Stinging sensation. Trust my gut instinct or my ultrasounds
Hello everyone,
Here is my story! Months ago I was about to step into the shower and noticed one of my breast like i had hit it on something or ran into something (I had not) I though nothing of it and seemed to settle but then a week later a horrible searing sting hit that breast, again thought it pass, it kept coming through out the day and persisted, on top of that i became aware of other this happening on that side, odd elbow ache, a shoulder blade sting and a very odd underarm pain/pinching feeling. It all comes it waves sort of. The breast in question is a tad tender to.
I was sent to breast specialist who has done two ultrasounds and order ct scan, clear and ulrasoumd was bi rads neg so nothing. She did however find a soft lumpy area on the outer breast but said was fine. She wanted to be super safe and ordered an MRI in a few weeks.
I want to believe my good results so far. But I have come across so many storys now of woman who had had these exact same pain/symptoms that eventually lead to there diagnosis! That pain I feel is nothing like I ever felt and none of seems to shift. It's the same wacko pain and sting each day. My gut is telling me this not right! But I want to trust two clear ultrasounds. I do have very dense breast and fairly young.
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It is good you are getting the MRI. I am a huge advocate of telling women, "Breast pain CAN be cancer" as I had those stinging, bee-sting feeling pains a year and a half before my Stage 3 diagnosis. Everything I read said it was okay, don't worry. So regrettably I never got it checked.
But - and this is a big but - I get all kinds of emails from women who have experienced the same thing, and MOST do not have cancer!
Hooray!
But I am always telling women to get it checked until your gut feelings go away or are satisfied.
I am thrilled that you have followed up, not given up, and are having the MRI. Please keep us posted.
Sending all my best!
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Stacey, when you say "fairly young", how old are you? It's not that young women can't be diagnosed with bc, it's just that the younger you are the more statistically unlikely it is. Breast pain, however, is pretty prevalent. See this thread for further information: https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/83/topics/857903?page=1#post_5028462
I agree with Denise, that any new or concerning breast symptoms should be checked out by a doctor. But once you have the recommended imaging, if they don't find the cause of your pain; it doesn't mean they missed something. Good luck!
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Thank you for your response! Much appreciated
I have just turned 30 so while I'm far from the high risk category I'm aware that there a small chance that it Could very well happen to me at this age.
If my MRI comes back fine I will accept that Iv done all the right steps and hope it will allpass and follow up in a few months if still there.
When I have read some things that other woman have wrote on here it resonates so much, for instance even the shower water hitting that area causes a sensitivity pain and my nippple can not stand the water hitting it at times. My husband can not even go near me most days and the searing bee sting just knocks the wind out me, when it happens I grab my boob and have to wait for it pass!
One thing I'm so grateful for is that if this does all pass and all good I have become super breast aware for the future.
Adding to... that my CT scan said that all lymph nodes were perfect, so my breast surgeon said that is a very small possibility that it might be a "baby cancer" hence why she has ordered the MRI almost 5 weeks from when I saw her.
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I think having an MRI is a good thing to do when in doubt. The MRI I was finally given saved my butt cause I was about to be dismissed till the next time at my last Mamo and us. But I spoke up. But I should have done it sooner.
I am hoping this resolves for you with a good outcome!
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wow, thank goodness they did end up finding it before it got any later for you. You had such obvious symptoms too!
I have been almost "dismissed" too. Mostly for my age . Funny my breast specialist said the hardest part of her job is telling young woman they have bc and then tells me I'm too young?!?!? So don't worry you are prob fine.
I will believe my MRI results if good. But I just know something is up though, Iv never had any sort of healthissue or an odd pain stay around for more then a week. I'm a fit healthy person and even my husband has said this is so not like you!
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My best friend and my niece had breast cancer at 30. For both of them the drs said the same thing. Don't worry it's nothing. But they both persisted for a referral to breast clinic and both were diagnosed. Both are survivors.
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MRI is the most sensitive exam we have right now for the presence of a breast malignancy. Here is an article regarding breast MRI's sensitivity as related to the menstrual cycle from the Mayo Clinic.
Don't let anything dissuade you from having your symptoms investigated but as regards the amount of worry and anxiety that should be involved, remember that some articles posted on the internet on non-medical sites tend toward the exceptions-to-the-rules stories to attract readers. Also keep in mind when exploring survivor forums the percentage of women with breast pain that led to a cancer diagnosis differs from the general population of women with breast pain as their only symptom.
See THIS ARTICLE from the International Journal of Cancer.
Here is an excerpt:
"In this study, the risk of breast cancer was found to be significantly associated with the occurrence of symptoms. The risk of developing breast cancer was sevenfold in women having a lump and the risk was almost similar across the age group. Aiello et al.7 reported a risk of more than threefold in women who had a lump in the screening exam or diagnostic exam but no significant association between nipple discharge, breast pain and breast cancer risk. "
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Really great information Djmammo!! Thanks. Yes I was advised on how sensitive an MRI test can be and that is great! She did mention however to be prepared it can pick up a lot of things that might require a biopsy even if there is NO suspicious mass.
