lump near masectomy scar???

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violet7
violet7 Member Posts: 180
edited June 2014 in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

I hate the weekend.  There are no doctors to see.  Yesterday evening I think I found a lump just above my masectomy scar.  I really can't say for certain, but my breast area looks different to me somehow in that area.  If I slouch a bit I can only see a fatty area that protrudes, but if I pull my shoulders back and feel the area I swear I feel a lump that can be wiggled a bit.  But I can't be certain - and I couldn't tell if I had a lump when I was dxed originally either.  I just finished chemo a month ago: 6 TACs.  Every time I think of the cancer coming back I nearly faint.  I keep crying.  I'm not good at waiting.  I hope the doctor will see me tomorrow.  I've noticed that I had a sensation like my nipple hurting the past couple of weeks.  I have no nipple, of course.  But I have had strange little twinges in my masectomy areas since my bilateral masectomy.  What do you think?  Could this be nothing? 

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  • cwrightrn
    cwrightrn Member Posts: 242
    edited April 2010

    I hate problems on the weekends too!  Thankfully we are here for each other!  How long ago was your mastectomy?  Could it be a seroma that built up--fluid filled sac? Drainage tubes are put in after the mastectomy to prevent these but sometimes they still occur with the drains in.  My mastectomy was almost a year ago and my scans show a small seroma (but its deep so I don't feel it)

    Hang in there--hoping the Dr calls you back soon

    Blessings and hugs 

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  • violet7
    violet7 Member Posts: 180
    edited April 2010

    cwrightrn,  Oh, I like that.  I hope it's a seroma.  Just the thought that it could be something other than cancer will get me through the night.  I had my masectomy in October 2009, so it's been awhile, and I just finished chemo a month ago.  It seems a little soon for a cancer recurrence after TAC, even with being triple negative.  Well, a little over 12 hours the doctor's office will open and I've got an Ativan with my name on it so I can actually sleep.  Thank you so much.  I'm just going to keep thinking seroma until I'm told otherwise.  Or at least I'll try...  Big hugs

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  • lexislove
    lexislove Member Posts: 2,645
    edited April 2010

    Violet,

    I'm not TN, but the Friday before the Easter long weeknd.....I found a lump below my scar line. Called all my docs....noone was in their office till Tuesday! I was a mess, googling ect. Long story short...saw my surgeon, he ordered a U/S..........it was a subcutaneous cyst = B9.

    I have since learned to never...ever do a self exam on a Friday afternoon..lol.

    Do call up one of your docs to take a looksie for your peace of mind though.

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  • violet7
    violet7 Member Posts: 180
    edited April 2010

    I'll take that too, a cyst.  I rarely look at or touch my masectomy areas, it's still very foreign to me.  But something looked off, so I examined it.  I know.  Never get creative on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.  I'm calling my doctor at 8:30 sharp just as their doors open.  It just seems too soon after chemo to have grown anything cancerous.

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  • Luah
    Luah Member Posts: 1,541
    edited April 2010

    Violet7, I noticed a lump near my lumpectomy scar a couple of months after surgery.  Onc said it was likely justa bit of scar tissue and would keep an eye on it. It soon disappeared.  Apparently stitches can create lumps too along a scar line. Please try not to worry - I know, easier said than done! 

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  • violet7
    violet7 Member Posts: 180
    edited April 2010

    Hi Luah,  This is more recent and just above and on the scar line.  I hope it's weird scarring or one of the other options.  I can't get in to see my oncologist until Wednesday afternoon.  I'm trying to keep myself occupied.

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  • cwrightrn
    cwrightrn Member Posts: 242
    edited April 2010

    Hoping Wednesday comes fast for you!  Hang in there!

    Blessings and hugs

    Carole 

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  • violet7
    violet7 Member Posts: 180
    edited April 2010

    Thank you so much, Carole.

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  • thenewme
    thenewme Member Posts: 1,611
    edited April 2010

    Oh Violet, ugh. Come on, hurry up Wednesday!  Hopefully it really is just "a thing" and not "That." 

    You know how fabric gets sort of gathered and bunched in a seam sometimes?  Maybe it's just something like that! Just a piece of skin folded under the incision, and maybe it has just recently moved a bit.  Rads can cause some tissue changes, so maybe that made the bump more prominent. 

    We're here waiting with you -  hang in there!

