Waiting to schedule an ultrasound

Carly613

Hi,

I’m 35 and about a week ago I noticed a pinkish area on the underside of one of my breasts. It is also has the orange peel look to it. It covers about 1/4 and hasn't changed for the better or worse since I first noticed it a week or so ago. There is no swelling or size change and it's not itchy. I already saw my gynecologist yesterday and She's sending me for an ultrasound. I'm still waiting for a call to schedule it and I'm going crazy. I keep googling to hopefully find another explanation and that just makes me feel worse. The only other possibility I can find is fat necrosis which my doctor didn't mention. I keep reading posts to hopefully find someone who had similar symptoms and it turned out to be nothing. I think I just need some hope and encouragement.

Beesie

Actually the most like possibility is a skin rash or infection. Our breasts are covered with skin, and just like the skin on our legs or arms or tummies, the skin on our breasts can develop a rash. Given that the area around our breasts is often moist, it's actually an area of the skin that might be more likely to develop a rash. Probably a 100 or more people come to this site every year thinking that they have IBC, and while a few of them do, most just have a rash.

That said, it's good that you are getting this checked out. Hopefully it turns out to be nothing more than a rash - and it is a good sign that you've seen no progression over the week.

Good luck, and let us know how it goes. The best news will be if the area reduces and the pinkness starts to fade.

And in the meantime, stop Googling. Dr. Google is a fear-mongering quack!

Carly613

Thank you for responding to my post so quickly. The thing that’s worrying me the most is the peau d’orange. It seems there are not many conditions related to it, very few things other than ibc come up really. And I’m worried the ultrasound will not resolve anything and I’ll have to wait out more tests.

Beesie

A skin infection can cause an appearance similar to peau d'orange.

Unfortunately you are probably right in that if the ultrasound shows nothing, you will probably want more testing. In that case, you might want to be prepared with an appointment with a dermatologist. A dermatologist is the expert at assessing skin rashes and infections, and if necessary can do a punch biopsy, which can diagnose either a skin condition or IBC.

Carly613

I haven’t found any info saying peau d’orange could be a skin infection, everything seems to go back to ibc, but I hope that’s all it is. I never thought I’d be hoping to have something called fat necrosis but the thought of ibc is terrifying. I’m a worrier and a pessimist so my mind jumps right to worst thing and everything I read seems to confirm it. I know I just need to wait and think about other things but it’s hard when you’re at home all day. Thanks for your support.

Beesie

What Causes Peau D'Orange? https://www.healthline.com/health/breast-cancer/peau-d-orange

"Infection

Skin and soft tissue infection can cause peau d'orange. Acinetobacter baumannii, for example, can lead to cellulitis, which is an infection in the skin and the tissues beneath the skin. This can lead to peau d'orange."

.

Peau d'Orange: Symptoms & Signs https://www.medicinenet.com/peau_dorange/symptoms...."

"Dimpled or peau d'orange skin can also occur due to other causes. It is commonly seen with cellulite, but this is not common on the breast. It can also occur due to lymphedema, or the buildup of lymphatic fluid in tissues. This can occur when there is blockage of the lymphatic drainage system, such as the lymph nodes of the armpit (axilla) in the case of the breast. Infections are another cause of fluid retention that can lead to breast dimpling. Fat necrosis is the death of fat tissue, which sometimes accompanies breast cancer or postsurgical sites. Fat necrosis is another cause of dimpled skin of the breast."

Carly613

They couldn’t schedule the mammogram and ultrasound until 6/3! That seems so far away. Do you think if my dr was super concerned about what she saw she would put in a rush order? Can they even do that or does everyone just have to wait no matter what. I know it’s not for sure I have ibc but when you do, you have to start treatment ASAP right.

