Anxious about suspicious breast lump (male) (sinus, painful, blood tests, hormone)
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I discovered a hard painful lump just above and behind my right nipple 3 months ago. I immediately remembered the gynecomastia I had as a teen and thought it was happening again.
However, it has never subsided since then and it's now a bit larger and more sensitive when I touch it. Even without touching it, I can easily feel a distinct sensation around the right breast. If I press directly, I have a sharp pain.
So, I went to the doctor and he agreed there was something about it. He ordered very comprehensive blood tests, including hormone panel, and an ultrasound. He said I should have them as quickly as possible.
I had both done today. The ultrasound results basically say:
1 - It's not gynecomastia. There are no signs of it.
2 - It points to a lipoma (1.3 in) but says it should be confirmed by a biopsy.
I already have another appointment scheduled with the doctor next Wednesday but how am I going to sleep, eat or function until it has all been clarified?
I discovered a hard painful lump just above and behind my right nipple 3 months ago. I immediately remembered the gynecomastia I had as a teen and thought it was happening again.
However, it has never subsided since then and it's now a bit larger and more sensitive when I touch it. Even without touching it, I can easily feel a distinct sensation around the right breast. If I press directly, I have a sharp pain.
So, I went to the doctor and he agreed there was something about it. He ordered very comprehensive blood tests, including hormone panel, and an ultrasound. He said I should have them as quickly as possible.
I had both done today. The ultrasound results basically say:
1 - It's not gynecomastia. There are no signs of it.
2 - It points to a lipoma (1.3 in) but says it should be confirmed by a biopsy.
I already have another appointment scheduled with the doctor next Wednesday but how am I going to sleep, eat or function until it has all been clarified?
Of course you're anxious, who wouldn't be? Remind yourself that you are not ignoring it, hoping it will just go away by itself, or procrastinating. You are taking charge of the situation and doing what needs to be done. Remind yourself that the majority of breast lumps including lipomas are benign. Nothing much is going to change over a week.
Men certainly get breast cancer, but in both men and women, there are far more false alarms than not, so try not to worry until you find out what it is.
I had many plans for Christmas and New Year's. I will cancel it now. Even if a biopsy is done before Christmas, the results will take a while so this year the holidays will be straight from hell.
I hope this doesn't mean you are shutting out your family and friends. While you may not feel up for big holiday parties, please don't hesitate to spend some quality time with those who care about you.
I hope this doesn't mean you are shutting out your family and friends. While you may not feel up for big holiday parties, please don't hesitate to spend some quality time with those who care about you.
Of course not. I meant other plans around those days. The most difficult part will actually be having to pretend everything is okay in front of my family.
Of course not. I meant other plans around those days. The most difficult part will actually be having to pretend everything is okay in front of my family.
Apart from that, it might be the last Christmas we spend together so it wouldn't make sense to shut them out.
I had many plans for Christmas and New Year's. I will cancel it now. Even if a biopsy is done before Christmas, the results will take a while so this year the holidays will be straight from hell.
Don't cancel your plans. You have no idea what the lump is, so why worry about it? Worrying won't change the nature of the lump, so plan to have a good time.
I had a malignant tumor in a sinus, and had to wait about 6 weeks for surgery while I recovered from the surgery (it was originally thought to be a nasal polyp, plus I had a septoplasty) that found it. I didn't worry, took my vacation as planned, and had a good time. Don't worry about things you can't control.
I had many plans for Christmas and New Year's. I will cancel it now. Even if a biopsy is done before Christmas, the results will take a while so this year the holidays will be straight from hell.
Of course you have to do what you think is best for you, but it might be that your Christmas and New Year plans would be a good distraction for you, take your mind off, at least temporarily, those very real fears you have about your breast lump being malignant.
Easy for me to say, I know, not so easy to do. But I remember being in that same boat when I was not quite 30. I had a lump in my breast that got larger over several months, my gynecologist felt it, and sent me to a surgeon to have it removed. He told that most likely it was benign, but we couldn't be sure till it was biopsied. He reassured me that I probably didn't have to worry, but said he was very cautious about such things as he had had " several patients with breast cancer under the age of 33.
Well, naturally I was beside myself, thought the end of the world had come, and figured my current boyfriend, who I was crazy about, would want nothing more to do with me. We had planned a week's vacation to Disney World, etc. and I considered canceling that, wondered if I should have the surgery as soon as possible. I asked my doctor if I could wait to see the surgeon after my vacation, and he gave his blessing for that, telling me to go and have a great time, and not worry, most likely my lump was benign. So I did, we had a great time and I was able to put this problem on the back burner for a while.
And that lump did turn out benign. It was a fibroadenoma. And the boyfriend I was worried about ( just my paranoia, he gave me no reason to think that about him) was wonderfully supportive. We got married about 1.5 yrs after that, and we'll be happily celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary this coming January.
But about your biopsy and possible surgery. They can do frozen sections on tissue sections removed during surgery and give the surgeon a preliminary report as to the nature of the specimen, and a lipoma ( fatty tumor) would be fairly easy to recognize. Of course they must process the tissue, stain and examine it microscopically to determine the definitive diagnosis. But they can tell with routine processing and staining if a sample is obviously benign, so in that event it might not take more than a couple days to get your results.
I know it's not easy for you at this point, but you will get through it. My best wishes for you, that all will be well.
Thank you all for your support. I only managed to sleep 3 hours today. Couldn't stop thinking about this.
Even though the ultrasound points to a lipoma, my gut feeling tells me this isn't good. There's definitely more to it.
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