Your signs and symptoms

Fizzy

Hey everyone!

Ive been going to the DRs for scans since I found a lump in my neck May 2010. All my scans came back pretty clear. I had Hodgkins disease when I was 13, I am now 30. My last scan in December came back clear, and my follow up scan in March 2011 showed a growth in my armpit lymph nodes. Enough of a growth to cause concern. I also had a PET Scan, and it showed cells brighter, which is a good indication of Cancer. I will be going for a biopsy this week, I hope!

What are some of your symptoms and signs when you were diagnosed with breast cancer?

MAJW

Mass..
In my breast, which I found less than 3 months after a mammo and ultrasound...no other symptoms...
Keep us posted!

lizzie17

MAJW said:

Mass..
In my breast, which I found less than 3 months after a mammo and ultrasound...no other symptoms...
Keep us posted!

routine mammo
nothing palpable, no signs.

jessiesmom1

1st signs of cancer
Hi Fizzy,

The ONLY thing I ever noticed was enlarged lymph nodes in my right armpit. At first, I wasn't sure if they were really enlarged as compared to the ones in my left armpit. For about 2 weeks I went back and forth at night feeling each side. Finally I decided they were indeed enlarged and actually getting even bigger. I went to the ob/gyn who referred me for a mammogram. The mammogram showed NOTHING in my breast tissue but grossly enlarged lymph nodes in the right armpit. A 2nd mammogram and an ultrasound were done - nothing definitive. I was then referred to a surgeon who referred me for a breast MRI. Next was the PET/CT scan followed by the excision biopsy. Those nodes lit up on the PET/CT scan but there was nothing in the breast tissue itself. The excision biopsy showed "poorly differentiated" cells. Next came the complete axillary dissection. A tissue sample was sent to Pathwork Diagnostics for the Tissue of Origin test. This is the only lab in the country that does this test. It showed that despite the fact that the cancerous sample came from my lymph nodes, the ORIGIN of the cancer was from my breast - Stage IIa, Grade 3, triple negative. No lumps, calcifications, etc. were ever found in my breast. I had a port put in and chemo began - 4 rounds of A/C and 12 rounds of Taxotere. My last infusion was in August 2010.

Everyone's story is different. I hope reading about mine is of some help to you. Good luck with that biopsy. I am glad you have found us. Keep us posted on how things go for you. IRENE

Lynn Smith

MAJW said:

Mass..
In my breast, which I found less than 3 months after a mammo and ultrasound...no other symptoms...
Keep us posted!

Accident
My sign was pain after my grandson elbowed me when throwing a ball.I had a mammo in June 2008.It was fine.In Feb(2009 8 months later) was the accident.I went to my breast surgeon because of the pain. He couldn't feel anything but told me to wait till June for my annual mammo.I went in for the mammo in July. Since my doctor said he didn't feel anything I was comfortable.Then I was moving some furniture end of June and the pain came back after a time of no pain.

I've had a cystic breast and 5 benign tumors before this on that side. Starting at Age 20.My Mom and niece had breast cancer.Mom lived 60 years.Niece is doing fine.I always knew if I ever got cancer it would be the left breast.I'm sure the accident triggered it.I read where injuries and blows don't cause bc but since my accident I've talked to 3 other people that had a blow to their breast that was later cancer.

My niece was diagnosed at 30 and had a mascetomy.The next year her other breast was pre cancerous and they said she needed the other breast removed as a precaution.

My tumor was only 1/2 centimeter so it had to be the accident.I am sure it wasn't there the day the doctor examined me(only 2 weeks after the incident) but it took a few months to develop.

Will be thinking of you and hope everything will be fine.

Lynn Smith

midnight10

Lump under arm-lymph node.
Lump under arm-lymph node. By the time I finally got run 'up the ladder'--regular physician, mammogram and then a second mammo, ulrasound-surgical consult, I had two lumps under my arm. The surgeon said "That's good, cancer doesn't grow that fast". Then sent me for biopsies the same day. Guess what, cancer does grow that fast-triple negative.

Hippiechick58

midnight10 said:

Lump under arm-lymph node.
Lump under arm-lymph node. By the time I finally got run 'up the ladder'--regular physician, mammogram and then a second mammo, ulrasound-surgical consult, I had two lumps under my arm. The surgeon said "That's good, cancer doesn't grow that fast". Then sent me for biopsies the same day. Guess what, cancer does grow that fast-triple negative.