Djmammo your post really makes so much sense and really resonates with what I was getting at- how many of the storys I have read are actully the norm and so on! Thank you, you totally put it all perspective.
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just wanted to update here in case there is anyone that will come Here looking for storys of something similar and wanted to know what the outcome was.
So I had strange breast pain plus other strange symptoms.. i had a few test plus an MRI.
Well today my MRI was totally utterly clear! Again bi rads 0 nothing. I'm still in pain but hey I can breath easy for 6 months until my follow up ultrasound. I did however have a fine needle biopsy today on the "firmer" denser" area that I found but she said each breast is not always identical just always be awear of your breast rather then go overboard on each detail of them!
So... my breast pain is very much looking like nothing or coming from a muscular source. Hope this might easy any anxiety in anyone that comes here searching.. but always see your breast specialist!
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Just FYI, Birads 0 does not mean nothing, it means more imaging is necessary to make a diagnosis
(Birads 1 = nothing is seen; Birads 2 = something is seen but its benign)
If the report actually said Birads 0, what was the recommendation?
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Oh... really!?!? Iv just got a follow up in 6 months. Was told completely nothing found? All clear, I'm confused now.
But the specialist took a biopsy of a "denser area" that she said is nothing but asymmetrical tissue (so not showing up on the other side by feel ) The area has been picked up by me and her so she wanted to prove that nothing was going on... but I said is that nessasary as the MRI was clear... I was not ready for her to just get needle out and do a biopsy right on the spot. I guess that can happen 😳.
Could different country's have different scoring systems or this universal?
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Your description of pain matches mine because I also had knifing pain in back under the shoulder blade (which started before the breast pain) plus the stinging and zapping pain in the breast-the kind of pain where you suddenly say ouch ouch ouch out of the blue. Which leads me to ask if a breast mri automatically images both breasts at the same time? Would gallstones/gallbladder disease show up on the mri the way our lungs and ribs show up on a chest xray? It is possible to have two things going on concurrently.
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hello ysi.
Funny you say that! Because that is what Iv been trying to figure out! Is there two things going? And for me now it's like is it just a huge coincidence that I have a breast lumpy then the other and the lumpy one is my pain side. It's been a few months of wondering what is going on. My gp threw gallbladder around back at the start two.
Ysi my breast pain actually started first though. I had a funny ach for about a month or more before it became obvious I had a issue going on then the other stuff started, the elbow ache that has popped up with this is odd too. But as my above post says no scan is showing any evidence of canc
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Stacey, I think djmammo meant that you can't image other areas of the body at the same time (i.e. gallbladder ) NOT that you can't have 2 different medical conditions that are causing your various symptoms going on at the same time.
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needing some help on what this means...
Got my biopsy results back... no cancer but "immflamatory cells"
It explains why i guess I first noticed that though I had hit my breast on something but didn't. And also explains why my underarm is so sore and sensitive.. but I don't know why it's happened! I just have inflamed breast tissue! Can that happen?? I have no actual infection or anything like that. Iv been like this for months now!
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Healthcare has become so compartmentalized that it seems at times they don't want to hear about any other issues that fall outside their own narrow focus. Yet what if it is pertinent? If you were asked to give a list of every single symptom you have experienced in 2017 no matter how far removed from the focus of your concern we would all I suspect present a long list. My breast pain started the exact same time as my thigh pain and is the same identical symptoms-started when I lost my allergen and discontinued Zyrtec-22yrs of high histamine levels turned loose? Under the thigh skin it felt like welts and is same location as flu shot which I have always reacted to. Add to that several years of cold urticaria rashes including a very brief small outbreak at 1pm right breast. Since all of that drove me to get the mammo done, it was a good thing. I don't know if my lump is an incidental finding I was very lucky to find while still small, or if it could be related to my non-breast symptoms.
Do you apply deodorant each day? Have you tried switching brands, going without, changing containers more frequently, not allowing any family members to share? Eliminate underwire bras? Always use a fresh disposable razor? (Think of the germs gummed up in electric razors.)
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YSI thank you. I totally get what u are saying! I understand your point completely... and I'm a little tired of docs not spending any more then a minute with me.
I'm concerned on why I have a lot "inflammatory cells" in my breast! What is in my breast that has caused this response... and it's in only one so I'm now concerned as it won't leave or resolve. What am I fighting in there?
Iv changed nothing... I'm not even big on underarm deodarent. I use that only if Iv got a big day and need to use that if that make sense...
my worry is that this could lead to cancer. I'd love to hear if anyone has had this issue. I'm desperate to shake this! But I can not
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Was your stinging sensation constant or just when you leaned forward or bent over? Mine hurts when I'm in those positions
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Gammy2one mine is excactly that. A stinging prickly pain that happens when I lean forwards. Lasts a couple of seconds then goes.
Anyone else experience this?
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