went on and found out from US that it was cancer. I did read online beforehand, that cancer normally does not cause pain, don't know where that came from. It makes sense that cancer anywhere could cause pain.
0 -
Yes, it does cause pain. Get your mammogram. Make them do an u/s. If they find nothing, ask for a biopsy. I don't know it it would have made any difference if I had done that when my pain first started but I am sure glad I did it now.
0 -
I also had brief bee sting feelings at the exact location where the cancer was found. At the time, I thought it might be somehow related to having carried some extra heavy loads of things. A couple of months later I was diagnosed from a routine mammogram. It was only later that I made the connection. I, too, had always heard that breast cancer doesn't hurt plus I could feel no lump. I wish this symptom was made known
0 -
like you manu14 along with the bee sting feelings I never had a lump and was DX on my routine mammogram..It was on my left side and was actually seeing the doctor as I was worried these pains were a heart issue..
0 -
Hello ladies! I had an annual mammogram January 2014, which was clear. Fast forward to September 2014 I had breast pain that radiated down my arm. My breast was very itchy, as well as painful. Two of my co-workers also were having biopsies, which came back normal, which tempted me to not do anything. I began Self check of my breast and found a lump, which prompted me to call my Dr. Went in for exam and they reassured me that cancer doesn't hurt, but did schedule a sonogram. After the sonogram I was referred to a breast center for biopsy. Malignant IDC tumor! I had no family history nor do I have any genetics , as my BRCA test came back negative. Cancer can have pain is what I tell others, as everyone's body is different. My tumor was 1.5 cm, which they believe was too small to be found in January on the mammogram and I have dense breasts, which makes the visibility even more challenging..
0 -
So even the pros are telling people it doesn't hurt.
0 -
Just a quick FYI. I had a 2cm lump and absolutely NO pain. Had IDC. My co-worker was undergoing chemo when I first met her and I asked what her symptoms were. She said pain.So I think it can be either way. Best to not second guess and go get a biopsy if in doubt.
0 -
mine didn't hurt untill I found the lump and then it started to hurt. I am thinking it was because I was feeling it all the time
0 -
Hello I've been away from the board for a couple of yrs but I find myself coming back when I feel the need to vent and possibly get feedback.. It was the pain that led me to ILC. It was the inner spirit in me that demanded a lumpectomy. The surgeon wanted to to aspirate. It was the tissue that came out with the lump that was ILC. he said he would not have found it with aspiration. I have had pain in my left area ,(ILC side)below clavicle, for 3 yrs now. It has widened and has heat now. Had PET/MRI 3 yrs ago but nothing showed. My gut tells me not to ignore it. I'll be 5 yrs out in Aug this yr. I wish I knew which test would truthfully show whats going on in that area. Anyone's input would be greatly appreciated.
0 -
This all makes me suspect positive daignosis will be issued even moreso. No, its not scaring me...but honestly validating my thoughts for awhile. For months Ive been saying Ive had pains in armpits. They kept dismissing it. Actually went back to 2 years ago when that started. My primary dr then wanted to give me a steroid to stop me from sweating from armpits at anytime to see if thats what it was. When I simply had the lipoma around Sept of last year I was worried before I knew it was a lipoma bc both armpits hurt at that time still. They removed it. Said the removal was the reason. Then why would my other armpit hurt? They couldnt just take it more seriously instead of badgering me about not being 40 and not needing a mamm? So frustrating. But whats most interesting is that you mention the emotions. Everyone keeps telling me that its in my head. That its because Im worried it s hurting it is. That may be partially accurate. When Im sad or worried about something else its much more obvious. Plus...I have been woken up to the stabbing pain in the middle of the night when I know Im not really thinking about stressful stuff. I have been dealing with it because they all ignored me. Just randomly doing something and feeling like I got stabbed. I was sitting with arms crossed at my dads and he said "do you always hug yourself?" No! My armpits are hurting and it felt better that way. Then I was able to accurately describe the band of heat I felt in both armpits but going around my back about 4 inches wide from pit to pit. There is so much heat in those areas now and I try to find reasons for that. All I come up with is everything is connected. Thank you for writing this. I too was comforted by thinking it wouldnt be painful and now I am assured not to listen to anyone but myself
0 -
Honestly, I think this is often just a matter of incompetence or inexperience on the part of many doctors. I was diagnosed with ILC and 2 breast surgeons dismissed it as not relevant. Because the second one was trying to see if lx was an option, she had further imaging done and found 2 more cancers in the same breast and a + node after 2 more biopsies. The last BS I found (and who will be my BS) finally discussed the nature of lobular. He said they used to describe it in a politically incorrect way regarding native Americans, which I won't tell you but suffice it to say, he said it is like tree branches and hard to find. I am very glad I sought out extra opinions and didn't just listen to the first two surgeons. I have now been moved from stage 2 to 3, which the BS tells me isn't a big deal but it does scare you a bit to hear it. The first two surgeons were very well regarded. In fact, I was surprised that the 3rd guy actually went on and on about what a great reputation the first guy has.
0 -
Tryler- what kind of imaging did you breast surgeon order when he found more cancer in the same breast and a positive node? I think some Imaging test are more successful in finding Lobular. That's why mine was found in the tissue and not the lump. tree branches are hard to find-that makes perfect sense! That's why Lobular is found to be sneaky. thank you for writing! Anymore info you can give me on lobular will be greatly appreciated! THANK YOU!!!!
Karen Mazz dont give up on your instinct that something is very wrong. Keep trying different doctors until someone will listen.. I know it's very frustrating for you. the good Lord gave you that inner spirit to guide you-use it-some people call it gut feeling, instinct , ect. dont give up!!
0 -
Mtks: She just did a much better job of a mammogram and ultrasound. I have implants so mammograms are tough on me but the tech really pushed much harder than the other place did and the radiologist at the second place spent about 40 minutes compared to about 10 the first place did on the u/s. I think they were just way more thorough. There is a whole section on Lobular (ILC). Join us over there. That is where I even learned the difference between the two types.
0 -
Thank you Tryler!!! I'll go to the lobular section. I had no idea there were 2 types of lobular!????? Amazing what a person can learn on this board. It gives me peace having more knowledge......
0 -
Mtks: I will look for you over in ILC.
0
