Breast Cancer Self Examining

Last week, when I was getting ready to go to  sleep, my hand unconsciously went over my breast and I felt a thing!

Yes, definitely it was a lump. For a second or so, I did not know how to feel because I had just finished reading a book about a woman and her experience with her son, when suddenly she realized a lump in her breast that caused a big change in her life. I was so sure that I did not choose to read that book by coincidence, it was some form of informing me beforehand! Oh, and that leaflet about self examining, I got from a brochure holder at my dentist’s waiting room. I got the folded leaflet in my bag. It said:

“Regularly examining your breasts after age 30 on your own, is an important way to find breast cancer early, when it’s more likely to be treated successfully.”  then it explained how to do that:

• Examine your breast several days after your period ends, when they are least likely to be tender.
• Don’t panic, if you think you feel a lump. Most women have some lumps or lumpy areas in their breasts all the time.

That remark made me calm down as well as the statistics about the US that stated only 20% of women who have a suspicious lump biopsied turn out to have breast cancer! I was so glad that I had kept that leaflet from the wall brochure holder.

The list goes on like this:

• Breasts tend to have different structures and may differ from person to person. The upper, outer area tends to have the most prominent lumps. The lower half of your breast can feel like a pebbly beach. The area under the nipple can feel like a collection of large grains. So you have to know the look and feel of YOUR breast.
• You may keep a journal about your finding. If something stands out as different from the previous or if there is an irregularity you should see a doctor.

Well, the leaflet out of the pamphlet displays was helpful in a way but was not enough to calm me down totally. So I did an online search.

What settled me until the doctor’s examination next day was these two facts I found on the internet:

• If your mother, sister, or any woman from your mother’s side has breast cancer, you are likely to have it. Well, women on my mother’s side were quite healthy. Of course this does not guarantee that the lump is ok, but still it is a good sign.
• If the lump is mobile and it aches, this is a good thing. If it is solid it is more likely to be diagnosed as cancer. Mine was mobile. That was a good sign as well.

I don’t know if I slept or not that night but first thing in the morning I was at the hospital.

After the ultrasound and the mammogram, I started to wait for the results and it felt like a lifetime. The uncertainty really stinks. Luckily my diagnosis was “Fibroadenomas” which is said to occur in 10 percent of the women. But I had my lesson.  I will get regularly examined. If you’re over 40 or at a high risk group, remember that the earlier breast cancer is found and diagnosed, the better your chances of beating it.