Lumpectomy Lounge....let's talk!

Rhondda

I felt like that also, its as if it was solid, eventually it went away

Rhondda

I have recurring seroma in Rt armpit, surgery was 14 months ago followed by radiation, it has been aspirated x 7 already, how does one close a cavity obviously the body just replaces what is taken out, but the lump is so uncomfortable and painful at times.

Any suggestion, treatments

CeliaC

macdebbie - I used Miaderm, recommended by RO's nurse & my skin held up extremely well during the course of radiation. Started using it a week prior to radiation and used it 4x a day. Not inexpensive (available on Amazon), but a small price to pay for not having ill effects. Towards the end of rads, got a prescription steroidal ointment as nipple was irritated and had a rash similar to "heat rash". Personally, did not use Aquaphor as has petrolatum in it, which I avoid. Make sure to use mild soap when bathing/showering (Miaderm also has a soap). Ask about deodorant recommendations as well. The worst part of rads for me was the position I had to be placed in before rads were administered.

Martaj

After having mine drained several times, I took a tennis ball and kept my arm down to hold it in place. It worked. Never had to have seroma drained again. I ended up going to a smaller ball toward end

Salamandra

Radiation: It was fine for me. Skin redness during the first week and it cleared up. I used Cerave ointment and something given by the docs

Risk reduction: A mastectomy reduces the risk of local recurrence only. Local recurrence won't kill you unless it's not caught before it can escape. Endocrine therapy reduces both local recurrence and metastatic recurrence, which is what makes it more of a lifesaver than mastectomy and why doctors push it and don't push mastectomy. In cases where lumpectomy+radiation is appropriate (some cases require a mastectomy), overall survival seems to be the same or consistently somewhat better than with mastectomy.

That doesn't mean that no one should never opt for mastectomy if she's been offered lumpectomy+radiation. Some situations where it might be better to choose mastectomy might be if she expects to have reduce access to healthcare in the future or if she has intense scanxiety. In that case, a mastectomy without reconstruction could make a lot of sense. Generally only manual exams are required for scanning after mastectomy.

(Mastectomy with reconstruction negates those benefits, as far as I understand, so really only makes sense where a mastectomy is medically indicated *and* a person expects to have ongoing good access to health care and is willing to do the scanning required).

Some may feel a very intense psychological preference for mastectomy and I think that's important to respect and validate while being clear that it's based on the mental/emotional needs of the person rather than physiological medical indications.

ChiSandy

One of my friends--she said my bc basically was the impetus for her to finally get a mammogram at age 70--was diagnosed with grade 3 multifocal (scattered) triple-negative DCIS with comedo-necrosis. She was small-breasted enough to not have worn a bra in 30 years, so a multiple lumpectomy would have been painful & disfiguring. So she opted for a bilateral mastectomy with SNB. Her nodes were all clear--but the other breast turned out to have multifocal atypical ductal hyperplasia, so she made the right choice. In her case, no radiation, endocrine therapy, targeted therapies, nor chemo (which is never given with non-invasive bc).

Snoopi62

3 years post lumpectomy/radiation and just had my last every 6 months mammogram. When the doctor read the ultrasound, she just said, "well I will see you in a year." I wasn't told that I now have a seroma, I read it in the results. Just started having pain about 2 months ago and now with the seroma I am wondering if it is causing the pain.

ubershop7

Hi! I went to my 6 month follow up appt today to have my mammogram. I hate having mammograms because they hurt like the dickens. I have small, dense breasts. Well, today the tech said they were going to use a new curved plate for the compression. Wow! What a difference. It did not hurt at all! She said to ask for it next time. Not all the rad techs use it. I guess this curved plate has been around since 2017, and is gaining wider acceptance. Just a heads up! I knew nothing about this new technique for mammos until today.

