After a breast cancer diagnosis at 36, here’s what I want other women to know about making the first call.
I was 36 when I was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer. Since then, friends have asked me one question more than any other: “What does a cancer lump feel like, and what do I do if I feel one?”
I noticed mine in the shower. The skin on my left breast looked different, and when I pressed on it, it felt different too.
For the next two weeks, I touched the same spot over and over while I decided what to do. Eventually I wondered whether all the checking was what made it look irritated. Was I feeling something real, or was I creating the problem by poking at it?
So I asked my husband to feel it. He could. That settled the question of whether it was in my head.
Making that first call was the hardest part of getting answers.
What does a cancer lump feel like?
I’ve compared notes with other women who’ve had breast cancer, and none of our descriptions match. One friend said hers felt like a grain of rice under the skin. Another said a squishy pea. Mine was a large mass, big enough that “lump” seemed like the wrong word for it.
You can’t rule out cancer by touch. The question is whether something is new or different for you. You don’t have to be sure before you ask a doctor to check.
Most breast lumps aren’t cancer, according to the American Cancer Society. That’s reassuring, but a new lump still deserves attention. The same goes for changes that aren’t lumps: skin dimpling, a nipple that turns inward or discharge you haven’t had before.
Who should I call first?
Your OB-GYN or primary care office. Tell them you’ve found a lump or noticed a change and ask how soon they can see you. If you don’t have a doctor, call a breast center directly and ask how to set up an evaluation.
My OB-GYN’s office got me in the next day. My doctor agreed it needed imaging, and I had a mammogram scheduled for the day after that. That was my experience. Yours may take longer.
Because I’d felt a mass, I needed diagnostic imaging, not the routine screening women get when they have no symptoms. Community Health Network says to call rather than walk in if you’ve noticed a lump or another change, so you get the right exam. When you schedule, say, “I felt a lump.”
Does a mammogram hurt?
Friends who haven’t had one ask this a lot. For me, it was more uncomfortable than painful. Each breast gets pressed flat for a few seconds at a time; IU Health notes that the compression lasts only that long. But pain is personal, and you can tell the technologist if it’s too much.
I had the diagnostic mammogram and an ultrasound in the same visit. IU Health explains that the ultrasound helps tell a fluid-filled cyst from a solid mass. Before I left, the doctor told me the mass looked suspicious, and I had a biopsy scheduled for the following Monday.
What is a biopsy actually like?
The biopsy would give my doctors tissue to test. Needing one doesn’t mean you have cancer: MD Anderson reports that 75% to 80% of breast biopsies are benign, or noncancerous.
The worst part for me was the numbing shots. They reminded me of the shot you get before a filling. Once the medicine kicked in, I felt pressure and not much else.
I drove myself there and back, went to lunch afterward and took it easy the rest of the day. Ask your center whether you can drive yourself. If you’re being sedated, you can’t.
My care team told me to skip workouts for a week or two. Ask yours how long to wait.
When will I get answers?
My biopsy was on Monday, and I was diagnosed that Friday. Your wait may be different. Before you leave, ask when to expect results, who will explain them and whom to call if you haven’t heard.
If imaging looks normal but you still feel the lump, go back to your doctor.
Hearing “you have cancer” sucks. My first thoughts were, “How will I handle this? How will I tell my kids?” But once I could think again, I felt thankful I’d found it when I did and not later. Making that call helped save my life.
Make the call.
Once I made that first call, I no longer had to figure out each next step on my own.
The hard part came before that, in the two weeks I spent deciding whether what I felt was worth mentioning. It was. If you notice something new, or something that looks different than it used to, make the appointment. You don’t have to know whether it’s serious before you call. Finding that out is what the appointment is for.
