Breast Cancer signs and symptoms

Hi my name is Noel, i just turned 29, i have a 3 year old son. I am very nervous i may have breast cancer.  I do have a few questions and really hoping someone can help me out here or at the least set my mind at ease a little.

About a year ago i started noticing some discharge from my left nipple. At first i was not too concerned until one day i squeezed it a little and some bloody pus cameout. I made an appointment right away and the doctor told me i was fine and had nothing to worry about. a few days later i saw my regular doctor for a routine check up and he asked why i hadnt mentioned it to him then told me i needed to have a mamo right away. I went for a mamogram last october, when having the mamogram they told me my breast were to dense so they had to do aultrasound. They tried to tell me it was routine which i didnt believe because if that were the case they would have scheduled them both when i made the appointment. That same day i had a ultrasound for kidney stones and was taken in for emergercy surgery. The mamogram was over looked for a while. 3 months ago i started experiencing iching, burning, and what felt like i was being stuck with a bunch of needles along with redness and swelling around my left nipple. I tired to make an appointment with thes surgeon i was refered to but by the time they got me in it was gone. Just a few days ago the same symptoms have come back and this time its alot worse then before. There is a larger area which is red, swollen, burning, iching and feels like i am being stuck with needles along with a very large hard lump inside my breast. I can barely stand to wear a bra and just having something brush up against it causes it to hurt very badly. I went to see my doctor today and as soon as he looked at it the expression on his face told me it cant be a good sign. He scheduled me an apointment to meet with whatever surgeon was available right away. I have an appointment at 230, i am just really nervous i may have breast cancer. It has gone untreated for almost a year.

You can see a huge difference between my left and right nipple. the left one kinda looks like its inside my breast where the other does not. I dont have any pitting or rashes which are described in articles i have read.  My doctor keeps telling me not to worry he doesnt think it is cancer. He thinks it may just be a bad infection. This is the same office i went to and saw 3 different doctors within a week telling them i thought i had kidney stones. They sent me out telling me there was nothing wrong with me. It wasnt until i saw my regular doctor that they finally sent me for a ultrasound which i ended up having to beg for. By the time they realized i did indeed have kidney stones i had to have emergency surgrey because it was completely blocking my urine passage along with unbelieveable pain. I am a little skeptical of my doctor. I am still young with a 3 year old. I dont know how i would ever get though that and be strong enough to take care of him.

Can anyone tell me if they have experienced any of the signs or symptoms relating to breast Cancer? i recently read somewhere that women with dense breast are at higher risk for breast cancer because the mamogram picks up the same spots for brest density as they do for lumps in the breast. in whic case they cant tell whether or not i do have breast cancer. I have read that women end up losing both their breast because they were not diagnosed properly due to breast density. I want to demand they do a biopsi even if it is just an infection. Sitting here and wondering, stressing over this is horrible. I need to be ok so i can raise my son, watch him grow, graduate, get married, and have his own kids.

If there is anyone out there that can help me please please please give me all the infomation you have. I was reading about paget's desease , alot of the signs are what i have other then the rash or scaling skin. Nobody is giving me enough infomation to either except that i may have breast cancer nor enough info to believe that it is definatly just an infection. When i had my son i neer once breast fed and barely ever had any leaking so i dontunderstand how that could have caused an infection, besids he is 3 years old now. i am sorry for the long message i am just very nervous and tired of stressing over this. someone please help me.

                                                                     Noel

Noel,

You have every right to be concerned. This might sound crazy but go to a dermatologist. When my cancer came back I was under the care of a oncologist and she said it was not cancer. My primary doctor sent me to a dermatologist who sent me to a surgeon and yes it was cancer again. You might want to check out imflamatory breast cancer.  I kind of look like that but my new oncologist says no.  That is not what I have but my cancer is now on the outside of my chest wall. I have already had a bilateral mastectomy so I thought I would be done with cancer but that is not the way it plays.

You will find the strength in yourself to deal with what ever is instore for you. You have a child that needs his Mom and that alone will help you. Plus you reached out to others and they will always be there for you.

Call a dermatologist today if you can and tell them you can't wait.

God Bless Sue

Sue,

 Thank you for the advice, i know nearly nothing about breast Cancer. Up until now i never thought i would need to eduate myself. I just got home from my doctor appointment where i found out that i not only have the lump behind my nipple but also have a large lyphm node under my armpit. The surgeon was surprised that i did not know it was there. I can not tell you how many times i have had my breasts examined within the last year and this is the first time anyone has brought this to my attention. I became extremely upset because all i could do was think about the many times i walked in and out of the doctors office over the last year and had them tell me i was fine and had nothing to worry about. This could have been taken care of a long time ago. Now the thoughts that go through my head are Do i have cancer? did it spread from under the arm to my nipple? could this have been avoided if it was caught earlier? am i going to be ok? It's not fair, i never thought i would ever have to worry about this.

