mammogram and ultrasound next friday, many concerning symptoms
Hi, Im 27 years old and convinced I have breast cancer. In fact, Im convinced I have a late stage as I have soreness and pain in several areas of my body. Just looking for support as well as anyone who has maybe had similar symptoms.
This all started for me a couple months ago, mid-February, when I got sick with some sort of virus. I had a sore throat and fatigue, but at the same time started getting some chest tenderness above my left breast. I also had a tender shoulder near my armpit as well as my underarm which felt like I had injured myself lifting weights. I did go to urgent care where they said it sounded like costochondritis related to the virus. This tenderness all ended up going away after a week or two. Around that same time, I realized my breasts themselves had both been tender for a month straight, but then the tenderness went away with my period so my gynecologist assured me it sounded cyclical and normal. I ended up switching from the Mirena IUD to a lower estrogen pill at the beginning of March due to some other menstrual cycle issues I was having.
Anyway, the breast tenderness continued, my breasts started feeling sort of lumpy (left breast even more so, with a few specific tender nodules that feel like cysts) and my shoulder and chest tenderness would come and go. I read a lot of things about fibrocystic breasts and felt like it was probably a combination of that plus changing birth control. Now i’m afraid I should’ve immediately had all this checked out, because it’s only getting worse. My shoulder hurts constantly now, as does my shoulder blade and back. A random lymph node also popped up in my groin and I’m having leg pain.A couple days ago I found swollen lymph nodes above my collarbone which I know is not a good sign. I went to the doctor yesterday but she insisted she couldn’t feel anything abnormal in my breasts or lymph nodes. However, she ordered a mammogram and US to double check so I am going for that in a week. I’m just so terrified and feel like I just know that it’s cancer and that it’s going to be really bad. I guess I’m just posting on here looking for some solidarity at this point! God bless you if you took the time to read all this haha..
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bannie13, I'm sorry that you are having such uncomfortable body wide symptoms. It is unlikely to be breast cancer since it takes a long time for symptoms elsewhere in the body to show up. At least the mammogram and ultrasound will be able to rule this out.
A virus can cause these body wide symptoms. I had covid back in Feb 2020 when it was barely on the radar. It took about four months before the muscle aches, costochondritis, swollen lymph nodes and fatigue finally got better. If it's not a virus another possibility is an immune system disorder that a rheumatologist would diagnose. I hope they don't find anything concerning on the breast imaging and your symptoms clear up.
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@maggie15, thanks for the input! I hope you’re right and it’s lingering viral effects, it just has been going on for months now and the lymph nodes above my collarbone are what really freak me out. I have only read things about those signaling cancer, and with the breast pain, I can’t even fathom what else it could be!
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bannie,
I second Maggie's comment. While the symptoms you described need to be checked out, particularly for your peace of mind, they sound very far from what most patients experience and an awful lot of us have no symptoms at all particularly an early diagnosis*. Breast cancer is also relatively slow growing. Some studies estimate that a breast cancer could be growing from 5-10 years before it even detectable with our current technology. So, it is extremely unlikely that at age 27, you'd have breast cancer that had already metastasized. As to what these symptoms might be? No one here is your doctor but I'm glad that you are pursuing it. Remember, it is very, very unlikely that you have metastatic (stage IV) or probably any bc at all. I can't give you any promises but the odds are in your favor. Take care
*Did you know that only a small percentage of bc patients are diagnosed as stage IV at initial diagnosis?It's about 6%, so metastatic bc in anyone newly diagnosed is still rare.
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Hi Bannie! We're so sorry you find yourself here with these concerns, we know how scary it can be. We want to echo both Maggie and Exbrnxgrl, we're glad you're getting seen by a doctor as it does sound like there is something going on. And while we understand the inclination to assume the worst case scenario, it's far more likely to be something along the lines of what Maggie mentioned. Try to stay off google (trust us when we say, nothing good or productive ever comes of googling medical symptoms!), and try to take your mind off your upcoming appointments as much as you can. Please do keep us posted on what you learn, we're thinking of you.
The Mods
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Bannie13: Your symptoms are not at all specific to breast cancer. Lymph nodes above collar bone that cannot be palpitated by a physician are likely only a result of your anxiety. Lymph nodes that are cancerous are very easy to detect. I am telling you this because I have been here. I had a hard lymph node following dental work when I was in my twenties (decades ago)! Google suggested Hodgins cancer. I started feeling around and suddenly I could feel swollen lymph nodes in my groin and everywhere. I went to a young male dr who shyly felt my groin for swollen lymph nodes. I am not exaggerating here. I am certain he thought I was odd. I had myself so worked up and convinced I was terminal. I suffered for two years like this. The mind is so convincing. But it is also so capable of robbing us of valuable time. I overcame my health anxiety. And so regret the wasted time. An exercise that may help is, make every argument why you do NOT have cancer. You have the research. Do not ignore the factors that suggest this is not cancer. Do not feed your health anxiety. Take reasonable measures as you have and trust the professionals. If you cannot. Seek counseling so you can get on with and enjoy some of the best years of your life
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exbrnxgrl, moderators, and tb90, thank you all for weighing in. This alone has helped ease my anxiety already. You are all right in that I am jumping way too far ahead assuming it is cancer, let alone a late stage. I am letting my anxiety get the best of me. Of course the first thing that pops up when I google breast tenderness and swollen lymph nodes, shoulder blade pain, etc. is breast cancer. Google is not helpful and I know I need to stay away! Thanks again, crossing my fingers that you are all right <
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I’m going through something similar, except I am much, much older than you. In fact my son is older than you too! In any event, for several months I’ve had pain and swelling in my armpit, which has moved to my shoulder, and sometimes my collarbone hurts. My gyno checked my breasts at my annual and found nothing, I also had a mammogram about a month ago that was considered normal, but I have very dense breasts and have since learned that mammograms are pretty useless for dense breasts. I usually get an ultrasound every year too but my gyno did not order one for some reason. I fully understand how you are feeling because I feel that sane with multiple pains everywhere and finding the same results from Google. I hope you get answers soon and that everything is fine - as I imagine it will be.
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