MRI Waiting
I’m 28, almost 29. I’ve had breast pain for about 5 months now. It’s spread to surrounding areas like my back, rib, shoulder, and arm. A lump showed up around 3 months ago, another one followed a couple weeks later. I had an ultrasound (they didn’t want to do a mammogram due to my age) and it showed dense breast tissue but no concerns. My doctor and ultrasound tech could feel the lumps. I have an MRI scheduled the beginning of September. I’m honestly just scared and looking for advice and support. The pain is unbearable some days. I hate to put pressure on that side, it hurts with or without a bra, and sometimes just walking or living I feel like I got punched in the side. Today, I was walking into a store and had to pause and catch my breath against my vehicle at my back/side hurt so much. I can feel the pain radiating from my breast whenever it hurts. Anyone have any similar experiences?
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That's highly unusual for breast cancer*. Lumps don't usually appear so quickly, much less in multiples; and radiating pain like that may be indicative of another cause. It's pretty rare for a breast tumor to be painful at such an early stage. Cysts can appear quickly and are often painful.
Ultrasound was a good first choice, since if a mammogram were to show anything suspicious you'd have needed an ultrasound anyway (and you were wisely spared a dose of radiation—quite low individually, but over the years are cumulative and you have a lot of years left in your young life). MRI is definitely indicated due to the density of your breasts, as well as the presence of lumps that are palpable but not visualized unaided or on other imaging. Did your doctor mention whether those lumps might be swollen lymph nodes? Did you get a CBC (complete blood count) drawn? An elevated white cell count is indicative of an infection, which could point to those lumps being cysts or another type of infection. Ask for bloodwork—stand your ground if your doctor thinks your insurance might not cover it. Do you recall any tick bites (even walking in tall grass or heavily wooded areas)?
*Also unlikely that it's inflammatory breast cancer, which would more commonly show skin and nipple changes as well as swelling. The MRI will reveal a lot—ruling as many causes out as it rules in.
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@crgw1119 - Hi, and welcome to Breastcancer.org. We’re so sorry you find yourself here, but we’re really glad you reached out. It’s completely understandable to feel scared with all you’re going through. In case it’s helpful, here’s our main section on with information you might want to look through while you wait for your MRI.
Please keep us posted on how you’re doing. We’re here for you.
The Mods
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I am sorry to hear that you are suffering from pain. Strangely enough, I have some very similar symptoms. I’ve been reading posts on this site for a few years now and this is the first one that I’ve come across where stnptoms seem to match mine. I’ve had breast, armpit, rib, and arm pain, as well as armpit and arm swelling for over two years now. I’ve had a breast exam, armpit exam, mammogram, ultrasound, and MRI. All have come back normal. No masses or enlarged lymph nodes seen or felt. It’s so stressful and scary and frustrating to not know what’s wrong. I’m about to start the whole process over again because I can’t stand the pain and discomfort any longer. I’d be very interested to find out how your MRI turns out if you wouldn’t mind coming back here and sharing. I hope you find answers and that it’s nothing sinister.
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