How long?

[rich2rich]

How long does it take for cancer to take enffect? I in africa and have just small info on breast cancer. can some one educate me? Cause i discover a small knot in my breast 15yrs ago.

[rich2rich]

you are being very helpful, the knot has been there and it has been the same size throughout.
infact to after i went to see the doc, he found a lager one (not @the same place) so he's suggesting a mammogram. i's so scare, cause in africa where i live i might just die cause i do not have the money to treat cancer. am still praying that it's not cancer. :'(

[katarina777]

And the same knot is still present and unchanged? Or did it go away by itself, or has it grown bigger since it first appeared?

breast cancers are all different and they behave differently as well. Some are fast growing, and some are slow growing. (for example, and there are many other factors involved)

But most knots of the benign type, i.e. cysts or fibroadenomas, have their own life span, they do not hurt you like cancer does, and they almost always go away by b15 years, many much earlier.

Cysts are liquid filled and they can come and grow, and get bigger and smaller, and often this is related to hormones. i.e. the cyst may grow larger and hurt more before your period and then get smaller after or go away.

breast cancer rarely stays exactly the same for so many years and it also doesn't tend to hurt.

I am only throwing out a few things, and am sure someone else will have something to add?

Good luck, Katrin