Annual Mammo, no lumps, no
Annual Mammo, no lumps, no pain.

skipper54

Found a lump
and went for a mammogram that looked like cancer, so did the ultrasound. Biopsy was positive so an MRI was added and a PET scan that lit up both the lump and some lymph nodes. Started chemo 10 days after initial visit, then mastectomy, then rads. The repeat PET scan before rads was clear. It's a roller coaster ride!

DebbyM

lizzie17 said:

routine mammo
nothing palpable, no signs.

I had no signs. My bc was
I had no signs. My bc was found thru my annual mammo.

ldpettit

signs symptoms
The only symptoms I may have had was just not feeling well the past 3 years. Though blood work etc showed nothing was wrong at all.

During a routine OB breast exam in Oct 2010 I spoke with my OB about a lump on my RT breast. Long story short the mamm didn't pick it up nor did the ultra sound. The cancer was only confirmed via pathologist report from the 2nd biopsy a surgical oncoligist did.

I pray whatever they are finding on you has been caught very early. Keep us posted

Lisa

laughs_a_lot

Slight intermittent pain.
My pain (if you can call it that) was not in the actual area of the tumor. It was in an area next to where the tumor was. If you are a nursing mother you will better understand what I mean by the following statement. It was more like the pressure of my breast being full of milk. It is I guess a very mild sort of pain. Being in menopause I kenw there was no reason for that sensation. The edge of the tumor was encroaching upon that area as I see it in hindsight. I went in for a mamogram about 2 weeks later and BINGO! Abnormality.

susie09

jessiesmom1 said:

1st signs of cancer
Hi Fizzy,

The ONLY thing I ever noticed was enlarged lymph nodes in my right armpit. At first, I wasn't sure if they were really enlarged as compared to the ones in my left armpit. For about 2 weeks I went back and forth at night feeling each side. Finally I decided they were indeed enlarged and actually getting even bigger. I went to the ob/gyn who referred me for a mammogram. The mammogram showed NOTHING in my breast tissue but grossly enlarged lymph nodes in the right armpit. A 2nd mammogram and an ultrasound were done - nothing definitive. I was then referred to a surgeon who referred me for a breast MRI. Next was the PET/CT scan followed by the excision biopsy. Those nodes lit up on the PET/CT scan but there was nothing in the breast tissue itself. The excision biopsy showed "poorly differentiated" cells. Next came the complete axillary dissection. A tissue sample was sent to Pathwork Diagnostics for the Tissue of Origin test. This is the only lab in the country that does this test. It showed that despite the fact that the cancerous sample came from my lymph nodes, the ORIGIN of the cancer was from my breast - Stage IIa, Grade 3, triple negative. No lumps, calcifications, etc. were ever found in my breast. I had a port put in and chemo began - 4 rounds of A/C and 12 rounds of Taxotere. My last infusion was in August 2010.

Everyone's story is different. I hope reading about mine is of some help to you. Good luck with that biopsy. I am glad you have found us. Keep us posted on how things go for you. IRENE

I was just going for my
I was just going for my routine/annual mammo and it showed a suspicious area, which turned out to be bc.

Gabe N Abby Mom

I found swelling in my left
I found swelling in my left armpit, it literally came up overnight and it was huge, about the diameter of an orange. My dx turned out to be triple neg inflammatory bc. Other symptoms of IBC are swelling of the breast, redness in the skin (it can look inflammed--hence the name), a 'bruise' that won't go away, the look of a spider bite, dimples/thickening in the skin that look like an orange peel, a nipple that inverts or secrets fluid.

IBC moves very quickly. I started with only the swelling in the armpit, then three short weeks later I also had swelling and redness in the skin that was progressively getting worse. I saw minor improvement with the first chemo treatment, and definite improvement in the symptoms after the second chemo.

I hope this helps you. Please come back and let us know how you are doing.

Hugs,

Linda

Lighthouse_7

Gabe N Abby Mom said:

I found swelling in my left
I found swelling in my left armpit, it literally came up overnight and it was huge, about the diameter of an orange. My dx turned out to be triple neg inflammatory bc. Other symptoms of IBC are swelling of the breast, redness in the skin (it can look inflammed--hence the name), a 'bruise' that won't go away, the look of a spider bite, dimples/thickening in the skin that look like an orange peel, a nipple that inverts or secrets fluid.

IBC moves very quickly. I started with only the swelling in the armpit, then three short weeks later I also had swelling and redness in the skin that was progressively getting worse. I saw minor improvement with the first chemo treatment, and definite improvement in the symptoms after the second chemo.

I hope this helps you. Please come back and let us know how you are doing.

