Check Your Breasts

A bit of a personal one this morning. (I hope you don't mind).

I've had two small health scares recently which were both sorted out pretty quickly. They were both related to my troublesome right hand breast and have reminded me of the importance of putting your fears aside and going to the doctors whenever you are worried about your health.

The first scare came a couple of months ago when I discovered a fairly large lump. My first reaction was to try and push it out of my mind, but I quickly gave myself a reality check and told my husband who agreed that there was definitely a sizeable lump there. I instantly felt sick with fear and managed to persuade myself that it was cancer. I called my Mum who told me I had to see a Dr immediately and within a week I had had a biopsy and scan which revealed that the lump was a 4cm Fibroid Adenoma which is a harmless but prominent lump that appears to move around when you touch it. I was incredibly relieved as you can imagine.

Fast forward to last week when I discovered yet another lump in the same breast. This time it felt totally different and once again the anxiety crept in. However, before I could give myself too much thinking time I booked an appointment with my GP who is almost certain that it is a harmless cyst. I'm seeing the specialist next week to make sure.

I have learnt so much from these past few months. The first thing is that it is VITAL to check your breasts. I find that it's best to do it in the shower as it's easier to check when your skin is wet and soapy. Secondly, if you do find something please please make an appointment with your Dr ASAP. I know it's scary but the chances are that it'll be something totally harmless and if you don't check it will eat away at you and be at the back of your mind the whole time.

If God forbid it is something serious then if you catch it early, the chances of getting it sorted are much higher.

I am petrified of health issues and would much rather hide away from them but I'm so happy that I saw my Dr quickly. It has saved me a lot of worry and was much less scary than I thought.

Here's a link with some great advice on how to do a breast check

http://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/testing/types/self_exam/bse_steps.jsp

xx