Olivia Attwood's Lump
- Olivia Attwood, 26, discovered a lump on her breast and had it surgically removed.
- Lumps on the body may be cancerous or can become cancerous so it’s important to have them checked.
- It’s important to do bodily self-checks to spot any unusual lump; breast lumps can sometimes require a lumpectomy or mastectomy.
It’s important to pay attention to any lumps that may appear on your body be they in your neck, on your foot, on your breast, or elsewhere.
Read MoreSelf-Checking for Lumps
Following the discovery of her lump, Attwood had an ultrasound scan, after which her surgeon told her it was not breast cancer. As a preventative measure, she opted for surgical removal. Lumps on the body can appear anywhere, and it’s important to do self-checks for lumps on the breasts, testes, and in other areas of the body.Self-checks are often best done in the shower when you have time and privacy to do them. For men and women, paying attention to areas of the body which may sometimes go neglected, is especially important. If something feels unusual if you feel a small mass or lump where the area should be smooth speak with your physician and get answers.
Getting to Know Your Breasts with Self-Exams
Surgical Removal of Lumps
A lumpectomy is a surgical removal of a lump of breast tissue. Some women may opt for a lumpectomy over a mastectomy the surgical removal of the breast when treating or taking preventative measures against breast cancer.
Related: Dating After Preventative Cancer Surgery Meet Pre-Vivor Erika Stallings
Dr. Sarah Cate, a breast surgeon at Mount Sinai Health System, told SurvivorNet in a previous interview about the two procedures. She said, “Lumpectomy versus mastectomy is a choice. As a surgeon, it’s my job to find out what a patient’s background is, what are their beliefs? What are their expectations? How will they feel after the surgery? Do they have debilitating fear about breast cancer because they have a strong family history of breast cancer? And what will ultimately be the right choice for them? Even if you do remove the breast, you may not be increasing your lifespan.”
Dr. Cate stressed that it’s important to make an informed decision when it comes to choosing either procedure. Obviously each case is different and you need to consult your doctor about the specifics of your disease, but she says, “A [mastectomy] is a much bigger surgery, much longer recovery, and there’s really not a lot of benefit to it. So as a breast surgeon, my job is to review that data with them, and to help them understand that their long-term survival with mastectomy is equivalent to that with lumpectomy and radiation.”
Should I Have a Lumpectomy or Mastectomy?
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