Lump few months after mastectomy and chemo

HubbyAtDana

My wife was diagnosed in June 2018 at the age of 33 with IDC left Stage 1a grade 2 0/3 nodes. ER+ pr/her2-

She had a double mastectomy with tissue expanders put in. During chemo (I believe 4xTC) she started to get an infection and the plastic surgeon found out that she needed immediate surgery due to having a nasty infection underneath the TE. So only a TE in non cancerous breast now. She continued chemo the following week. Chemo was finished about November.

She said she felt a lump around the time chemo was finished and didn't tell me until about a week ago. So I'm in full blown panic mode.

Last week, the lump felt closer to the skin. Running a finger over the top of the skin it could be felt. I was poking and prodding it and a few days later it seemed to go wayyyy down in size and now I really need to press hard to feel it or have her show me where it is. Still there.. so I'm worried about recurrence.

I know it is highly unlikely for it to be a recurrence. Ive browsed basically the whole forum and only saw a handful of recurrences within a year and most of those were either TN, stage 3 or grade 3 . She's had 2 surgeries in that breast so I'm just praying for scar tissue, fat necrosis, oil cysts, anything but cancer.

We have an appointment tomorrow with the BS's PA at Dana Farber.

Moderators

Hi Hubby and welcome to Breastcancer.org,

We're so very sorry for the worry that brings you here, but we're really glad you've found us. You're sure to find our Community an incredible source of information, advice, and support -- we're all here for you and your wife!

Others will surely be by soon to weigh in with their support, but you may also want to consider joining the For Family, Caregivers, Friends, and Supporters forum, where you can talk with others who are supporting their loved ones through managing a diagnosis and treatment.

We hope this helps. Please keep us posted on your appointment tomorrow -- we're sending good thoughts your way!

--The Mods

KBeee

I am sorry you're dealing with this. My best advice to you is to get a definitive answer...imaging and/or a biopsy. My doc felt my recurrent tumor and said he was 99% sure it was scar tissue. He was 100% wrong. My gut said otherwise and asked for a biopsy. I also have had a couple of other lumps since my diagnosis that were benign. Make sure you find out. Do keep us posted. Try to do some things to stay distracted and keep her distracted. Waiting is hard. Very hard.

HubbyAtDana

Thanks KBeee. I've read a lot of your replies on this forum and I'm glad you replied to mine.

Update: Just got back from Dana Farber. PA felt that it was not too hard, movable, and smooth. She wanted an Ultrasound to determine what it is, but said it was very unlikely to be recurrence.

The radiologist could not find the lump on Ultrasound and said that it was most likely tissue cause she can see all the way through the skin. The wife does not seem satisfied with the results. The PA said everything looks normal and we can keep an eye on it and give them a call if anything changes.

We have her 6 month follow-up with her MO next month. Might follow up with her then or just wait until July when her plastic surgeon puts back in the TE and can remove the lump then.

buttonsmachine

HubbyatDana, your wife probably has something more ordinary going on, like fat necrosis. I had similar situation to your wife's, although my cancer was Stage 1A and Grade 3. Unfortunately my lump was a cancer recurrence.

Breast cancer in young women sometimes behaves differently, and I think my original Drs underestimated how aggressive, fast-growing, and sneaky my cancer was. My recurrence lump was smooth, soft, and movable, which is partly why it was written off for a while. However, my recurrence lump only got bigger, despite being in active treatment.

Here is the takeaway: If anything changes, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant, call your Drs right away, and push for a biopsy. Since you're at Dana Farber you're hopefully getting better care than I did at first. Best wishes to you both!