Rosie24

Updating on my latest mammo after posting that I worried about weird twinges I was feeling. Generally all is well. There was a small spot flagged so I had to have an ultrasound for another look. The NP who does the office visit said she thought it was a lymph node and feels confident it’s nothing to worry about. The radiologist ruled it as likely benign and I’m scheduled for a follow up ultrasound in 6 months. Relieved, but would have liked a clean mammo 😳

Thanks for the responses a few months ago.

ilenef

HI, I am having bilateral lumpectomy surgery in a few weeks. I'm wondering if anyone else has had lumpectomies on both breasts during one surgery. I have rather small cancers, 1.3 (left) and 1.1cm (right) and have taken Anastrozole since June. My surgery was delayed so long due to a resolving hematoma after the biopsy on my left breast.

Thank you!

CindyNY

ilenef- I haven’t heard of having two at the same time. But that doesn’t mean someone else in here has had it done. Others will chime in soon.Best of luck to you.

MBeachBabe

@ilenef I am awaiting bilateral lumpectomy in January. They'll be taking 2 masses out of each breast (papillomas) no lymph nodes. Hoping everything stays a benign diagnosis. Still nervous about the procedure on both sides, multiple area excisions. Keep me posted on your status. You got this. We got this

clematisgal

Hello, I am scheduled for lumpectomy with node removal in my right breast on Jan. 6th. I have been reading and preparing myself as best I can. I do not dread the surgery as much as waiting for the nodes pathology report to come back. Hoping for no cancer in my nodes, so I can get away with radiation only. I have already been told by my surgeon if I have cancer in the nodes I will need both Chemo and radiation. I have I.D.C. 4 Mil, Grade 1, estrogen and progesterone positive, Hers negative

Wishing the best for all of us..Hoping for a healthy New Year for all.

ChiSandy

Grade 1, 4mm, Luminal A (ER/PR+/HER2-)? Unless you have >3 positive nodes, it's highly unlikely you'd need chemo (and that small & low-grade, almost certainly your nodes will be clean). No offense, but your surgeon (especially if not specifically a breast cancer surgeon) doesn't make the call on your treatment going forward--your medical oncologist does. (Unless you are in such a small town that the only surgeons are generalists and the only oncologists are stuck in the 20th century--in which case you should seek a second opinion, to which you are absolutely entitled). With a Grade 1 Luminal A tumor smaller than 1cm, and node-negative, modern MOs sometimes don't even bother to order an OncotypeDX test because it'd almost certainly come back super-low-risk. You should put your foot down and demand an OncotypeDX if there's any question as to the surgical pathology--do NOT agree to chemo until the results are back and the score is 25 or higher (if you're age 50 or younger, 16 or higher--again, with a Grade 1 Luminal A 4mm tumor, I'd be surprised if it were anywhere near 15). I was 64, with a Grade 2, 1.3cm Luminal A node-negative tumor and my score was 16. Went directly to radiation (short and targeted just to the tumor bed) & endocrine therapy (aromatase inhibitor). And that was 6 years ago--an eon when it comes to the state of breast cancer research.

Martaj

Merry Christmas to all. Have a great day, keep on fighting

Springdaisy

thank you and Merry Christmas to all of you and let’s hope next year is good for everybody in the world.

Aklynna

ChiSandy - regarding an Oncotype DX test on a small tumor…mine was exactly 5mm so it did not qualify. It must be OVER 5mm before they will even do the test. My BS and MO went back and forth on it because it was so close, but in the end it was a no.

ChiSandy

The only reason mine was ODX-tested was that at 1.3cm it was a "gray area." And back then, 16 was the upper limit of "low-risk" (17-24 was "intermediate"). Since then, the TAILORx study results has raised the "low-risk" ceiling to 24 (except for non-menopausal patients 50 or younger). The whole idea is to avoid submitting patients to the not-exactly-harmless side effects of chemo for tumors that did not leave behind cells sufficiently rapidly-dividing to be vulnerable to chemo. Ever since mid-pandemic, MOs have been even more cautious about giving chemo because a major side effect is immunosuppression. Chemo patients are advised to avoid raw fish, undercooked meats, unpeelable fruits and even salads. And that was before COVID.