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  • violet7
    violet7 Member Posts: 180
    edited April 2010

    Maybe.  I didn't have radiation, but they did have to recut me open the day after my masectomy as I was bleeding.  It could be strange migrating scar tissue I never noticed.  Thanks so much for being there. 

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  • Titan
    Titan Member Posts: 2,956
    edited April 2010

    Stopping in to wish you a "it's nothing" wish for you..!!!   Take care! 

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  • thenewme
    thenewme Member Posts: 1,611
    edited April 2010

    Me too!  Thinking of you this morning and hoping you're not on here - hope you're out doing something fun and exciting, or even just catching up on laundry, LOL! 

    When you have a chance, let us know how your appointment goes!

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  • violet7
    violet7 Member Posts: 180
    edited April 2010

    Thank you!  My appointment is at 3:30 CA time, so I have a few hours to go.  I'm going to try to lose myself in some housework.  I do have to catch up on my laundry :)

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  • violet7
    violet7 Member Posts: 180
    edited April 2010

    I'm just back from the doctor.  He said it feels like distorted scar tissue or a cyst, but wants me to see the breast surgeon who did my masectomies and is sending me for a biopsy.  He seemed confident it's not cancer, but I guess he errs on the side of caution.  So, my worries are takem down a notch, but not over until the results come in.  Thank you all so much for being there.  How nerve-wracking this is.

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  • Leah_S
    Leah_S Member Posts: 8,458
    edited April 2010

    Violet, I guess that's as good as you can expect to hear at this point. When will you see the BS? I hope there's not too much waiting involved - that's the worst.

    All the best.

    Leah

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  • thenewme
    thenewme Member Posts: 1,611
    edited April 2010

    Whew - definitely reassuring that the doc is confident about it being nothing serious, and good that he's cautious.  Will they be doing any imaging, or are they going straight for the biopsy? 

    Keep us posted when you can, and good vibes for the biopsy!!

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  • violet7
    violet7 Member Posts: 180
    edited April 2010

    I'm not sure how long it will take to get in with the breast surgeon, but the doctor said the ultrasound/needle biopsy will probably be next week.  As you all know, the sooner the better, the waiting is torturous.  It just doesn't seem logical that it could be a cancerous tumor so soon after chemo (a month ago), but then if it is rare my body will decide to give it a try it seems.  I'm trying to stay positive, as the doctor didn't say "This concerns me."  Thank you for the good vibes!

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  • violet7
    violet7 Member Posts: 180
    edited May 2010

    Phew!  It's a cyst!  I had the ultrasound today, and the verbal report back from my doctor's office is that it is a cyst.  The nurse assured me that cancer would have different characteristics.  I am so relieved.  Thank you all for being there!

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  • Leah_S
    Leah_S Member Posts: 8,458
    edited May 2010

    YIPPEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DOING THE HAPPY DANCE FOR YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Leah

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  • Titan
    Titan Member Posts: 2,956
    edited May 2010

    Yay Violet!    So glad that you had good news!  

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  • fluteinsc
    fluteinsc Member Posts: 1
    edited May 2010
    Yeah! Violet. That happened to me after a bilateral mastectomy. It was 10 months later after cancer #1 and #2 appeared as a lump near my scar on one of my breasts.  They thought it would be scar tissue, but it ended up being stage IV, TNBC. I am so careful.  It is a very aggressive grower, KI 67 at 98, so it was growing fast. I am so happy for you. Keep pressing on and living this beautiful life we have been given.
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  • violet7
    violet7 Member Posts: 180
    edited May 2010

    fluteinsc,  I'm so sorry to hear that.  How are you now?  Was your original tumor 4cm or the second?  Did you do chemo twice?  I understand that recurrences along scars is rare, but it does happen.  I'm still going to be hyper-vigilent.  Thank you all for happy dancing with me.

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  • Sugar77
    Sugar77 Member Posts: 2,138
    edited May 2010

    Violet - I'm so very glad to hear it was a cyst! I'm doing a happy dance here for you.

    Sherri 

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  • Titan
    Titan Member Posts: 2,956
    edited May 2010

    Violet..haven't seen your sign up on the 'calling all tn's thread"...we need you there..you can tell your story...we have several tn's and it is good to hear about all of us and know we are not alone...

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  • Titan
    Titan Member Posts: 2,956
    edited May 2010

    There will be 35 plus doing the happy dance for YOU!

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  • violet7
    violet7 Member Posts: 180
    edited May 2010

    I'll look for that thread.  I hadn't seen it before.  Thanks :)

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