Armpit swelling or just fat?

7of9

Well, a month out from my 6 months checkup and I notice my left armpit seems "chubbier" than my right one. I have packed on 23-24 lbs since my surgery 3 years ago (double mastectomy, bc on left and I was probably 10lbs too light after neoadjunct chemo, was down to 119, at 5'7 I looked pretty gaunt I guess...) but am definitely a little heavier than I want to be now. So I moved my appt up to next week and wondering (will go back from fear to embarrassment several more times in the next 8 days)...is this from same bra/too tight and eating too much or is this swollen for another (bad) reason. No definitive lump/s and only other symptom is a lot of itchiness the last week which I've had before and comes and goes. All I can think is that I read somewhere that the recurrence average is 3 1/2 years and time is up. I certainly will get back on my diet and exercise and I'm so grateful I feel great and am enjoying the heck out of my 6 year old...but I hate that this disease is always, always lurking in the nearest shadow...

Luvmydobies

I would advise you to get checked by a certified lymphedema therapist soon. I have truncal lymphedema and it makes my armpit swell. I'm not saying that's what you have but IF it is lymphedema you will want to see someone who will give you exercises to do to help keep the swelling down advise you to use compression garments. Let us know what you find out.

chefmom

I've had armpit swelling and pain for several months now! I'm glad I'm not the only one, but I'm sorry that you're having to go through all this. I, too, am 3 1/2 years out and it makes me a little nervous. My mammo two months ago was good although they did say that they were continuing to "watch" a very dense area. The cancer center did an US of my armpit and side of my breast and saw no masses or swollen nodes. They then recommended I follow up with my GP who sent me for a CT scan. It also showed no masses but they were concerned about the dense area and recommended a mammo, which I already had. So, I'm not sure what's next. I'm thinking about pushing for a biopsy of the dense, questionable area just for peace of mind. My first round of BC was discovered via mammo but it was a tiny little spot. When they removed my breast, it had 5 tumors and the cancer was in my lymph nodes. I hate to say that I don't completely trust mammo but I know that it can miss things. Several doctors have now determined that it's not just fat but still don't know why it's like that. I hope that you will get answers soon and keep me updated! Hopefully our chubby pits will go away soon!