For women diagnosed with breast cancer, what early symptoms did you personally notice?
August 31, 2025
For those diagnosed with breast cancer, what first signs or changes did you feel? Lump, pain, heaviness, skin changes? What made you see a doctor?
3 comments
If you suspect something, go see a doctor. Don’t take the chance. And advocate for proper testing. My sister was 25 when she was diagnosed, her first symptom was nipple discharge. They assured her it was nothing. She could have been stage 0, now she is at least stage 2. Just go.
For me it was very sudden. Id been feeling a little tired but I could rationalise that as life was a bit stressfulat the time. I’d noticed my breast feeling a little tender so I copped a feel and there was a fucking great mushroom-sized lump there. It seemed to have popped up in about a fortnight. I knew straight away that it was something bad.
I went straight to the doc, who booked me in for an ultrasound a week later. The ultrasound was awful because they did that thing of all going quiet and then getting a doctor in to do a biopsy on the spot, which was painful. Immediately after that, I was sent to talk to one of their surgeons who basically told me she it was serious and I should brace myself.
I went back a week later and got the diagnosis. It was lobular cancer, which is the much less common kind and often shows itself later that ductal cancer. I’d had a mammogram 6 months before and it hadn’t showed anything, though the medics told me I probably already had it at that point. Again, lobular cancer is harder to spot on a mammogram.
Happily my luck was in. I had nearly a year of very radical treatment – 7 rounds of chemo over five months, a mastectomy and DIEP flap reconstruction, and two weeks of radiotherapy. I’m very well now though still dealing with the effects of scar tissue and post-surgical pain some 2½ years after surgery.
I didn’t mean to write quite so much, but there you are.
My SIL’s friend found out when she dropped a dumbbell during workout on her breast and it swelled up. The swelling didn’t go back down so she went to see her doctor. Because of this accident, they caught it early on. She’s cancer free now.
3 comments
If you suspect something, go see a doctor. Don’t take the chance. And advocate for proper testing. My sister was 25 when she was diagnosed, her first symptom was nipple discharge. They assured her it was nothing. She could have been stage 0, now she is at least stage 2. Just go.
For me it was very sudden. Id been feeling a little tired but I could rationalise that as life was a bit stressfulat the time. I’d noticed my breast feeling a little tender so I copped a feel and there was a fucking great mushroom-sized lump there. It seemed to have popped up in about a fortnight. I knew straight away that it was something bad.
I went straight to the doc, who booked me in for an ultrasound a week later. The ultrasound was awful because they did that thing of all going quiet and then getting a doctor in to do a biopsy on the spot, which was painful. Immediately after that, I was sent to talk to one of their surgeons who basically told me she it was serious and I should brace myself.
I went back a week later and got the diagnosis. It was lobular cancer, which is the much less common kind and often shows itself later that ductal cancer. I’d had a mammogram 6 months before and it hadn’t showed anything, though the medics told me I probably already had it at that point. Again, lobular cancer is harder to spot on a mammogram.
Happily my luck was in. I had nearly a year of very radical treatment – 7 rounds of chemo over five months, a mastectomy and DIEP flap reconstruction, and two weeks of radiotherapy. I’m very well now though still dealing with the effects of scar tissue and post-surgical pain some 2½ years after surgery.
I didn’t mean to write quite so much, but there you are.
My SIL’s friend found out when she dropped a dumbbell during workout on her breast and it swelled up. The swelling didn’t go back down so she went to see her doctor. Because of this accident, they caught it early on. She’s cancer free now.