Michelle Weirich

I was having a shower and found a lump in my left breast.  It was tiny; about the size of a small pea and not easy to feel at first but after some time spent prodding around, I satisfied myself that there was definitely a lump and I should see a doctor. 

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A couple of days later, on 3rd February 2017 I was seen by a nurse at my local doctor's surgery.  After both a visual and physical examination, the nurse explained that breast lumps in young women (I was 33 at the time) are often due to hormonal reasons so I was advised to return after my next period.  I was fairly comfortable with this advice but mentioned to the nurse that my mum had breast cancer aged 41 so I was a little worried.  The nurse was very kind and reassured me that, if the lump was still there when I returned, they would look into referring me to hospital.  She also followed up my enquiry from the previous year about extra breast screening (my mum was told by her doctor that I should start screening when I reached 31; when my age was 10 years prior to the age my mum was diagnosed).  As a result of this enquiry I was referred for genetics testing in Oxford and sent a form to complete about my cancer family history.

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After my period, the lump was still there but it had changed.  It was almost as if it had dispersed into two lumps that were more flat but joined together (I imagined it to be like a figure of 8).  I went back to the surgery at the end of February and the nurse examined me again.  She agreed that the lump did seem to have dispersed and very confidently concluded a diagnosis of breast mice (fibroadenoma).  I asked if it would eventually go away but was told "probably not" and that it was "nothing to worry about".  I handed in my completed cancer family history form to be sent onto Oxford and left the surgery a little perplexed.

 

Wanting to know more about the diagnosis, I did some online research about breast mice which suggested that a referral to hospital for an ultrasound and/or biopsy is usually undertaken to confirm the diagnosis.  With this in mind, and after much persuasion from my mum, I rang the surgery a couple of days later to enquire about a hospital referral.  I was told that a message would be passed to the nurse's secretary so I waited to hear.

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Still believing the confident diagnosis of breast mice, I put the lump to the back of my mind.  There was lots going on at home and life took over as they say.  It was only when I heard of a close friend's breast cancer scare that I was reminded of the fact that the surgery had still not got back to me about my own lump.  Soon after, I contacted the surgery again (it was now the middle of April) to follow up on my original enquiry.  The doctor I spoke to a couple of days later was very quick to tell me that she had "no problem referring breast lumps" and would always do so but she needed to see me first, before that could happen.  Slightly alarmed but still not in a massive rush I arranged to see the doctor on 8th May as this was her earliest appointment.

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When the appointment finally came around, the doctor briefly examined me and told me that I definitely needed to get the lump checked out. 

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Luckily there was a cancellation at the hospital and I was seen for tests on 10th May.  They carried out an ultrasound first, then mammograms (on both breasts) and finally ultrasound guided biopsies (they took about six samples).  I was my usual jovial self at first and made a joke during the ultrasound about there being a "beautiful baby boy" but the look of concern on the sonographer's face made me realise that this was a potentially serious situation. 

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I left the breast clinic, suddenly more fearful and waited for the diagnosis.

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