breast lump and gender issues

[tropdedemain.livejournal.com]

Hello lovely people,

I have been lurking here for as long as I can remember, but this is (I think!) my first post.

I am a 23-yr-old female-bodied but not quite female-identified person. I recently discovered a lump on the left side of my chest. It's maybe half an inch long, hard, not really smooth, and doesn't move around when I poke at it. I have a family history of breast cancer (my mother was diagnosed in her 40s and is in remission now, my aunt died of it 2 years ago after being diagnosed in her early 30s, and my grandmother is in treatment for it now). I guess I have two questions:

First, how soon do I need to get this checked out? Can I wait for a bit and see if it goes away? I don't have good insurance and money is tight before the holidays.

Also, and this is the bigger issue, I am especially dysphoric about my chest and am terrified of getting this checked out for that reason. If I do really need to go to the doctor, is there anything I can do to keep it from being awful and triggering? I haven't been to the doctor since I was 17 because of these fears.

So yeah, if anyone has any advice or suggestions for me, that would be awesome. Thank you!