Springdaisy

Hello, it's been one year since my lumpectomy and almost one year since I started letrozole. Doing well so far. I would like to ask about the onco type score. Mine turned out to be 93% chance of NOT having cancer in a distant part of my body within the next 10 years. But what about the breast where the cancer started to begin with? Am I supposed to think it won’t start there again?

ChiSandy

That 93% chance is of your breast cancer not metastasizing. It has nothing to do with any other type of cancer, nor of a new primary tumor in either breast. Basically, the only predictions Oncotype DX makes are how likely your tumor would be (or have been) vulerable to cytotoxic (rapidly-dividing-cell-destroying) chemotherapy; and how likely your breast cancer would be to metastasize (spread beyond the breast & nodes). I forget the name of the UK online calculator into which you input your age, breast cancer type, grade, size, number of nodes positive (basically a cruder approximation of the genomic factors by which your ODX score was computed), and treatments other than radiation (chemo, tamoxifen, aromatase inhibitor)--it gives you a guesstimate of not only the likelihood of mets but also "overall survival" ("all-cause mortality," or how long before you might be expected to survive before dying of any cause, not just cancer), which is basicslly an actuarial (life expectancy per charts) statistic, and not necessarily a medical prediction--because there's no way you can enter your family or non-cancer history and personal lifestyle & safety habits.

Springdaisy

thanks for the info. I’ve seen some calculator. sometimes I don’t know what to think because everybody’s cells are different etc. but I will just do what I need to do.

ilenef

We're going to do great with our lumpectomies! Thank you for your response. Mine is January 20. I'll write when I have some results. Good luck to everyone! Your support is valued.

Katzpjays

Hi ladies! I haven’t posted in a long time. Since initial treatment 6 years ago I have had 5 clean mammograms. My 6th mammogramwas last Friday and I just got a call back. I have a Bi-Rad 0 in the same breast that I had a previous lumpectomy and radiation. The report reads Nodular asymmetry in the superior breast on MLO view. I have a follow up mammogram next week. Anyone else with a report/call back that is similar?

PontiacPeggy

Katzpjays, my mammograms always come back Birads 2 Benign. I haven't had "nodular asymmetry". Peculiar. Did they do a 3D mammogram? I can certainly understand the concern. Apparently Birads 0 means "incomplete." Have you had that before? Since we've had breast cancer we can't be Birads 1. Sending positive thoughts that it's all nothing!

HUGS!!!

Katzpjays

It was 3D. Mine have previously been benign too…so I wait till the 8th when they take new films. Haven’t had a 0 before either. I agree…it appears to be inconclusive/need more info. Appreciate the moral support

PontiacPeggy

That seems so long to wait, doesn't it? You bet you have my moral support, Sue. Keep me posted.

HUGS and LOVE!

CeliaC

Sue and everyone else undergoing diagnoses/treatment - sending positive energies and moral support.

Had my 5th diagnostic mammogram yesterday and it was all clear! Also saw breast surgeon who feels certain that I will be advised to stop anastrozole when I see the MO on 2/23. Glad to have made the 5-year mark!

ChiSandy

Katzpjays, BIRADS 0 means "inconclusive," needing further imaging to assess. Here's hoping you get a BIRADS 2 ("benign finding"), as I have had in that breast ever since my lumpectomy in 2015.

(I do get BIRADS 1--"normal finding"--in my other breast).

PontiacPeggy

Sandy, I heard that once you've had breast cancer you are never BiRads-1. Both of mine (although only 1 breast with cancer) are rated as BiRads-2.

Sue, crossing my fingers that they just didn't do your mammogram right!! That all is well.

HUGS!

ChiSandy

Peggy, I know my lumpectomy breast will never be better than a BIRADS 2 ("benign finding"). But my L breast--which has always gotten a "screening" rather than "diagnostic" mammo--has always been classified as BIRADS 1 ("normal finding"). Perhaps that's the radiology protocol at my hospital system. Interestingly, beginning in 2020 my annual bilateral (yes, even the cancer breast) mammo has reverted to "screening" rather than "diagnostic."