Please help...female problem related to breasts

[kmm110]

My health anxiety has been pretty bad the past month or so and now I am stuck on breast cancer. I just found out that a woman I know was diagnosed at age 42. I am 35. I have never did breast exams on myself due to the fact that I know I will find something and freak out. I leave these to my dr. at my annual visit which I had in Dec. She did an exam and didn't feel anything abnormal. She gave me a script for a baseline mammogram since I was 35 and this is her procedure.

The other day I decided to do my own first complete breast exam and I am freaked out. First of all, my left feels lumpier than my right. Is this normal?? I can feel things in my left but it seems as though there are several spots that feel identical, not just one single lump, but only in my left. I am very thin and don't have much fat on my body so maybe that is why I can feel "everything" it seems? I am going to call for my mammogram appt, tomorrow but I just need someone to ease my mind. If I had breast cancer, would it most likely just be one single lump I feel? Is it common to feel your breasts and not be certain if you feel a lump and not be able to tell if it's normal tissue or not? Do you think the dr. would have noticed something in December during the exam? I am not sure how valuable those exams are because they are pretty quick.

I hear about BC every single day on the news, online. It seems like it so common that I wouldn't even be surprised if I am one of them 

[hamsterswheel]

Hi Kmm

My left breast iis slightly bigger and feels lumpier too. I saw a breast surgeon a few months ago who examined what felt were lumpier bits on left breat. He said all normal breat tissue and that I actually had similar on the right and tht my breast were actually very symmetrical.

He is a specialist who feels breasts all day everyday. So it goes to show that what we think we r feeling isn't always quite as accurate because our anxiety is up.

Fx for your mammo. I'm 32 but in the uk you don't have. Mammo until after 50! Unless at higher risk.

[kazoo]

Young women such as yourself often have dense lumpy normal breast tissue.  It's normal if one side is a different size or 'lumpier' than the other.

Don't poke or prod yourself before the mammo... I do that, and it just makes me sore. 

If you don't have a pretty serious family history, then it is extremely unlikely you have a real problem.  35 seems very young to even have a mammogram.  I'd think they wouldn't be able to see much because of the dense tissue.... that's what it was like for me, anyway. 

[Twobittehz]

Hola!

Your doctor just did a breast exam and didn't feel anything abnormal. You've never done your own breast exams before so of course your breasts are going feel weird and unfamiliar! I'm not saying you're wrong but I would just let the professionals handle your breasts since you have a mammogram coming up. You are fine because your doctor didn't find anything wrong! Relax! :)

(Advice coming from someone who has a had breast scare, I was 19 at the time.)

Good luck!

[smmaho]

I'm going through the same thing at the moment. I did a self check and found a few pea sized lumps but one in particular has really scared because because it feels hard, is painless and doesn't particularly move. I'm almost in tears, I'm 25 so I know it's rare but rare doesn't mean it can't happen to me. I'm going to try get a dr appointment tomorrow after work but I am terrified so I know how you feel