Could you feel the breast lump when you were diagnosed with cancer? Annette Mattern: I did not feel a lump. Two of the three doctors that I saw initially did not feel the lump. One was able to feel it, but it was not something that presented itself. It was caught in a routine mammogram. ere diagnosed with cancer? Annette Mattern: I did not feel a lump. Two of the three doctors that I saw initially did not feel the lump. One was able to feel it, but it was not something that presented itself. It was caught in a routine mammogram.