New to all of this

Hello. Sorry you are suffering right now. This sounds like me just a few months ago, I knew something was wrong but couldn’t bring myself to talk to anyone, kept telling myself it was just another abcess, but finally had to do something. Talking to my family hasn’t taken away the anxiety but it is at least shared and they understand why my mood might be off sometimes. I am now waiting for the start of chemo to shrink a tumor before surgery and have just had a load more tests to check it hasn’t spread. The anxiety is still there, the sleep isn’t good but my partner knows why and that takes a lot of stress and tension away.

Please talk to your loved ones. They will want to know so they can support you, you will need support if this is a cancer, and just to be there if you need them. I truly hope this isn’t a cancer for you but we are here with you if it is.

Sorry you are going through this and glad you don’t have long to wait for your appointment. I have had 3 experiences of going to the breast clinic. The first in my 20s a long time ago, referred by my GP, with a large hard area in a breast of a similar size to yours, it turned out to be benign and cleared over time. The second in my 50s with orange peel skin that I thought was inflammatory BC, again referred by my GP, turned out to be a bad case of dermatitis. The third time in my 60s, recalled from a mammogram, this one is cancer. 

Each time the staff have been wonderful. They treat you with care and as an individual. I found they were open each time about what they thought it was, although a biopsy was taken to confirm in each case. It might be something or nothing and it’s really hard dealing with the uncertainty. I think it’s always easy to overthink and catastrophise.  It will become easier when you know more, even if it’s bad news. All the best.