Woman troubles-men beware

[indianahusky]

I'm pretty much convinced I have cancer. My breasts have been sore (left more than right) and painful on and off for two days now(my period ended tuesday) and my tongue is burning like I drank something hot and burned it. The breast pain ranges from burning nipples to a cold burn on the side of my breast that sometimes spreads into my armpit and tricep. I stopped wearing wired bras for 2 days, but I still have this, although I am sore where the wire stops. I haven't felt any lumps, but I wouldn't trust myself to find any anyway. If I did find one, I think I'd jump off a bridge. I'm 37, but haven't had any mamos or anything yet. No history of any cancer in the family, but I haven't had kids and I know not having them before 36 increases your chances. I also detest gyns, so my PCP has been helping me with my fears about that stuff, so it's been awhile since a dr. had checked me so Lord knows what's brewing in there.
 I've also been crying at the drop of a hat for no reason.  I feel hopeless, worthless and convinced my time on the planet is up. Given the fact this is all happening right after my period, I know something is up. I had bloodwork done last month thinking it might be thyroid, because I was having intense panic attacks and severe PMS symptoms that my Wellbutrin wasn't helping to control. Everything came back normal. I figure it's stage 4 or 5 that's why I'm having pain. Google says cancer isn't painful until your almost dead. So I guess I'll be dead soon. Yay for me. I'd normally be having a huge panic attack thinking about this, but I just had a drink, so I'm ok with it right now. Being afraid of every ache and pain and not being able to enjoy life pretty much sucks anyway. I know I should go to the dr. More humiliation. I can't wait. I always seem to be asking him to check one private part or another when I go. 2010 is off to a great start! Happy new year everyone!

[idreamofskiba]

I struggle with this worry as well.  Mine are very lumpy, though, so that bothers me as well.

Do you drink a lot of caffeine?  My Dr. thinks that, along with my size, is what is causing my pain.  It's hard to accept. She suggested Vitamin E, which I have yet to try, and said to make sure I'm wearing the right size bra.

The pain is worse around my period, but it never actually goes away.  I'm a heart worrier, so I'm constantly pressing on different areas of my chest to make sure whatever chest pains I'm feeling can be recreated when I press on it -- so I wonder if that's making them even more sore.

Sorry I'm not much of a help here, but I feel your pain.

[wowthisismetoaT]

Last year, I went through a phase where I thought I had IBC.  I was terrified of every pimple.  My breasts would itch and hurt and it got to the point where I honestly poked and pushed on them so much, *I* made them unbearable to even touch.  I was then CONVINCED that something was wrong.  I went to the doctor 6 times for this - in the course of a month.  He was about to kick me out of the building!  He was so non-pulsed by my complaints that he actually refused to even do any more testing.  He told me that breast pain was THE most common breast complaint he heard (and he has been in practice for 23 years).  He also suggested the Vitamin E.  The biggest thing that helped me was not focusing on it.  It took medication, therapy, and about 6 weeks of me NOT touching and checking them constantly before the pain stopped.  I still get the occasional pain or whatever, but now I just ignore it.  I think, like my doctor said, breast pain is very common in women.  They bigger the "girls" are, the more pain you are likely to have too. 

That said, I have known lots of people with breast cancer and none of them had random pain and cold sensations as their first clue.  Most of them found a lump or a lump was found during a routine well woman exam.

[MJF]

I am 37 too, and I have been going through some hormonal shifts in the past year.  Aging is, in general, a step function - and I think that after 35 we women tend to take a step.  For me, this has resulted in a lot of breast tenderness, sometimes ovary tenderness (I had a sonogram to rule out cysts) and definitely a lot of mood swings.  

If you want to put these "risk factors" into perspective, look at the Gail model (developed by the NCI).  It is the only validated model for breast cancer risk I know of.  I took the liberty of plugging in your information (age, no births, average age for first period, no breast cancer history) and this is what it said:

***
Based on the information provided (see below), the woman's estimated risk for developing invasive breast cancer over the next 5 years is 0.4% compared to a risk of 0.4% for a woman of the same age and race/ethnicity from the general U.S. population. This calculation also means that the woman's risk of NOT getting breast cancer over the next 5 years is 99.6%.
***

Of course this is only a predictive statistical tool - my point is that your estimated risk is low, and not having kids vs. having one kid makes no real difference to the score.  Breast cancer IS scary, but given how uncommon it really is in women our age (as the above model tells you), try to put this all into perspective, especially as your own PCP is not worried about you.  

[indianahusky]

Thanks for your empathy and advice. It has helped to calm me down. I'm trying to keep things in perspective, but it is hard sometimes. Everytime I hear the word cancer, I cringe and get uncomfortable. When I hear about women younger than me dying from it, or reading about it in magazines, my mind starts racing. Heart disease is what runs in my family and I've had tests to rule out any major issues, but once I'm cleared for one ailment, I move on to a new one. Maybe my wellbutrin isn't enough anymore. Maybe I need hormone testing. This tongue burning is getting on my nerves too. I read it might me sign of menopause? I need to start back on a multi-vitamin, add some fish oil and possibly the vitamin e you mentioned.

I do try to keep caffine to a minimum. I only drink caffine-free 0213 home, but during the holidays, we have been going out to eat a lot and most places don't serve caffine-free diet soda. I know I should just drink water, but fountain diet pepsi is so good. Maybe the water thing should be a resolution.

Anyway, thanks again. I'm hoping to get through the day without a breakdown or a rush of panic. I didn't want to get out of bed today, dreading what ailments would attack me today, but I did.