Monday, April 26, 2010
Hi -
I'm 46 years old. About 3 weeks ago I noticed I had blood drops on my bra and my shirt. I wondered when this might have happened because I had felt absolutely no pain. I didn't think about it much until a few minutes ago when I removed my bra and there again was more blood. This time it was heavier then before. I had not felt any pain. I squeezed my nipple to try to find where it is coming from but no blood would come through. I'm really scared. All I've read on the internet would indicate that I might have breast cancer. I have no health insurance so I can't run to by OBGyn. What would you suggest?
Hi - You should have this examined. A bleeding nipple can be a sign of breast cancer - it's rare, but possible, and you can't ignore it. This is a great opportunity for you to see if you can access the Center for Disease Control’s National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program. It's for underserved women, and not knowing your circumstances, I don't know if you'd qualify. But please read our post on mammograms for underserved women, which gives a link to this federal program for whatever state you live in; as well as informaiton about other possible programs you could access. As I said, this is probably NOT cancer, but it needs to be ruled out. Good luck - PJH
Thank you so much. I've never been in a situation remotely close to this. It's a humbling experience and an enlightenment. I have scheduled an appt with my OBGyn for Friday.
It's great to have someone to talk to. For whatever reason, I feel isolated and distant from my friends. I can't bring myself to share what I'm going through with people close to me for fear of frightening them.
Sincerely,
SD
Be advised - if you start out getting a mammogram or diagnostic tests through anything other than the governmental program I mentioned, you can't get into it retroactively. Also, as I said, don't know if you'd qualify for the program - but wanted to make sure you knew that little detail before you began.
I'm glad you're seeing someone for this. Best of luck - PJH