Tomorrow morning i have to go in for surgery and have them both removed. The way the doctor was talking he made me feel like it was nota big deal until i spoke with the nurse. He made it sound like it is a simple procedure, afterward i would be fine but thats not the case. I wont know if i am fine until after they test them. My family is telling me to wait because they think that removing them not knowing whether they are cancer or not will make it worse. I dont know what to do or even if thats true. Can it really spread and get worse if they remove them before knowing? The doctor said i am a very healthy women and everything should be fine. Am i making the wrong decision to go ahead with the procedure?

Noel,

You are not alone about breast cancer. I never even knew that there was more than one until I found out I had it.

I can not tell you if you should or should not go ahead with having them removed. Myself I had them test the lump and the axillary lymph node. When they came back cancer I had chemo first. If they removed the lump first then they told me they have no way of knowing if it shrunk or not and that made sense.

The wait and see part is hard. Your mind will think of nothing else but the worrying is NOT going to change the out come so don't let it run you. Try and smile as much as possible....it helps.

When I went to the doctors they could not find my lump thru mamo or the ultra sound. It showed up when I moved my arm. It was 5cm. I knew I had the lump cause it would come and go so I thought since it was not attached to the bone it would be fine, but again I was wrong.

Take one day at a time. That is all we all get sick or not.

Let me know how it goes. I live in Florida, how about you.

God Bless Sue

Sue,

I went ahead with the surgrey this morning. I really home i did the right thing. After doing hours of reseach last night i found out that lymph nodes fight off infection and swell when they are trying to fight off the infection. i talked to the surgeon about it and he told me that he aleady decided he was going to remove the lump behind my nipple before deciding whether or not to remove the lymph node as well. From what i do remember after talking to him he didnt remove the lymph node. i pray that is a good sign. I was so out of it when i came to i dont remember half of what he said. Befor having the surgrey he did explain to me that if it ws filled with pus thn it meant it was just an infection, he would drain and clean it without removing. As crazy as this sounds i was praying for pus, however the bad news is there wasnt any and he removed the lump. Now i get to sit and wait. My poor son cried his eyes out today thinking the doctors were taking his mommy away. I should have never brought him there.

I have prepared myself for the worse. After all the reseach i did i spent another hour reading about reconstruction surgrey and had a conversation with my finace about getting married as soon as possible if the results come back with nothing but bad news. Maybe he is right and i shouldnt be thinking the way i am or worrying about the worse case scenerio but i cant help it. I have always thought it was rediculous and never understood why people get married for insurance purposes up until now.

To top it all off i live upstairs from a very young couple who knows what i am going through, knew i had surgrey today and has spent the entire day making as much noise as they can making it impossible for me to rest. They are two of the most spitefull people i have ever met in my life. This town is full of them. I had to call the police 3 times and landlord 4 with the end result being There is no law against spitefullness. I live in Jamestown, NY. It's the worst part of New York. Most of the population is full of young thugs who either sell or do drugs and have a nasty attitude. My landlord told us he will move us to a new place if thats what we want but i dont understand why he doesnt just get rid of them. The entire neighborhood wants them out but there is nothing we can do.

 Thank you very much for all your kind words. It really does help to have other people to talk to who know exactly what you are going through.

Best of Luck to you,

Noel

Noel Hi.

I am from Binghamton, NY...left in 1972 , been in Florida almost the whole time. If your landlord wants to move you than I would let him since you say where you are is bad.

I am 59 and have been fighting bc since 10/06. I am stage 4 which means treatable but not cureable. Lost my hair, had bilateral mastectomy even though only cancer in one, lymph nodes removed, and then reconstruction. Even after all that my cancer came back in months. Have been on chemos since 11/07 with new doctor. When I had the first go round I went to Shands Breast Center which should of been the best but things happen.

Cancer does not run in my family. I just got in the wrong line. Since I was told I had it I NEVER once thought I was going to die and that is probably why I am here today. Things could be much worse. You could have MS or no use of your limbs. I realize that you are going thru some tough times now and more than likely some more. You need to think about good things and not think about what may be. You MUST change your attitude. Life is good, be strong. Go take a long shower and cry your eyes out than play with your son.

I will be here for you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Sue  

Sue,

 We met with the landlord Saturday and talked to him about it. He left us the keys to go look at the place so hopefully tomorrow. Sunday night i got my son back, when we got home it was pretty late. We played with him for bit before going to bed and the scumbags downstairs had the nerve to start pounding on the walls because we were being too loud for them. I couldnt believe it, all weekend they did everything they could to prevent me from being able to rest. I used the opportunity to give them a taste of there own medicine. I started slamming the doors and jumping on the floor and being as loud as i could. Sure enough the police came, i told them what was going on, what they did to me and how i was told by the police that spitefullnes is not against the law so the cop said as long as it cant be heard outside where its bothering others have at it i dont blame you a bit. For the next hour or so i started slamming every door in my house every few minutes making it impossible for them to sleep. Serves them right. To think i am also telling my son not to run or jump on the floor, that wont ever happen again.

