Pain in one breast, no lumps, not due to my period. How worried should I be?
I’m a 45 year old woman and my mom had a rare form of cancer (phyllodes tumor), which is more of a sarcoma than breast cancer. It did unfortunately, take her life. Due to family history, I’ve been getting mammograms since 40.
That said, I’ve had random pains that I would describe as shooting pains in my left breast. Very rarely in my right. I don’t feel any lumps and had a clear mammogram in February. I also just had my well woman two weeks ago in which nothing was palpated by my doctor. How concerned should I be that this is something ominous?
I have to be honest, I have very bad health anxiety and it’s gotten a million times worse since my mom passed away last year. I am very scared to go to the doctor, as I am concerned they would make me go for a diagnostic and I can’t handle it emotionally right now. We are in the middle of trying to purchase a home and my son has been through enough with his grandmother last year. I don’t want to have to drag him through more. How common is pain a symptom of breast cancer? My concern is that it’s mainly in my left. 😢
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ladybug,
My heart goes out to you. Losing a parent is never easy and grieving is a process. Throw in the stress of the home buying and it’s easy to see how this pain would be anxiety provoking.
Now, you probably know what I am going to say… breast cancer sometimes comes with symptoms and sometimes it doesn’t. Seeing a doctor and proceeding from there will be the only way to find out what is causing your pain. And please let your doctor know about your anxiety and personal experience with your mom. As far as your son goes, there is no need to worry him now. If it turns out to be something worrisome, there are many resources for helping children to understand cancer but for now there’s no need for him to know anything. Take care
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Your post really resonates with me as we have a lot of similarities. I too started with shooting pains in my left breast but I also have armpit pain and swelling. My breast exam, mammogram, and ultrasound were all fine yet my symptoms remain. I also lost my mother to lung cancer about 9 months ago. I cared for her for the past two years so put my issues on the back burner. I also suffer from severe health anxiety so getting myself to get the tests that I already had done was very difficult. I know I need to have more tests because I still have symptoms but I’m so scared that it’s already too late. I really understand how you feel but my advice is to see the doctor now and get to the bottom of the problem so you don’t have to worry and stress like I have for the past 20 months. It’s no way to live. Your anxiety will only get worse the longer you put off getting checked out. Trust me on this. I’m very sorry about the loss of your mom. I know how hard that is. I’m determined to put my big girls pants on and go for more tests. I encourage you to do the same. If you want to chat with someone who understands what you are going through, I’m happy to do so. I feel very alone in my situation as my family/ friends have no idea what is going on or how bad my anxiety is. I hide it well. Wishing you all good things.
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