Jons_girl

Hi Carly: If I were you I would call the place that scheduled the mammo and ultrasound. I would tell them to please add you to a cancellation list. If someone were to cancel maybe they could see you sooner. Or even ask them if it is possible to call first thing every morning to see if they have cancellations. That is what I would do. Let them know how anxious you are and stressed. Not everyone going for these exams are going for diagnostic mammo or ultrasound. Many are just going for screenings. So it is possible if they know how stressed you are, they could possibly put you on a cancellation list. I would call if I were you. Just my thoughts.

Keep us posted on how all this goes. We are here for you.

Carly613

They did say I could call and ask if there were any cancellations and I’m definitely going to do that.

AliceBastable

Isn't IBC usually diagnosed with a punch biopsy, not mammogram or ultrasound? That's where seeing a dermatologist would be good, both to test for IBC and to rule it out.

blue22

Hi Carly,

I would call your Dr. and let her know of the delay. When I saw my ob/gyn for diagnosis she emphasized she didn't want me to wait long for a mammogram/ultrasound. When the hospital called to schedule, it was weeks away. I called my Drs. office and let them know - and they were able to speed up the visit.

Many things are delayed now, but if your Dr. is concerned, she likely can speed things up. One of the bright sides of having IBC is that I have not had delays in treatments or screenings due to covid-19.

I wish you the best and hope this is nothing! I think there are things that look like peu d'orange that are not IBC. Hopefully that is the case for you!

Jons_girl

oh that’s great! Keep us posted. Hope all goes well

Flo80

Hi Alice I had a negative punch biopsy but my surgeon told me it’s a clinical diagnosis even if they don’t find cancer cells in your skin.

Carly613

Hey. I went to the mammogram and ultrasound today. The mammogram was fine. The ultrasound shows thickened skin but nothing else (I’m not sure what else would show up if it were IBC). He did say IBC skin would probably appear thicker and I’m really young for IBC (not his exact words)The radiologist is recommending I see a breast surgeon. It’s not really surprising but I guess I was just hoping this would be over today. Now there’s more waiting for referrals, appointments, etc. The area hasn’t changed much in size, color, texture which I guess is good so I’m holding onto that.

Jons_girl

Thank you for updating us Carly! Keep us posted if you don't mind. I hope all goes well going forward. It is good the mammo was fine. We are here for support. Hang in there and know we are here!

blue22

Hi Carly,

Make sure you discuss your IBC concerns with the surgeon. For me, the SO was the one to order my punch biopsies.

That they saw nothing but thickened skin in the ultrasound is hopeful. For comparison they were clearly able to see multiple of abnormalities, the tumor and enlarged lymph nodes when they did mine. I don't remember if they also saw skin thickening on the ultrasound, but they did on the MRI.

Good luck and keep us posted! We are all rooting for you to have nothing to worry about!

Carly613

Hey. I went to see the breast surgeon finally and long story short, I had a punch biopsy and it came back benign. She also prescribed me antibiotics in case it was an infection. The antibiotics didn't seem to help so she's referring me to a dermatologist. So it's a relief that it's benign but still no clue as to what's causing the redness/pinkish color and skin dimpling. I just wanted to post this for anyone with similar symptoms who may come across this post. Try not to automatically assume the worst and drive yourself crazy for weeks like I did, it may just be a benign skin issue ( several people on this forum told me that yet I still worried myself sick). Thanks to everyone for your support. If I ever get an answer as to what's causing this I'll post it.

Beesie

Carly, thanks for coming back with the update. Great news that the punch biopsy was benign.

As the saying goes, when you hear hooves, think horses not zebras. Horses are common, like skin rashes, whereas zebras are rare, like IBC. That's why several of us were suggesting back in May that you see a dermatologist either first, or in addition to going down the IBC path. Hopefully the dermatologist can discover the cause, but sometimes skin rashes can be tricky to diagnose/resolve.

Has the rash been stable or has it either improved or gotten worse?

Carly613

It looks pretty much the same since I first noticed it over seven weeks ago so I hadn’t been as concerned about ibc in the last few weeks because I thought something would have gotten worse by now if it was that serious. I thought about seeing a dermatologist while waiting for my appointments but figured they’d probably just tell me to get an ultrasound.