grateful

I haven't shared this with the social media world because I was waiting on an actual diagnosis and didn't want anyone to worry about me. Now that I know what's going on, I feel comfortable sharing. On October 7, I was doing my monthly self breast exam and noticed a lump in my left breast that had not been there before. I was on my period, so I thought it could be something with that and waited and watched for a week before making an appointment with my gynecologist. During that time, I did lots of research so that I could be informed of what the pesky lump could be. Since it's Breast Cancer Awareness Month, our library system actually posted this link that I found very helpful:  http://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/

I was about 90% sure that the lump was cyst and knew that my doctor would probably tell me to watch it for a couple months to see if it changed (went away, got bigger, became painful, or had any other noticeable changes). The lump is smooth, round, and "wiggles" which is a pretty good indicator that it's a cyst and nothing to really worry about. There was that small part of me that was still fearful of being told it was cancer...even though most cancer lumps don't move and feel sort of like a golf ball when you rub over them.

I had an appointment at 3:30 yesterday. My doctor feels confident that the lump is just a cyst. I'm supposed to check it every few days and let the office know right away if there are any changes. Otherwise, he'll check it again in 2 months. If he thinks I need to, I'll have an ultrasound done and the radiologist will either try to draw the liquid out (if it's that type) or a surgeon will remove the cyst. Until then, I've been told I have to give up caffeine (coke, tea, chocolate, etc). He also told me to take an anti-inflammatory to try to reduce the size of the cyst.

I feel so much better knowing that the pesky lump isn't serious and that it's easily treatable. Ladies, please be doing your monthly self-checks. The website I linked has an app that sends reminders. It also shows the proper technique for checking if you don't know. Also, if you find something, don't wait a long time before you get checked by your doctor...early detection is key (especially if you're young because the cancers that seem to target the under 50 age group tend to be pretty aggressive and invasive).