Was your breast lump painful?
Just curious how many people out there had a lump that was painful that ended up being breast cancer. The reason I found my lump is because I had pain. I was surprised to find out that my lump was cancer because all of the doctors said cancer doesn't hurt. I feel like smacking them all in the face because my lump did hurt!
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Yes - I did not have a lump but generalised pain and itchiness......could get very sore and now I seem to have some of those symptoms in my remaining breast and its only 9 months along the road.........
I had ILC
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My lump hurt as well. I've been through chemo awaiting surgery. Right now, my doctors and I cannot even find the lump but yet it still hurts! My armpit hurts as well but they didn't see any active lymph nodes when they did a Gamma dye test on me. Maybe it's nerves. My doctors can't seem to give me an answer either.
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My armpit hurts as well and I was freaking out! Glad to hear your lymph nodes looked clear. I have an MRI and mammogram Monday. I actually have been feeling pain in my back, chest, etc but I think it is from anxiety.
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I hurt around my shoulder blade, under my arm and along top of shoulder too - apparently we have muscles and nerves there that connect to breast tissue/muscle so surgery and treatment affects it
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I always had pain in this area because I have fibromyalgia and stress makes the pain worse. I have never been so stressed in my life so I am hoping all of this pain is from flare ups!!
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Never felt a lump at all, just had spontaneous (painless) bleeding from my left nipple.
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Hi, I have had many benign fluid filled lumps before, but my tumor was the first lump that hurt. It was what prompted me to call my DR. Cancer can hurt!
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my lump hurt as well as my arm pit. Drs can be so by the book sometimes. I am on a FB page with other women who have the same type as myself and many of us had pain in the breast from our lumps
Maggie
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No pain at all. Nada. Zilch.
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Hi All - my lump didn't really hurt, just my armpit, and I contributed it to extra weight gain. Now it hurts as well as my armpit. Of course every pain I have, I think it's spreading. I start chemo next week before surgery because I'm triple negative, and I pray it starts shrinking and the pain goes away. Hopex3, I'd love to hear from you. It sounds like you are on the same program as me, and I'd love to pick your brain!
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Yes oh yes....it hurt like h-e-double toothpicks....
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I did not have a lump, I had pain. This began in May 2010. I switched bras, removed cups from clothes, changed the way I slept and put ice on it some nights. I had negative mammograms, ultrasounds and contradicting MRI's (one showed irregular enhancement and the next zero enhancement)...finally in Aug 2010 a core biopsy with six samples was negative...yay great but pain persisted...I went for three additional opinions...one at Fox Chase Cancer Center...all agreed Age (I was 41) and I had dense lumpy breasts. Finally my current and wonderful surgeon who is a bit old school told me he believed me...did an open biopsy (10 months after the negative core biopsy) and my cancer was revealed. On a side note my best friend's sister died at 36 after being told for 2 years her painful 4 cm cancer was a clogged milk duct...I have no doubt her story kept me going. Never ignore pain until you have convincing proof you are safe.
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I found my lump cause it hurt.
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it did!!
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I never had any pain. But I did have a problem raising my arm up over my head without a "pulling" sensation. I never did ask doctors about it.
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A woman in my church recently diagnosed found hers because it hurt. She had interlobular (spelling?)
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I had high blood pressure,had night sweats and hot flashes. Then arm starting aching most days. Started searching area and found lump after about a month of it. After my surgery no more high blood pressure,hot flashes,night sweats and arm stopped aching. Also they was canceling my MRI 3 times for a week and a half before surgery and i told them my chest area was hurting bad and the nurse said to me honey i dont want to call you crazy but most women after getting the diagnosis usually start feeling pain. After surgery and patholgy report of having a node with cancer in it i told her dont you ever tell someone they dont feel anything. My body was telling me from the beginning something was wrong. After alot of searching found out nightsweats can be a hidden cancer. Nothing on blood pressure and hot flashes. But my body was telling me get to the Dr.
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So if you get more nightsweats now (am on letrozole) is that a sign?
