Hello,
Newbie here. I am 45. Hoping for some input.
I have had a 2cm node in my axillary for about 5 years now. And I have extremely fibrous breasts. My radiologist says my mammogram is normal and he thinks the nodule is benign. My pcp thinks I need to see a breast specialist because of the size and my wbc is a bit low (35,000) so I have an appt in about a week. My question is this. If I have fibrocystic disease, can that cause the axillary nodules to swell? My breasts are really painful off and on throughout my cycle and the nodule is painful as well. I am hoping this is all normal.
My greatest fear is I have had beast cancer all these years and it has spread. Is breast cancer painful and the nodes as well?
Any input is appreciated!
I didn't answer the second part of your question. Breast cancer is not usually painful. In fact, one way doctors distinguish between solid lumps and harmless cysts is that cysts tend to be painful and cancerous lumps usually are not painful. Sometimes breast cancer is painful if a large lump is pressing on a nerve or if swelling from inflammatory breast cancer causes pain. However, you don't seem to be describing either of those situations, so I think you don't need to worry. Just be proactive about following up on your pcp's suggestion.