I personally would get a 2nd opinion first of all. I have had friends who were thought to have some abnormal growth cells and after a 2nd opinion, those turned out to be cell tissue. If, indeed it is breast cancer, the sooner you get treatment started, the better the chances for a full recovery. Maybe, a change in diet as well? Keep us posted.

Yeah, get a second opinion. If you drink caffiene, you can get lumps from it

I agree with mtbfan, a second opinion would not hurt. I had to schedule my mammogram 2 months out (they were booked solid), but I don't blame you for being concerned. Maybe your doctor could find someplace to do the tests sooner. With me they suspected lung cancer due to a spot on a chest x ray. I had a CT scan and then a PET scan all in less than 3 weeks. In about 6 weeks I was in surgery, they did a biopsy and then immediately removed the upper left lobe. You probably have plenty of time, but you are right, the sooner you get it taken care of the better. Are there any "cancer centers" near you that you could go to?
And YES, men do get breast cancer.
Please keep in touch, let me know how you are doing, and if you need anything.

I never heard of such long delays in getting tests done, but maybe that's the way it is in your neck of the woods?? Get all test results back before you jump to conclusions. It may not be cancer after all. Are you limited on where you can go due to your insurance coverage? The squeaky wheel gets oiled so start squeaking. There should be a few centers in the area that do mammograms and MRIs?? Second and third opinions are always a good idea. My friend just went through all of this and she had mammograms, MRIs and biopsies done within a couple of weeks and is scheduled for surgery soon. Not much of a wait at all, but she said it was frustrating dealing with the insurance company, etc. If it is breast cancer, many friends have had different types of surgeries and are doing fine now. They have come a long way with technology, treatments, etc. Keep us posted on test results. Thinking and praying for you.

Sent you a pm.

Thanks for the information. If it were only a lump I might be less worried, but there are several other symptoms as well that I am experiencing. Unfortunately, we are limited in places to go where I live and it took two months just to get the doctor appointment.

Like other men, I took all the commercials on television at their word and figured it was a women's only cancer. Sure wish they would do a better job in educating men instead of leaving us to believe such things.

Anyway, thanks for the support and information.

This isn't the first time I've heard of a man having breast cancer. It's more common in women, but men can develop cancer in the breast too.

As others suggested, do get a second opinion. I pray that results come back that it's just s tumor and not cancerous.

I know a man who has had breast cancer.

Sadly women do face long wait times for doctor appointments and testing, I go through it myself.

I had to wait 4 months for a doctor visit for a serious matter that ended in surgery.

I would get a second opinion as well.

Guardian,
Get a second opinion. Furthermore, Barns Jewish in St. Louis is the best in the state for cancer treatment. There is also UMKC medical center. Don't wait. you don't have to wait. If you bug and bug and bug they will get you an earlier appointment. The sooner the lump can be biopsied, the better as it will result in better outcomes. Early detection means you will know what stage, and it will determine the best course of treatment for you. Reach out to Susan Komen as well as the American Cancer Society to see if they can find a provider that can see you..

If insurance is giving you a hard time, then don't worry about that for the time being.

I'll be praying.

Thanks for the support everyone. I feel better knowing that I am not the only one to wait so long to get the tests done. Being new to all of this, I question everything. At this point, and because I have so many of the key symptoms and a strong family history of cancer, the odds are sadly not in my favor that it will be something else of minor importance. And unfortunately, St. Louis and Kansas City are out of my area.

The Bloch family from Kansas City has a cancer foundation with a large network. They may be able to help you find something or someone more convenient. I had a reproductive-type cancer that's not real common, but the diagnosis and treatment aspect wasn't my issue. I just wanted to talk to someone who'd been through my same kind of cancer, and they found someone with the same diagnosis who called me several times to get me through some of the dark times. Call them and see if they have any ideas to make this easier for you.

What exactly did your doctor say?

When i went in because of a lump in my breast my doctor called the hospital for an immediate mammogram. It was red and swollen and the size of an egg.

From that i was scheduled for a biopsy within a week.

All very scary. Breast cancer runs in my family and i am a 29% risk.

Fortunately it was a blocked milk duct. At my age really? I that only occured to breasfeeding moms.

I now get mamo's twice a year and mri's once a year.

I thank my doctor for being the go getter she is. I hope you pursue this with a vengeance. Get a second opinion. Keep us posted.

If it were only a lump I have, I likely would not be the nervous wreck that I am. But my lymph nodes are swollen under both arms, and I have several other key symptoms indicative of breast cancer and not other things. So yeah, I am a nervous wreck and having to wait for several more months to get the tests done only amplifies my stress and being a wreck.

I am trying to educate myself and have been watching a lot of youtube video's by medical doctors on male breast cancer. One video really caught my attention:

This guy developed a lump in his breast at the age of 17. Because of his age, and because he was considered to be in very good shape, with no direct line of breast cancer in his immediate family every doctor dismissed the lump as being breast cancer. Then, seven years later, he saw a doctor who decided to do an ultrasound. Before the test was completed the doctor entered the room and said he wanted him to also have a mammogram. They did the two genetic factor tests and both came back negative that he was genetically at risk to have breast cancer. Nevertheless, the doctor decided to have the lump removed and it was not until this was done and the lump was examined that they discovered that he had breast cancer.

With this sort of thing happening I have to ask myself how reliable are the tests that are done. And it seems that for men, getting proper diagnoses is harder than it is for women in large part because the medical field really knows so little about male breast cancer since male breast cancer is typically not discovered until the later stages because men are commonly taught that breast cancer only affects women.