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constant ache in top of my arm and shoulder and a searing pain in left breast (occasionally) is how i found my lump, i knew something wasn't right, my body was telling me! i have surgery booked for next week.
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No pain. I did notice that my 2 breasts were responding differently in terms of frequency of nipple erection, but of course that doesn't mean anything...no two body parts are the same. I had no other symptoms, just the weird dreams.
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Yes, it did hurt. I know, it pisses me off. Breast cancer lumps can hurt!
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i had pain also thats what made me go to the dr .i was told cancer didnt hurt also .but they were wrong/
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It was not so much the lump that hurt, but the whole breast. I remember having a shower and the water coming down hurt. It was because of the pain in general that I started checking my breast and found the lump. So in a way I was grateful for the pain
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I think this is an important topic. On both occasions (I had contralateral breast cancer) I found the cancer because of the pain that I felt. On the second occasion, I caught the cancer really early as it was DCIS although grade 3 and 4cm. I had pain in my opposite breast to my original IDC less than two years earlier. I felt a 'raised area' where the breast was painful. I monitored it for a few months and the raised area was changing and speading and forming into a more solid lump. It became so painful that it hurt to lay on my left side. I called my breast care nurse who arranged an appointment with the surgeon. Clear mammo and ultrasound - no sign at all of any problems. Then I had a biopsy (but ONLY because of my previous diagnosis of IDC triple negative BC). I had MAJOR bleeding following the biopsy too. Anyhow was found to be grade 3 DCIS of undertermined size as it was invisible to scans! I was recommended a bilateral mastectomy then (had a lumpectomy less than two years earlier in opposite breast). I am convinced that the DCIS they found was destined to be another TN IDC tumour and I found it early due to pain. Like some of you - my breast surgeon told me that pain was a GOOD sign since cancer is not painful. That is WRONG - it can be painful. Please check yourself on a regular basis and report changes as soon as they occur (including pain). Also, a clear mammo and ultrasound does not mean there is nothing there. I had dense breasts so that may be the reason for lack of detection. All the best to you all and stay vigilent.
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Ladies, please see this thread for just how many people had pain prior to diagnosis. It is time the medical community listened to us! We know our bodies better than anyone. Please add your information to this post so that others can see this. You may save someone's life!
http://community.breastcancer.org/forum/83/topic/784732?page=13#idx_361
My doctor did not feel that this should be an indicator of BC either. I plan to show her! I am in the waiting stage and have a stereotactic biopsy scheduled next Friday. Praying for good news but not feeling confident. Sigh...
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Yes, I was diagnosed with TNBC and I had a lump in my left breast at 10 o'clock and it hurt quite a bit. Please note that my tumor was also a fast growing tumor and that might have something to do with the pain I experienced.
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Hi weshallsee - interesting that we both had TNBC and the tumour was grade 3 / fast growing. I am certain there is a correlation between pain and fast growing tumours.
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My tumor was also TNBC and was also Grade 3 and was fast growing and the tumor hurt! That is how I found it. It seems to me that a lot of people with TNBC say that their tumor hurt.
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Hi Karen, I believe my cancer was ripping through my cells like a knife, at least that is what it seemed like to me. It hurt until my third dose of chemotherapy and then the pain eased up considerably (my tumor was chemo sensitive). Imcclure that's how I found my cancer too! I'm reading in bed and all of a sudden I felt as if a balloon was inserted into my breast and was being blown up, I was in the doctor's office the very next day.
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I found my breast cancer because it was painful also!!! Cancer can be painful. At first I thought I just hit my right breast or something in a move. It did not get better and soon I felt radiating aching down my right arm. I had a mastectomy and am halfway through chemo. Anyone who says cancer isn't painful does not know it can be. If you have pain get it checked. Especially in the breast. My tumors (1.5, and 2.1) were right behind the nipple and were extremely painful. I am so glad I felt the pain because the tumors were both grade 3 and I might not have found them as quickly otherwise. Be vigilant and don't ever forget your mammograms and breast exams. They may not be 100% (mammograms are 75-85%) but they could catch it early or at least might indicate something suspicious we may not know is there!
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