Radiation fibrosis & fat necrosis on breast

Del14

Radiation fibrosis & fat necrosis on breast

Racy

Jo, sorry you have had no replies. I am researching something similar and found your post when searching 'necrosis'. 

I suggest you search for others' posts on this topic, if you haven't already.

jbdayton

I wil post more info as I get it.  I have an area about 1.5"x .5" x .5" that feels like concrete.   Smooth and movable in the lower inner area of my left breast.   I have had DIEP reconstruction on that breast about 4 months after completing radiation.  I also had alloderm placed there during my mastectomy (Aug 2013).  The PS says it is radiated damaged tissue.  My RO says she has never seen that large an area of radiation damaged tissue.  She has requested I have an ultrasound.  It is tomorrow.  I just had fat grafting surgery on my other breast just 1.5 weeks ago.   I will let you know what I find out or hear tomorrow.

jbdayton

I had my ultrasound a week ago last Friday and they could not see through the lump it was so dense.

The breast surgeon who diagnosed me tried to see if she could see anything, she could not so ordered a mammogram; that hurt. She said it is definitely only radiated tissue, clear all around it per the mammogram. So happy for that.

She said RO's don't like to admit they can cause that much tissue damage. She of course wants to monitor this every 6 months.

I do not see my PS until Nov 12. I will find out if he is going to do anything about it or if I will just have to live with it.

I am so sorry that yours seems to grow and they feel a need to biopsy it. 

One difference for me is my breast is almost all tummy fat now.  I only have pressure pain if pressed on real hard.  So I think I can live with this if I have to.  I wish the same could be said for you.

I am having no issue with fat necrosis yet or scar tissue else where.  

Hopefully you can find more favorable results in the future.

HUGS

Blessedw2

I am almost 12 weeks out from rads. In addition to that , a lumpectomy, nodes removed and lung surgery. All on the same side. I am now experiencing fibrosis. Mine includes redness, very warm to the touch and swelling. I have started taking pentoxifylline and vitamin E 3x's a day. There was a study done that measured a decrease in radiation fibrosis after 6 months. Ask your dr's. It's worth a try. I came across your post while trying to find more info myself. 

Sunny_Girl

I have a spot of fat necrosis on my incision line on the side I had the breast cancer. The radiologist told me after the area was radiated, it probably wouldn't re-absorb & would become hard(er).

After radiation was over, they did an ultrasound and a needle bx. Fat necrosis & fragment of unabsorbed suture. They did a follow up ultrasound 6 mo later & the fat necrosis had shrunk some.

I am 2+ years out and sometimes that area of my chest hurts. Almost to the point of taking Advil, but then the discomfort resolves.

Funny things we have to find out about that become our new realities. No cancer and a little fat necrosis - I think we can handle that🌸

Patty

simplelife4real

Thanks for this thread. It has been very helpful to me. I'm seven months out from finishing rads. I also have fat necrosis that has been biopsied. Instead of shrinking like I had had been told most radiated breasts do, mine is firm and not shrinking at all. It's been mammogramed and had ultrasounds at least twice in the past seven months since finishing rads. I need to research radiation fibrosis as I suspect that is what is causing this firmness.

brookezine

Thank you for sharing this thread. I have 8 treatments left, and I have a small lump near my armpit. I had DIEP flap recon, and my RO said she felt the lump was nothing to worry about. I saw the MO today, and she wants me to stop radiation and get a biopsy right away. Freaked me out. The lump has not shrunk during radiation, nor has it grown. I'm worried.

mqt64

Hi all,

Just found this thread this morning and find it really interesting. I don't start rads until Monday and already have fat necrosis from the methylene blue injection.A lot of the aches and pains described are already too familiar. I'm kind of scared of what the radiation is going to do! One thing my PT has discussed that has helped other women is ultrasound followed by massage. I'm willing to try it but can't start til after radiation. Anyone else have trouble with methylene blue? I ended up with plastic surgery to excise and debried an open wound with removal of some of the necrotic tissue. I still have a lot left.

mqt64

Methylene blue is a dye they inject to turn the sentinel nodes blue to identify them. Mine ended up in the breast tissue where it doesn't belong and caused tissue necrosis. I had to have a surgery to remove the dead skin and some of the necrotic tissue so my breast would heal up enough to do rads which it did but there's still a lot of hard stuff in there. Can't work on that til done with rads.

Tomboy

I am so sorry that you have it, JO~5. I have been told for a couple years now that I have areas of fat necrosis. No one has said anything about radiation fibrosis, but then again, all my docs except LE therapist don't think I have lymphedema in my breast either! They just call it edema... but like you, I am never not in pain, still. I do use compression, and I just do the massage myself. My boyfriend has said to me that I can't keep my hands off myself! Also, before cancer, I had extremely dense breasts, almost no fat, so I just wonder where all that dead fat came from.

Lettaglz1

I have a medium sized fat necrosis in my right breast, just above the nipple. It's about 2" wide by 1" high. It developed very quickly following lumpectomy/reconstruction. My plastic surgeon went in and tried to clean it up, but it didn't work. In December 2014 I had a new spot in the underside of that breast. Biopsy was negative, it was fat necrosis. Now I have a lump at the biopsy site. With my fibrous, spongy, scarred breast, I'll never find anything on a self exam.

mchappy

There hasn't been anything about this in quite a while, but I want to share that I also had fibrosis after a lumpectomy and radiation as big as a fist in my breast. I let it alone for 6 years, and recently started taking serrapeptase. This serrapeptase stuff is like a wonder medicine. It is over the counter (I bought mine online thru amazon), and is an enzyme that eats up fibrin in the body. I've been taking it about a month and the mass in my breast is almost gone. So do your research. I am taking 120,000 IU's 3 x's a day, which is considered a higher dose, because I am actually "treating" a condition. Other people who have used serrapeptase tell of it cleaning up arteries and getting rid of mucus and scar tissues. I hope this is of help to someone out there. I wish I had run across this information myself, years ago.

marijen

mchappy, I just came across Serrapeptase this week in other reading. The reviews at Amzn are astounding. I'm going to try it for my sinuses and vertebral pain. It also works for blood clots for those on tamoxifen. Don't know if there are side effects or not indicated for use with tamoxifen.

7of9

Thanks I am going to check this out. My armpit is a HOT mess after 4 surgeries and rads. I'm 2 1/2 yrs out from radiation, 1 yr from an implant replacement. 3 ultrasounds, countless exams - it feels NOTHING like my non radiated side so I can't compare it anymore.

lohoff

Mchappy, just wondering how you have healed on serrapeptase? I think I want to give it a try.

Sularyan

Started using serrapeptase 120,000 SPU twice a day a few weeks ago. I feel amazing. Radiation fibrosis is also improving more than it had been. I have also been on pentoxifylline and vitamin E for 2 months.

I cannot recommend all three enough.

Beclyn20

I just started Serrapepatase once a day and have not seen any results yet. Sularyan, what were your symptoms of radiation fibrosis and how long did it take before you noticed issues. Mine got really bad about 2 years out from lumpectomy and balloon brachytherapy. Thank you!