Hard lump in vulva

Hello and welcome to the Macmillan community and to this group. I'm sorry that your worries have lead you here but you have definitely come to the best place to get support,advice and accurate information.  

You have done exactly the right thing in going to the doctor and getting yourself checked out. Your concerns have been taken seriously and the medics will work out what is wrong. 

The only way to find out for definite if this lump is cancer is to do a biopsy of it. Even if it is cancerous vulval cancer is treatable. 

Please try to avoid googling. If you want reliable, uptodate to date information use this site or Cancer Research UK. There is also the Eve Appeal for all gynae cancers.

Take care of yourself and please post and let us know how your appointment goes. 

Love 

Sue x

Firstly it's much more likely to NOT be cancerous so please try not to worry too much. I had a similar experience to your own. Lump in right side of labia that the GP thought was a cyst (mine wasn't painful though). It felt like a firm, irregular mass. "Lobular" was what the pathology report said. Antibiotics didn't clear it up so was booked in for routine surgery to remove it as it got pretty large. Gyn thought it was a cyst too and it was only after it was removed that the pathology report showed that it was cancerous so I had to have another surgery to remove additional tissue to ensure that all margins were clear. That was it. No other treatment needed. Had a follow up after 3 months and got the all clear from that so just have to go back every 6 months now unless I feel something of course. It was a bit stressful at the time but my life is completely back to normal now. Fingers crossed that your mass isn't cancer, but even if it is, surgery can generally fix things. I imagine they will want to take a biopsy of your mass to determine what it is and what to do. That's the better approach than the one I had as I had to have 2 surgeries when if I'd had a biopsy would probably have only needed one. 

Thank you to both of you.

I am of course hoping that it is something benign, and have stopped googling! The mass is large (around 5-6cm) and deep in the tissue. My sensible brain says that as it came up quickly its more likely to be something simple but my anxiety is making it more stressful than that. 

I am just so annoyed i have to wait until friday again for another appointment and then no doubt wait further after that for whatever tests they will want to do. Its been over a month now and im not able to work with it due to the pain and anxiety. 

Do they sometimes do a biopsy with local anaesthetic in consult or will i have another appt booked for that? 

It is very reassuring to hear that yours was removed and that you have been in the clear since Stardot, that is great news :-)

I didn't have a biopsy on mine as they removed the whole thing from the get go thinking that it was a harmless cyst. The pathology showed it to be a very rare type of cancer (not the more usual vulva one). 

That said there are many people on here who have had a biopsy under local anaesthetic without needing another appointment. It depends on the tests that the consultant wants to do though. After mine was confirmed as cancer I had CT scans of the chest, abdomen and pelvis and an MRI scan of the pelvis. Because it was so unusual they wanted to ensure that it hadn't spread anywhere else (which it hadn't thankfully). Hard as it seems you will need to wait and see what your consultant says on Friday. By the time I got to see the gyn who covered cancer (the original gyn who did my op doesn't cover cancer cases) my case had already been discussed by the multi disciplinary team so you may find that your case has been referred to them too. That will be a whole team of experts who will review your case and decide on next steps. 

I will keep my fingers crossed for you that it's not anything suspicious. Yours certainly doesn't appear to present as the more normal vulval cancer which tends to be something noticed on the surface of the vulva initially, like 80% of cases of a relatively rare cancer to start with. So it makes it even more unlikely that it will be cancer, although the other 20% of cases are made up of a variety of different things. 

Hello,

Just thought I would send a quick reply as I had something similar to you - although mine was the Bartholin Gland, I had it removed and unfortunately it was cancerous. I then had another op plus radio and chemo, and I have been clear for two years.

Everyone is right, best not to google, although don’t we all do it - especially in the wee small hours.!!

Try not to be too anxious, whatever it is you will face it as we all do. Hopefully yours will not be cancer.

The waiting around is the worst isn’t it.

Sending big hugs and keep us posted.

The waiting is def the worst bit. Im wishing my weeks away waiting for all these appointments and every day seems to be going so slowly in the run up to them. 

Thank you for all of your replies. Xxx

That is totally understandable. Friday isn't long to wait and then hopefully you will know what tests etc they propose. If you need someone to chat to there is the Macmillan telephone line or you could contact the Eve Appeal. Both should have knowledgeable people you can discuss your fears with, or if you have any questions either before or after your appointment that you want to discuss with someone rather than on a forum like this. 

Hello

I had my appointment yesterday. The first gyne doctor looked and said he thought I should have some biopsies. He then went on to say he wanted a senior consultant to have a look because it is 'unusual'. The consultant examined me and actually did so far more thoroughly than any of the other 7 (yes, 7!) doctors that had examined me before. 

The consultant has sent me for an urgent MRI scan, as she said that the mass is very firm and from manipulation she feels that it may be attached to deeper structures that she cannot tell from exam alone. She also said that she was going to discuss my case at the weekly multidisciplinary team meeting for more input?

So I am now home waiting for a phone call to tell me the to go in for the MRI. I will be chasing it up if I don't hear over the next couple of days. I am still in so much pain and my anxiety is really quite bad too. I hate all this waiting.....

Katie 

Hi Katie,

The waiting is the worst isn’t it? I am sure you will hear very soon, I remember everything going thru the team and waiting for a phone call, an MRI or CT scan..... huge stress.

Nothing anyone can say I know. 

Sending lots of love and hugs.

Xx

Hi Katie, the waiting is definitely the worst part. At least when you know what you are dealing with and the proposed treatment plan you can start to get your head around that whatever it is you have down there. I was in the same boat; waiting for an urgent MRI and then for my case to be discussed at the multi disciplinary meeting. Because my cancer was very unusual they had to use the team of experts there to decide how to progress with a treatment plan which sounds like it will be the case for you too. It will feel like time is standing still and never moving on for the next week or 2 but you will hear the outcome very soon I'm sure.