An endocrine imbalance

A young 39-year-old woman staggered into the clinic late in the day. She presented with very low energy and a nodule in the right breast and had gained 20kg in weight over five years. She wanted to lose this weight but had had little success despite exercising regularly. She was also complaining of recurrent pain in her right armpit (axilla) where she had a large inflamed lump which had been problematic for a number of years.

She had been to her doctor and had her breasts checked; the current nodule was benign. She had had a cystic nodule removed