My brother (53) discovered a lump, went to a GP who referred him to a surgeon. The surgeon, taking aim at "a fly with a fly swatter instead of a cannon", gave my bro 7 Tamoxifen pills and said to takes these 1 a day and see if it goes away. After a week the surgeon thinks the lump is a little smaller & softer, and offered my bro the option of surgical removal & biopsy or wait & see. Dr says 99.9999999% of the time its just an inflammation, and said a mammo wouldn't really tell him anything. Bro, not anxious to be 'cut on', opted to wait a month to see what happens.
Bro had Renal Cell Carcinoma a few years ago, kidney removed, no further treatment necessary. Our maternal grandmother died of BC in her 80's (I don't know when she was diagnosed or what treatments she did or didn't have). Our mother is 80 and not likely to have herself examined, and we aren't in contact. Our sister has implants (cosmetic reasons) that feel like two rocks, so I don't know that she'd feel anything if she did have lumps. I get regular mammos and have no breast problems (I had an in situ melanoma removed 11 years ago and hysterectomy 10 years ago for cervical carcinoma in situ).
If I was in Bro's shoes, I think I'd have it biopsied, or at least scanned. Makes me nervous as heck. I'm no Dr, but seems as if a lump responds to Tamoxifen that indicates something.?!
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