Author
Topic: Breast cancer scare... (Read 450 times)

I remember my sister having a breast exam and her doctor just telling her that she "has lumpy breasts." And hers are nothing to worry about.

Now I don't know if I have lumpy ones as well, or if the stretch marks make them feel lumpy, or if this is something terrible, or if it's all my imagination, but I'm on day 2 of having panic attacks because I don't know what my boobs are supposed to feel like. :/

Do I go to my gynecologist, or my regular doctor, or do I go to someone else? My doctor's office does free mammograms, but I don't even think I'm old enough to make an appointment without a referral from a doctor (which I don't know which doctor to go to). And I'm afraid to tell my mom about my current fear because she'll just dismiss it as me being overly dramatic (which may be true, but that's not the way to make me feel better).

I have an appointment in June for a pap smear, but I don't think waiting that long is a good idea. Ugh :/

I'm having a breast cancer fear myself. Mine are lumpy, and small so I can feel everything! But my left has been hurting for a while, so I did call yesterday to make an appt fory annual. I can't get in until June. I think it's OK to wait that long, but my anxiety won't let me. So what I did was just made an appointment specifically for my issue, and I'll be going in a week. Perhaps you could just do that? Even if it's nothing (which I assume will be both of our cases), at least you'll have peace of mind.

Boo, how old are you? Don't get a mammogram unless it is indicated. You sound pretty young, and young women HAVE lumpy breasts. They also have very dense breasts so a mammogram just shows a lot of white and it not actually very useful. Talk to your doctor about your fear; hopefully he/she can set your mind at ease. Personally, I think waiting until June is all right.

I am 50 years old and my mother and aunt had breast cancer (at ages 62 and 78, respectively), and have been having mammograms since age 40 and am still OK. Just had one earlier this week, in fact.

I am the same way. My breasts are very lumpy and examining them myself throws me in a panic attack so I just avoid it altogether now. Having my OB/GYN do an exam helps - they are trained to know which lumps to look for and which are normal.