MRI to detect recurrence in skin?

I am sorry, I dont have experience with this but wanted to post to bump your question back up-. I am sure someone will be along soon with some news or input.

JANMARCH,  Well, the MRI is used to detect, for example, inflammatory breast cancer -- which, by the way, your description of symptoms does not match up with that, so do not worry -- but that kind of cancer shows up in the skin's layers and is very difficult to diagnose, so they use an MRI which can usually SEE what's going on in the skin, whereas a mammo and ultrasound will NOT SEE very well any stuff in the skin.  So, that explains why they are using the MRI, your small pink lump is in the skin and MRI is the only way to see what it is.  In addition, they can do a skin punch biopsy, and sometimes that will tell what it is.  Now, a dermatologist can also look at it and see if it's a cyst, he would remove it and send it to the lab, just in case, and sew up where it is... but since it's so close to where you had cancer before, that is not the solution or the way to go, at least for the time being.

I cannot hazard a guess as to what your pinkish lump might be, but could be an infection and/or abscess, could be a fibroid type thing, but sounds a lot like a cyst to me, as I mentioned.  I've had many cysts all over in my skin through the years, my father gets them too, they look just as you described it, and the doctor just cuts them out, sends them to the lab just in case, and that's it except for the short time it takes for the stitches to heal. 

Do let us know what happens as far as what your lump turns out to be, it will help others who wind up with what you have, and of course we who have posted here want to know, too.  GG

when I found my Breast tumor I already had a small tumor on my finger which everyone seemed to think was a ganglion cyst.  Well, it shrunk during chemo to almost nothing and shot back up afterwards and when another started growing next to it with growth underneath of the finger, I went to hand specialist.  He sent me to UVA.  They wanted to biopsy the next day.  I could not drive that far two days in a row.  They are pretty sure it is MFH, a malignancy which is usually made of the same cells that my breast tumor contained, squamous with apocrine features.  I just finished treatment in April.  Oh yeah, this requires amputation of the finger!  My MRI gave three different possible diagnoses, but felt that the malignancy was the only one.  They do not treat this with rads or chemo and it always comes back!  A little miffed in Virginia!  Maybe they're wrong.

Hi Dogeyed!

It is the most important, the almighty bird finger, I laugh but I play guitar.  Jerry Garcia was a multiple finger amputee.  I can't help but wonder which was the primary cancer.  Though it's not definite, MRI states it is likely malignant along with a metastises in same finger.  Thanks for listening.  I always have guitar hero.  It kept me going through breast cancer treatment.  I could get lost!  See ya!

CLEB,  Richie Havens plays a lot of his chords with his thumb somehow.  I remember now about Jerry Garcia, I read a couple books on him.  I play guitar, not very well, and my thoughts about the numbness in my fingers from chemo neuropathy (it SHOULD go away) is at least I won't feel the frets biting into my skin.  Haven't played since the one brother gave me was destroyed in move a few neighborhoods over, and a nice black 12-string I saw is down on list of priorities now.  The Edge is my fav at the moment, his picking is mesmerizing.  There's a documentary called "Singing Guitars" I think is the name, fellow fixes them for the stars and they sit down and play a while.  GG