lump in breast 7 mo. post radiation and lumpectomy

wsofholland

i was diagnosed and treated for breast cancer last july-october.  received lumpectomy and radiation. in march, i was told in my case, having had very early diagnosis and clean follow-up mammography and exam, that chances of recurrance were extremely rare.  but last night, i found a large, hard lump in my breast.  it was not there last month.  what is it?  please tell me this is common.  i feel terrified.

Beesie

wsofholland,

Get it checked out.  But chances are that this new lump is nothing serious and probably is totally unrelated to your breast cancer diagnosis.  A lump that develops this suddenly and gets large quickly is much more likely to be something benign, such as a cyst or a fibroadenoma - both of which are harmless. Over the years I've had lots of large lumps show up suddenly and that's what they've always been. 

Good luck.  And let us know what you find out when you see your doctor.   

CTMOM1234

Wishing you the very best. I agree with Beesie that odds are good that it is a cyst or a fibroadenoma. A tell-tale sign that it's a fibroadenoma (I have one in the same breast as my lumpectomy and rads) is if it feels like a slippery oval marble and slides around a bit when you push on it.