First post: https://www.reddit.com/r/Hidradenitis/s/rfC6GhErkS

Second post: https://www.reddit.com/r/Hidradenitis/s/g79Qnmmnvj

Hi folks, again. Just wanted to update those who saw my posts over the last 3 weeks.

I ended up having biopsies of my breast and lymph node and, unfortunately, it is cancer that has metastasized to my lymph node. It is invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) which is the most common type of breast cancer and highly treatable (although if one more person tells me it’s great that I won’t die, I will throat punch them). There are still many unknowns until I meet with my oncology team in a few days (e.g. staging, the treatment plan, fertility issues). I’m feeling all the emotions.

One thing I can say for certain is that breast cancer is handled so much more carefully, more deliberately, with so much more compassion than HS. I know I have a long, complicated journey ahead of me, but there is this feeling of irony (?) that cancer isn’t going to kill me and I will be so well taken care of. And afterwards, it’s back to medical trauma and mismanagement. The kind of healthcare I have been receiving since the confirmation I have cancer is blowing my mind. So… there’s the silver lining, I guess.

🤍 Please get your lumps checked, ladies! 🤍

Do not listen the part of your mind that wonders if the lump will just go away, or thinks that it’s no big deal, or assumes it has to be HS. Trust me, it’s better to be safe than sorry. I’m SO, so grateful that my husband and I moved quickly on this despite being absolutely certain it was a fibroadenoma. We still treated it seriously and with urgency and I’m so glad we did. Time is of the essence.

I don’t think I will update here again because I am now entering cancer territory, not HS, but if any of you have experience with HS and breast cancer, would you DM me? I have some questions.

❤️‍🩹