What to expect with a sebaceous cyst removal from the breast

Back in the summer of 2019, I found a lump on my breast. And I will be honest, I wasn’t brave enough to have it looked at. For months it hung around, it never got any bigger but it never got any smaller either. Then, in December 2019, just three days before Christmas, at the height of a global pandemic, I was brave enough to have it looked at. And I made this decision because, after a month, it began to get bigger and slightly change shape. Which sent my stomach into knots. And I was so incredibly thankful that I was asked to come along to my local GP surgery immediately.

Always get it checked!!

After having it looked at, the nurse was content that it was a sebaceous cyst and I won’t lie, but I got emotional. I remember my shoulders just lowering and I was able to breathe. I think one of the greatest fears for us, as females, is breast cancer. We feel or see a lump and our brains instantly jump to the worst possible scenario. I’m usually a rational person, but this made me highly irrational and I never want to feel what I felt between calling the GP surgery & having it examined again. And if I am lucky enough, I won’t! It was the longest 2hrs of my life. I remember calling my Husband afterwards and just crying as he walked me home over the phone.

I was prescribed antibiotics which would deal with the sebaceous cyst, which they did. However, I was informed that these types of cysts do return on most occasions. Which are known as “recurring cysts”. Which is what it turned out doing over the next few years. All in the same exact spot. This is why I was referred for a mammogram to look into having it removed in January 2022. 

Mammogram appointment

In March 2022 and I was sent for a mammogram at Antrim Area hospital. This was to determine the depth of my sebaceous cyst in preparation for surgical removal. Now, the last time I had a mammogram was when I was 16. This was because my Mother had me in with Action Cancer because my Aunty at the time, had breast cancer. I was 41 when I had my next one and I won’t lie, I was nervous. Because mammograms see all of the parts you cannot see inside your breast tissue and I have always been big boobed. Like a D cup from the age of 13 big boobed! So this well-endowed woman was a touch nervous.

But thankfully my mammogram just picked up the depth of the cyst and nothing else. Again my shoulders dropped and I could breathe. From that appointment, I was told I was on the waiting list for a sebaceous cyst removal procedure. Happy days! Now to wait.

Sebaceous cyst removal day

My surgery day was 14th July 2022. So all in all, quite a quick turnaround all things considered. Also, I was under the assumption that it would be a treatment room gig. But no, I got the full theatre treatment, which was slightly nerving, but it all turned out OK.

I arrived at Antrim Area Hospital and went to the Elective Surgery Department. The nurses asked me for all of my details to double-check they have the correct information and were given an I.D. band. I was given compression socks to rock and a snazzy gown then given a bed until it was my turn. 

After reading for around 2 hrs, they were ready for me. I walked down to the theatre myself and was then asked to lie down on the bed and the doctors got to work. Attaching sensors, blood pressure monitor, making marks, injecting lidocaine and all sorts. It was all stations go. The surgeon I had was lovely, to be honest. He was really chatty and was really accommodating with my constant medically-related questions. I am studying to become an embalmer after all! 

The procedure was done under a local anaesthetic and throughout the whole thing, I was asking question after question. If everything was going well, how he was doing etc. I am inquisitive like that. Because as brave as I seem to be, silence makes me nervous and more so when a surgeon is an inch or two deep into my breast cutting out a sebaceous cyst. You know!

But in around an hour I was all stitched up and being wheeled back into the recovery ward. I was placed beside a window with a view, which was delightful. And in no time at all, I was being asked if I would like some tea & toast. Hospital tea & toast hits differently, doesn’t it? It just…tastes better! Would you agree?

Overall experience?

So overall, my experience was a pleasant one and thankfully, oh so thankfully wasn’t anything to be overly worried about. Now, I am under no illusion, that not everyone’s story is this straightforward. So I say this and I say it loudly. Check your boobs. They’re just boobs, they won’t bite! And if you don’t know what you are looking for, there is so much information, videos etc online to help you. 

I tried to ignore mine because I assumed it would go away. Please, please, please never assume because I was lucky with my outcome. As scary as it all was, I was still lucky. So if you find something, no matter how small, get it checked out by your doctor. 

And lastly, if you are a little forgetful, like myself! Check out the Coppafeel charity, they can send you monthly text messages to remind you to check your girlies. I am like dory the fish, so the monthly texts really help me to keep that monthly check up routine. 

I wrote a post, following my above experience about my wishes to have an elective double mastectomy. Feel free to give it a read. 

*Check your boobs!!