Feeling a lump in your breast can be a terrifying experience, but according to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, most are not cancerous. Most breast lumps are cysts (fluid-filled sacs within your breast), benign tumors such as fibroadenomas, mastitis (breast inflammation), blood clots from trauma, scar tissue, or simply nodules of dense breast tissue, which are not typically linked to cancer.
(I was not thrilled when I saw this pic on Facebook the other day, but it seemed to fit with today's fact, so there you have it.)
Finding a lump is scary. Believe me, I know. I was on vacation in New York when I found mine. Thousands of miles away from home, away from my husband, away from my doctors.... away from any answers. Even before that..... years before that..... I had signs. Swelling in my lymph node areas led me to my first mammogram at age 37. I was called back for a closer look after that first one. You want to talk about being afraid! I wish I had insisted on more imaging instead of accepting a "You have dense breasts but everything looks good" report. My next mammogram was clear, as was the next. Then out of nowhere I felt a lump, and the rest is history.
Don't let fear keep you from getting checked. I did.... for six months. I waited and procrastinated. Hoping it would go away. Afraid of the answer. Then when I had the mammogram and the doctor didn't find anything, I was so relieved! (Obviously now we know it was a false sense of relief.... but I'm an unusual case.) Once I felt the lump, I immediately asked Hubby to get an appointment for me as soon as I got back from my trip. No more procrastination. In my heart I knew it was cancer, and I wanted to deal with it ASAP.
It's difficult to keep our minds from "going there" when there is something out of the ordinary. Facts are facts, though, and MOST breast lumps aren't going to be breast cancer. Don't stress about it for weeks or months (or years) because you're afraid of the answer. Be proactive and find out what you're dealing with. That's way better than not knowing, I guarantee it.
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