In any case, Monday i made an appointment to go back to the surgeon. They set it up for the 17th so i thought everything must be ok or they wouldnt wait so long. Today the surgeon called me personally asking me to come in to his office as soon as possible. Obviously it cant be good news. I dont understand why he couldnt just tell me over the phone. He must know he already has me thinking the worst. Well i guess i will have to just wait till tomorrow to find out. I will not be sleeping tonight.

I thought after the surgrey all the symptoms i was having would have gone away because he removed the lump. Last night i started experiencing the same itching, burning, and pins and needles feeling i was having before the surgrey. I took the bandage off today to take a shower and there was a bunch of pus coming out of my nipple and the wound is either still bleeding or its coming from my nipple. It's been 5 days since the surgrey and its stitched up so how can it still be bleeding?

Another thing that has me worried is that i am now experiencing alot of itching on my right breast as well. I looked at it today and my entire breast is nothing but dry and scally skin. I am sure its nothing and i am worrying to much. Its just weird because i dont have dry skin anywhere but my right breast. In any case i am going to bring that up to him tomorrow as well. Have a great night!

Best wishes,

Noel

Noel:

I have had breast cancer twice, both caught early. God has blessed me. I now have ovarian cancer also caught in stage 2. I want to tell you to get this product that I am taking.  It is called Ambrotose by a co. called Mannatech. Look it up on the internet. If you can't find out how to order it contact me thru this by private reply. I do not sell this, but it is a life saver. It will protect your cells and make your immune system healthy so you can fight this cancer. I know  more than one person who is cancer free now after being terminal. I, myself have not yet been sick.  My tumor markers are going down, not up!!  I feel compelled to let everyone know about this because it is manna from heaven. It works. It is not medicine. It is a supplement. Gluconutrients.  Another thing that works is prayer.  Pray often and trust God to heal you. He led me to this product. Four different people contacted me about taking this starting before I even knew I had cancer again over a year ago.  None of them related in any way.

I wish you the best and will pray for you and your son.  I have 9 grandchildren , the youngest is soon to be 4 and the oldest is 23. I do not wish to leave my precious ones either and I know, as a mother, how agonizing it is to think you're not going to be around to see them grown, but have faith. Hang tough and don't even think of dying as a possibility. Just put it in God's hands and let him take care of it. Then go on about your life. I have never worried about dying, never lost any sleep over it, and have not suffered any pain, had no chemo or radiation, no medicine yet and have not thrown up, lost any hair or any of that stuff. I may still have that ahead, but this started in 2002 and this is my third type of cancer. I don't mean to sound as if I'm bragging, I just am saying God is great and there are other things we can do to help ourselves!!!!! Poly MVA is another choice. I took it the 2nd time I got breast cancer. It works also. Look it up on the internet. IT IS YOUR LIFE. YOU SAVE IT!!!  I love you. God bless!!!

Noel,

No it is not good when the doctor wants to see you in person. When mine came back the second time the doctor called me but he did tell me over the phone. Have you looked up imflammatory breast cancer? Sounds like that MIGHT be what you have. Let me know the out come.

Oh by the way the long wait between visits are normal..........they have too many people to see.......I was told that I was not the only one at one point....I couldn't understand why I had to wait so long in between.  The It made sense.

Your neighbor is a piece of work. No jumping on the floor and slamming doors is not a good example for your son but it sure must of felt good. Will your landlord help with the moving expenses?

Are you working? I deliver the mail 6 days a week and it is killing me. Chemo and the hot weather do not mix well, but if I don't work I would not have insurance. Matter a fact all my treatments and meds are now free for the rest of the year..........that means I have met my out of pocket already of $5000.00...no wonder I am always worrying about money but some how it does show up and worrying is not going to make it happen.

I have my fingers crossed that you just have a really bad infection and nothing else. Let me know.

Thinking of you, Sue 

Noel and Sue,

As someone with IBC (Inflammatory Breast Cancer), I do hope and pray that Noel just has an infection.  Since I was diagnosed in August 2007, I have made it my mission in life to educate the public AND the medical profession about the signs and symptoms of IBC.  Almost everyone I've dealt with or talked to in the medical profession have no idea about any of the signs and symptoms of IBC.  I carry IBC brochures with me at all times and pass them out whereever I go. 

It absolutely amazes me that doctors will continue to say "nothing is wrong" or "you only have an infection" when you actually have the most highly aggressive form of breast cancer you can get.  I was told that I wasn't red enough and that I only had one symptom and had to have ALL of them to have IBC. 

If I can do research online, I think doctors should be able to do the same. I don't think that's a lot to ask. And, of course, sometimes the doctor might want to do certain tests, and the insurance company says "no" (but that's another story).  My prayers are with you, Noel.  Let us know how you're doing and what you learn. 

Claudia in South FL