A
female
age
41-50,
anonymous
writes:I realize that most people on this site are not doctors and I should get this checked out, but I am so scared.Maybe I'm getting upset over nothing, but I'm freaking out at the possibility that I might have cancer. What does it mean if your breasts are very badly swollen, and they feel sore and heavy? I feel like someone has gotten a hose and filled them with water to the bursting point, and my chest looks at least two cup sizes bigger, and they feel heavy and tight, like watermelons on my chest. They both feel tender and swollen, and I've looked but can't find a lump. They just feel like they're about to burst. They both feel the same.I'm in my 20s and not sure what the chances are that I could have breast cancer. There's no chance that I could be pregnant. Pre-menstrual, yes, but I've never experienced swelling like this.I've looked on WebMD and there are many possible causes for this problem, but I can't stop worrying I might have breast cancer.I don't have any health insurance and I'm too scared to tell anyone in my family about this. I need to get this checked out, I know, but I'm so worried that I can't stop thinking about it and don't know how I'll get through today. I can take an honest answer and realize this isn't the best place for medical advice, but... has anyone heard of this as a symptom of breast cancer? At my age what are the chances that I could develop breast cancer in the near future?Thanks, if you can help me.
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Fancy yourself as an agony aunt? Add your answer to this question! A
reader, anonymous, writes (25 April 2009): Good news: "Something" happened (sorry to gross anyone out). I think it was PMS that was causing this... it seems to have gone away. Now my stomach hurts but I'm relieved it's not cancer.
Thanks for your answers.
A
reader, anonymous, writes (24 April 2009): Umm, thanks, I'll wait and see if "anything" happens, and if nothing does then I'll go get it checked out.
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reader, anonymous, writes (24 April 2009): Don't be embarassed! There's nothing to be embarassed about. That means it's PMS or something else. From what you've just explained, it sounds exactly like that. Sometimes I have PMS worse some months than others.
BUT i'm no doctor, so make an appointment and get it checked out.
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A
female
reader, anonymous, writes (24 April 2009): It does sound like PMS. When you implied you had protected sex, was it just a condom used? There is a chance it may have split. First do a pregnancy test, if negative, go to see a doctor just incase it is something more serious. Better to be safe than sorry.
Thanks for your answer but I feel I need to clarify something: I've never had sex... protected or otherwise. I know this is hard to believe considering my age. I'm embarrassed to discuss sexual matters in public but I'm so grateful for the internet and the concommitant anonymity.
I almost wish there were a chance I was pregnant, but there is no chance at all... I've never had intercourse. No one believes this, but it's true.
I am so scared but I'm really grateful that you guys listened to my problem. I can't go to my mom; her life is hard enough already and most of my college friends are busy... thank you for writing to me.
I know I'm premenstrual from looking at the calendar, but I've just never had symptoms this intense before.
I've been having mood swings and I this overwhelming desire to cry for no reason frequently strikes without warning. I had a fight with a best friend from college this week, and I said some very ugly things to him. He told me a series of lies, and I was so mad I could have killed him. I have a temper at the best of times but it's been worse lately and I have to fight to control this moodiness.
Thank you for caring about me, it means so much to me :)
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reader, anonymous, writes (23 April 2009): It does sound like PMS. When you implied you had protected sex, was it just a condom used? There is a chance it may have split. First do a pregnancy test, if negative, go to see a doctor just incase it is something more serious. Better to be safe than sorry.
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A
female
reader, anonymous, writes (23 April 2009): I hope I don't make anyone uncomfortable, but I am premenstrual, I believe. There's a lot of soreness, and I feel moody. A lot of people get offended by this, and I don't mean to offend anyone, but I can feel myself becoming irritable, feeling wound up tight and wanting to weep or rip someone's head off.
I'm going away to school soon and I've made so many sacrifices so that I can have the money to go and I'm scared that if I have an illness, that all that hard work and sacrifice will be for nothing, and I'm so frustrated.
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A
female
reader, anonymous, writes (23 April 2009): I've never had unprotected sex. That's what scares me... there's no chance... that's only happened once in history
Thanks for your answers, though.
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A
female
reader, anonymous, writes (23 April 2009): Its probably not cancer.
However, you DO need to consult a doctor! Are you working? You'll just have to set aside some money to pay for a doctor visit. Hopefully he/she will be able to reassure you and prescribe a simple remedy.
If you need something more, then will be the time to begin thinking how to go about paying........
Good luck!
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reader, anonymous, writes (23 April 2009): I am so sorry you are going through all of this worry.
I really don't know why you might be experiencing the symptoms you are. Yes, definitely get it checked out though. It could be something so small and harmless, and most things usually are.
I don't want to try and give medical advice, because I don't think that would be right of me. But I think I know what you must be going through. I recently had a health scare myself, and it is a truly frightening thing to go through. And the more you worry about it, the worse it gets.
I think the worst part is the uncertainty, the not knowing, the "what if?"...So once this is checked out, and you have more of a clear picture of what is happening, it will get better, I'm sure. Until then though...can you tell somebody, anybody what you are going through? To go through this alone is the worst thing.
Try to do things that you enjoy to distract yourself, although I know this is no easy thing. And if you feel upset, it is okay to feel like that. But I really do think that it would help a lot if you could tell SOMEONE how you are feeling. I know you are scared, but it will probably be a great relief and a load off your shoulders to get support through this.
I really hope you stay strong, and I'm thinking of you. x
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A
female
reader, Honeygirl  +, writes (23 April 2009):
 Hey, doesnt sound like cancer to me!! Sounds like you have either mastitis or serious pms! You do need to go to a doctor to find out what is going on. Nobody can tell you your chances of getting breast cancer - however if you have family members, mother, grandmother who were diagnosed with breast cancer, then yes, your chances are higher that you will develop it. You dont have to tell anyone in the family, just pop along to your dr for a check up, it is more than likely pms [some months are worse than others]. And you say there is no possible way of being pregnant? If you have had unprotected sex in the last couple of months do a pregnancy test.
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