Afternoon!
I feel like I haven't updated in ages! Which I know is not the case, but I've been keeping something "hidden" for a while, up until now. I didn't want to say anything up until now because I was sacred out of my wits that it might be something much bigger than it actually was. I know this all sounds up in the air, but you'll find out soon what I'm talking about. A month ago, I felt a strange bump just above my left breast, it wasn't anything within the soft tissue of my breast but protruding from the surface. I've never suffered from acne on my chest, so to feel this strange bump made me anxious. You all know that I'm a biochemist and keeping my background in mind and that I know about cancer, you can imagine what I was thinking. Since my exams were looming (at that point in time) and I had this bump itching at every corner of my mind, I made an appointment with a doctor to get it checked out right away. As the days finally led up to the consultation, I noticed that when I happened to sleep on my left side, the bump would flatten out and get bigger, at this point I was scared out of my mind. The day of the consultation came, and the doctor said to my relief that it was a blocked sebaceous gland that could get bigger to such an extent that it would have to be surgically removed.
Being the neurotic person that I am, and I know of doctors that have made misdiagnoses before. After my exam period ended I told my mum I needed a second opinion and off we went to another doctor. This doctor said it was the same thing, but since my mum had said that it was a blocked sebaceous gland, I felt that her opinion was influenced by what my mum said (I know I'm totally paranoid and science made me this way *laughs*). The doctor recommended me to a breast surgeon that dealt with breast cancer and general surgery procedures. To my relief I got an appointment quickly (I went yesterday for the appointment). He asked me the usual questions how long I had it for, if I had received any medication for it (antibiotics) and if it had changed at all during the period I had it for. I then went in for an examination and a sonogram to make sure that the cyst was just above the surface and not deeper down. Thankfully it was a superficial cyst and I had it removed yesterday. I think I've mentioned this before but I have a bleeding disorder (Von Willebrand's disease) which is not a well known bleeding disorder because it's uncommon. So anything to do with minor surgical procedures like this scare me a bit, but I needed to get it removed because if it was any bigger I'd be admitted into hospital and put under anesthetic.
Receiving a local anesthetic in soft tissue such as your breast hurts like hell, and it's the only bad part about getting it removed. I'm in pain now because I just got hacked (jokes) in a sensitive area of my body, but I'll survive! :)
I wrote this post to try and make everyone aware of the fact, that if you feel anything strange or see anything strange appearing on your chest or wherever it might be. Don't wait for it to magically disappear. Get it checked out as soon as possible, so that you know where you stand with your health and to give you overall peace of mind. When I had the cyst removed it was the size of a kernel corn and sent off to the lab to make sure it wasn't anything serious, which is a routine procedure. From what the surgeon told me, a cancerous lump is physically attached to the breast tissue (can't move it around when you touch it), it's irregular in shape and usually found within the breast, as in you have to do a breast exam to feel it. But of course these are just general features to look out for and lumps and bumps can feel like their cancerous but might not actually be, because our breasts are naturally lumpy.
I really hope this has helped anyone with a cyst that might think it was cancerous, because let me tell you, I went searching for "red bump on top of breast" and all I got were results including "inflammatory breast cancer" and "breast cancer". So my advice? Get it checked out as soon as possible!
Till we meet again!
Bye Bye!
I hope you get well soon !
ReplyDeleteOuchh. I'm glad to hear that it was only something minor though. Get well!
ReplyDeleteThank you Jessica! :) I'm absolutely relieved it's only something minor I think if it was any worse the pain would kill me XD
ReplyDeleteOMG I'm so glad that it was just a sebaceous cyst! I love how you went to 3 doctors to get it checked! In Canada, you'd have to wait months if you wanted to get an appointment with a specialist >___< I actually had the exact same problem but it was in another area on my body. It became so big that I had to get it surgically removed as well (and now I have keloid scars instead of bumps... but I'm relieved it's not cancer). Being healthy is so important but we often neglect it because we're young and we think we have all the time in the world.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean, down here the waiting time is insane! If I wasn't referred by the second doctor I would probably have only gotten an appointment the following month, and by that time I would have died from worry XD I'm so worried about a scar, because I mean this is on my chest, but I'd rather have a scar than be scared it's something much much worse. Health is so important these days and so easily taken care off, with advancing medicine...we really need to take care of ourselves more.
ReplyDeleteAww no thats horrible! But I'm glad you're okay :) I had a cyst before and I was exactly the same as you. My GP told me that it was just tissue and it was nothing to be worried about but I was still scared. Usually my facial expressions totally give me away and she offered to book me in to the Breast Clinic just to double-check which I was thankful for. When I was given the all clear and I went back to my GP she taught me the 'proper' way to check your breasts which you're suppose to do with the arm lifted up and to add on to identifying a cancerous lump, its usually the size of a golfball x
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Pandora! Yea, the media definitely makes you suspicious and hyper alert about things like these, let alone Google, ahaha!
ReplyDeleteAww, Michy your doctor is so sweet! I wish that the first doctor had sent me to breast surgeon immediately but oh well. Ahaha, I taught myself to do the proper check-up by studying the diagrams the breast surgeon had in his office and when he did an overall check-up to see if I had any lumps/bumps XD
ReplyDeleteAww thank you so much! I'm glad you like my blog :)
ReplyDeleteAn amazing treatment is the Banical herbal medicine. It is entirely composed of herbal contents that are a result of extensive research from the experts. This medicine is made according to the nature of the body and the response of the skin cells to the Sebaceous Cyst. It strengthens the skin cells and makes them strong enough to dissolve the cyst itself. The medicine can be bought from Herbal Care Products.
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