Possible reacurrence

mamahawk15

I had a bilateral mastectomy with reconstruction surgery back in 2011. My concerns now is that my right breast is swollen tight with redness on the bottom part of the breast. When I first started out with Breast Cancer several things happened which I will share later in my journal but the one that I want to start with is I already had good size cyst, which the doctor thought was a clogged duct and was the size of a ping pong ball. He told me to take Primrose E and Vitamin E to see if it would shrink. That was around Fall of 2010. Early Spring I became severely sick with high fever, cold chills, nausea and my right breast was three times the normal size (38DD) and halfway underneath and covering the whole right side it looked like I had put Crisco oil on it and stood under a tanning light. The doctor was stunned he said that it looked "very angry" and marked it with a Sharpie to see how it would progress. With all that said I ended up having a bilateral mastectomy/reconstruction in Aug. of 2011. My concern now is that my right breast is very swollen and tight with redness on the bottom half of my breast. I feel even though I don't have any breast tissue just skin, muscle and implant but I did have a Cancer cell in one of my lymph nodes and one in the tumor, which had grown to the size of my fist. I have an appointment soon but has anyone heard of this happening before, do I have the implants removed and not put back???? Just very concerned!

mamahawk15

vlnrph

Your whole experience strikes me as horrible. I hope your appointment is today so you don't have to go through the weekend and possibly get worse. Is your doctor a breast specialist?

If the current issue is infection, you need to be on an antibiotic. Cellulitis can progress rapidly and require hospitalization as you probably know. The plastic surgeon who placed the implants could assess their integrity and advise you regarding removal. You might also try posting your question in the reconstruction forum.

Certainly imaging such as mammogram, ultrasound and possibly MRI was done originally in order to establish the diagnosis. I can't imagine allowing a huge cyst to exist without attempting to draw it out via needle aspiration. Assuming you had chemo for such a large tumor, perhaps radiation also (which can affect the skin): hopefully there are experienced practitioners who have been following you and will take appropriate action without delay.

Do visit again and tell us how this turns out!