I’ve had this lump under my arm for quite some time. Sometimes, it hurts when I press on it, and sometimes it doesn’t. It’s just plain ugly to have a giant lump sticking out under my arm. My mom had the same lump under her arm, and she had to have it removed because it caused her so much pain. And since she’s had it removed, her doctors have ordered her to have a yearly mammogram to make sure no other lumps exist.
I have been trying in vain to get a doctor to remove my own lump. Doctor #1 kept pressing her fingers deep into my armpit until I yelled for her to stop. She said the lump was nothing and no she won’t remove it for me because “it’s nothing.” Doctor #2 took a look at the lump and after feeling around the area, she said it was nothing and wouldn’t remove it either. By the time I got to Doctor #3, I just told her that even if it was nothing, please refer me to someone who would remove it because I don’t like the giant lump under my arm. She poked at the lump herself, said it was nothing to worry about, but she did send me to a GYN and told me to ask the GYN about it. The GYN, Doctor #4, said she normally sees these underarm lumps in women who have had several pregnancies and she would often refer them to another doctor to get it removed because it caused them tremendous amounts of pain. But since it didn’t hurt me, and I have not had any pregnancies, I should just ignore it. Before going back to report to Doctor #3, my BF did some research and told me that a plastic surgeon would remove my lump for a fee but he won’t remove it unless he gets a biopsy report that says the lump is benign. So I go back to Doctor #3 to tell her the report of Doctor #4, and ask again to get a referral to a doctor who will give me a biopsy so I just get the damn lump removed. Doctor #3 gives me a referral to an oncologist and warns me that this might be “cosmetic” and insurance will not cover it.
Today, I had the meeting with Doctor #5, the oncologist. I have to add that I have a phobia to male doctors, and Doctor #5 is a male. I’m just not comfortable with a strange man, even if he is a doctor who saves lives, etc., touching my body. It’s just weird. Anyways, back to the story. I was already nervous since he was a male doctor, but he made me feel comfortable. Asked me about the history of my lump, poked at the lump and told me that it was “extra breast tissue” and that is was normal for people, men and women, to have extra breast tissue under their arms. He also said this was normal for women who have had several pregnancies. And I kid you not, he told me this: “as a matter of fact, I just saw a woman last week who just had her second baby and she had a lump similar to yours under her arm. The only difference was that her lump had a tiny little nipple on it, and it was lactating. Yes, there was milk coming out of it.” I didn’t care if I had to pay for the surgery myself, but it doesn’t hurt to ask if insurance will cover it. Doctor #5 is great. He said insurance should cover this because “you’re young, you’ve never had a pregnancy, and instead of taking a little out for a biopsy, I’ll take out as much of the extra tissue as I can then we’ll send it to the lab to make sure it’s nothing we need to worry about further.”
Whoo hoo! I thought he would schedule the surgery for 3-4 weeks out, but no, it’s scheduled for the end of the week. Yikes!
BF quote of the day: “Vanity isn’t for the weak.” Is it really worth the pain?
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