My first experience with finding a lump was so scary, especially after having just watched my mother pass on from it. The family history is so high with breast cancer on both sides that finding a lump for the first time was a massive scare and put me into a bit of a shock. I wasn’t sure what to do, I mean, obviously you go get a mammogram and have the experts figure it out but I really felt like I was frozen. Like maybe it was not really there and maybe if I ignore it, it won’t really be there.
So, after a lot of processing that stuff (I was 35 when I found the first lump) I finally made an appointment and went in and got a mammogram. It was not fun as I am sure you know if you have had one. My sister said to prepare to feel like your boob was just put under a car tire and run over a few times. She was definitely not lying about that! Ouch! They put you in a hospital gown and have you move around in the cold x-ray room to position yourself in different positions. You end up being more personal with the technician than you really cared to be.
After she was done, she let me change into my clothes and I was asked to wait in a different waiting room. Another cold and ‘clinical’ looking room. Plastic chairs and generic looking walls that don’t speak to anyone. It screamed of people being really sick. They called me back in to get ultrasound done. When they did the ultrasound they confirmed that my lump was a cyst. It was 13 centimeters long going from the left side of my breast, where I felt it, into the back of my breast. I couldn’t believe how big it was! The doctor told me that it was no big deal that as women get older it happens and is more common. The technician working with him asked me if I wanted her to drain it and I said yes. She did it while I watched the screen and watched it disappear. It was really weird. The technician then asked me if I wanted to see what came out. That made me nauseous. I told her ‘Not unless you want me to vomit on you!’ It didn’t help that she said, ‘It’s only green stuff.’ Yeah, that did it for me, a wee bit of vomit! I definitely did not need to hear that!
I asked the doctor what causes these cysts and how could I prevent them. He said, ‘there’s nothing you can do about them, it just happens as you get older.’ I told him ‘I will Google it then, and find the answers.’ He didn’t seem to worried and really didn’t seem to be bothered about finding out this information himself. A shame really because there are loads of resources when you look for this stuff. I found a UK Surgeon who writes quite a few articles about different breast health issues and he has written about non-malignant lumps. I thought it would be a good idea to pass this information on. I am always finding cysts now and actually go through the same thing over again when I do find a lump. I think it would be helpful for everyone to have this information so there is no surprise if you get this diagnosis.
I have had some considerable results with my clients when we work on educating ourselves with all the information needed. I am a firm believer in knowing what it is we are dealing with. If you arm yourself with education you will find you are more confident in what will happen next. There are no surprises. I’ll enclose the link to Professor Kefali Mokbel’s article on breast cysts. Enjoy the information and as always, feel free to comment, share and like this post.
Have a sparkly day!
http://www.totalhealth.co.uk/clinical-experts/professor-kefah-mokbel/understanding-breast-cysts
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