Friday 22 September 2017

Check Those Breasts

As the title says check those breasts. I've always done this regularly and I'm oh so glad that I do. A couple of months ago I happened to find a lump in my right breast. Now this isn't the first time I have found an abnormality in my boob but in the first instance it got put down to hormones as by the time my specialist appointment came round whatever it was had disappeared.

Because of my previous experience I decided to wait a little while before visiting the doctor but this time the lump was going nowhere, in-fact it is still there four months down the line. In the instance my doctor decided it was indeed worth checking out due to how long the lump had been there and because I was over the age of twenty five.

feel-your-boobies


Doctors are always very good when it comes to things like this as they request a 2 week rapid referral, there is no long waiting lists and I had an appointment to see a breast care nurse consultant quite soon after my initial consultation with my GP.  The nurse was more than reassuring, letting me know that in her opinion it was nothing to be worried about.

However it was decided after her examination that to air on the side of caution I was to have an ultrasound more because of my age but also because things can look different to how they feel. It was nice not being made to feel like I was worrying for no reason because as with any situation you can never really know do you.

Again I received a letter a couple of days after my examination for an ultrasound appointment, at this point I was trying to stay away from doctor google, because actually google doesn't really know all. I was half expecting to have the scan and for them to tell me that it had gone, this opinion turned out to be wrong because that pesky lump was still lurking in my breast.

The consultant took a biopsy there and then again assuring me that it was likely to be nothing but better to be safe than sorry right. Within a week I had my results, the nurse I'd seen to begin with rang to tell me the news, the lump was benign. I finally let go of that breath that I didn't even know I'd been holding.


What was found was a 14.4mm benign fibroadenoma. I was advised that it could be left alone and it would do no harm but to keep an eye as if it were to suddenly change in shape or size I should go back to be re-examined. So for me alls well that ends well but the point of this post wasn't to tell you my happy news...

The point was to tell all of you to check your breasts and not just woman but men too. Here's a handy site for not only signs and symptoms to look out for but for how to check your breasts and what to do if you happen to find something that you think isn't normal.  The goal isn't to frighten you, the aim here is to help, early detection can really save lives so surely the time it takes to check your breasts is worth it?

4 comments:

  1. I'm so glad that you got the all clear. My mom has had several lumps over the years which are always taken seriously, luckily they have been benign so far but you can never assume that will be the case. Checking your breasts only takes a few minutes but could save your life. #pocolo

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  2. I'm happy for you. It's scary but it's always best to check things out.

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  3. Glad it was benign and you're right to get it checked out - thanks for sharing this important reminder with #PoCoLo x

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