lump near mastectomy scar afer chemo

mafee26

Hi! I am 39yr old female. I am very new member here. Anyway, my concern is that, last Nov 2012, i was diagnosed with stage 2a breast cancer on my left. Done surgery (mastectomy) with 12 nodes negative..showing invasive ductal carcinoma. ER-PR+. Done 4 cycles chemo from Dec 2012 to feb 2013. I still have high result of CA15-3. I am on radiation therapy (tomo) for 33days that started last April 2. I noticed lumps (2) near my mastectomy scar. I am so scared of the thought that i need to get through operation and chemo again if this mean local recurrence. Is there anyone experienced the same. I am really worried. Thanks! God bless everyone!

Charz

mafee, i think any new lump, bump, whatever needs to always be examined by your doctor. can you schedule an appointment asap to get it looked at? however, i would not automatically assume you have a recurrence. i do believe there are many things that it could be other than recurrence as yous is not the first time i have heard of bumps occuring following mastectomy. one of women was told a recurrence would look like a bug bite. im not sure how accurate this is though. i have heard of some names for things that can occur that form bumps/lumps after a mastectomy but i don't remember. possibly, it was lipoma or something like that. i can't remember. but stuff like this does happen and probably more likely than a recurrence.  hopefully, someone with more knowledge will post. regardless, you should have it looked at by a doctor who specializes in breast cancer because they can tell you best. 

kyliet

Mafee, I didn't have a mastectomy but I had a prominent bump appear under my lumpectomy scar. I have had two ultrasounds which have come up clear and the onc thinks it is scar tissue. It is not directly connected to my l. scar. Because I am still bothered by it, it hurts when a bra presses on it I am going for another US. My onc has said if that is negative I will go for an MRI and probably a biopsy, not because he is worried but because it is niggling at me. 

It can be a lot of things, Charz advice is great. If in doubt, check it out.x

mafee26

Thanks for your replies..really appreciate it. My onco asked me to have CT scan and bone scan for my CA 15-3 is still high after finishing chemo a month after. I let her checked on the lump..but she told me its probably my ribs, but she still urge me to have CT scan. i am not sure if its a good idea to finish first my 33days session of radiation before i do CT scan, because im hoping that radiation will have positive development..

lovetodance1

IT IS COMMON TO HAVE TRANSIENT ELEVATIONS OF TUMOR MARKERS LIKE CA153, CEA DUE TO THE RADIATION AND RECENT CHEMO DUE TO INFLAMMATION CAUSED BY RADS