Hugs,

Linda

No real signs, just went for
No real signs, just went for a mammo. Looking back, I can say that I had noticed I was very tired. My children even noticed and would say, "Geez, Mom is always tired", like something wasn't right.
Let us know how you make out.
Hugs,
Wanda

Ritzy

laughs_a_lot said:

Slight intermittent pain.
My pain (if you can call it that) was not in the actual area of the tumor. It was in an area next to where the tumor was. If you are a nursing mother you will better understand what I mean by the following statement. It was more like the pressure of my breast being full of milk. It is I guess a very mild sort of pain. Being in menopause I kenw there was no reason for that sensation. The edge of the tumor was encroaching upon that area as I see it in hindsight. I went in for a mamogram about 2 weeks later and BINGO! Abnormality.

No symptoms or signs here
No symptoms or signs here either. I went in for my annual mammogram and that was the start of this journey.


Sue

Alexis F

Gabe N Abby Mom said:

I found swelling in my left
I found swelling in my left armpit, it literally came up overnight and it was huge, about the diameter of an orange. My dx turned out to be triple neg inflammatory bc. Other symptoms of IBC are swelling of the breast, redness in the skin (it can look inflammed--hence the name), a 'bruise' that won't go away, the look of a spider bite, dimples/thickening in the skin that look like an orange peel, a nipple that inverts or secrets fluid.

IBC moves very quickly. I started with only the swelling in the armpit, then three short weeks later I also had swelling and redness in the skin that was progressively getting worse. I saw minor improvement with the first chemo treatment, and definite improvement in the symptoms after the second chemo.

I hope this helps you. Please come back and let us know how you are doing.

Hugs,

Linda

The tech said there was
The tech said there was something suspicious on my mammo and sent me for an ultrasound guided core biopsy which determined I had bc.

Lex

CypressCynthia

My experience
Initially, I felt a painless thickening a few inches above my left nipple. It did not feel at all like a cyst: no borders, immovable, just a thickened area under the skin. It slowly, slowly progressed in size. It turns out, I was feeling the "tail" of my tumor. It started under my nipple and spread out like a spider.

When I had metastasis 2 decades later, I broke 3 ribs after lifting heavy boxes. The ribs hurt intermittently, but each time, the pain was worse in intensity and staying longer. It felt like I had an alien in my ribcage trying to break out.

camul

Felt a lump on right breast.
Felt a lump on right breast. Showed it to Primary Physician. Mammo and Ultrasound showed tumor. Biopsy confirmed.

On the recurrence, it was pain in the ribs on the left side, and pain in hips and pelvic region. ER dr said ribs was a pulled muscle, 3 weeks later PET Scan confirmed mets to bones.

~Carol

Rague

Like Linda (Gabe N Abby Mom)
Like Linda (Gabe N Abby Mom) I'm IBC, though not TN, I'm ER+.

Pretty much the same time frame, which is 'normal' for IBC - overnight went from nothing to a very enlarged lymph node under arm (Rt side for me). Breast enlarged rapidly, nipple inverted. Saw my PA in the morning (she told me she was sure what it was) and by 1 pm I was having a mammo, then a sono and a biopsy with the Radiologist telling me the same thing she had said and that he'd call me in the morning with the path. They were right. 17 days after DX, I started neo-Adjunct Chemo - this Aug 26 will be 2 years ago.

Susan

cathyp

Rague said:

Like Linda (Gabe N Abby Mom)
Like Linda (Gabe N Abby Mom) I'm IBC, though not TN, I'm ER+.

Pretty much the same time frame, which is 'normal' for IBC - overnight went from nothing to a very enlarged lymph node under arm (Rt side for me). Breast enlarged rapidly, nipple inverted. Saw my PA in the morning (she told me she was sure what it was) and by 1 pm I was having a mammo, then a sono and a biopsy with the Radiologist telling me the same thing she had said and that he'd call me in the morning with the path. They were right. 17 days after DX, I started neo-Adjunct Chemo - this Aug 26 will be 2 years ago.

Susan

Had Hodgkins Lymphoma too
I had HL 17 and 21 years ago and have been watched closely for BC. I'm assuming you have been too as many HL patients are later dx'd w/BC from the radiation treatments. Did you have mantle radiation?
After many suspicious mammos and inconclusive breast MRI's, I finally had a breast biopsy. It was Invasive Ductual Carcinoma. This was 18 years after the radiation treatments in 2008. I had a double mastectomy as we can not receive additional rads if previously treated w/rads for HL.
Best of luck to you,
Cathy

csr771

Tired
The only thing that I really noticed is that I was very tired all of the time. I attributed being so tired to work and moving. There were no other signs or symptoms. Suspicious areas showed up in my mammogram.