When is a pimple not a pimple?

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TheNancyGirl
TheNancyGirl Member Posts: 40
edited September 2016 in Not Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastases but Concerned

I'm sorry if this sounds like a silly question but can a recurrance look like a pimple?    I have a pimple (it's pink) about a 1/2 inch above my mastectomy scar line (pretty darn close to where they took my biopsy from so I guess close to my original cancer site).  It just doesn't seem to want to go away.  It's been there for weeks now and I'm not prone to acne (although I do get 1 or 2 pimples per year).  Could this be something more than a pimple?

I had clean margins... my margin was .4cm (that's a clean margin, right???)  I had multifocal DCIS in addition to IDC. 

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  • shaah2468
    shaah2468 Member Posts: 72
    edited February 2012

    Hi.  I also had what looked like a pimple appear on my breast years after my lumpectomy.  It was not a pimple but a nodule, it was biopsied and the cancer had returned.  When the cancer returned the last time again one of the first signs was the nodule had returned in exactly the same place.  Both those recurrances however showed other signs as well but I would get it checked out  soon as you can just to be sure. Hope it turns out to be just a pimple in your case. All the best.

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  • TheNancyGirl
    TheNancyGirl Member Posts: 40
    edited February 2012

    Yikes.   thank you for responding to my  post.  I do hope it's just a long-living, stubborn pimple but.....

     I did have a ct scan last week.  I assume it would've shown up on there if it were more than a pimple.  I get those results on Tuesday but since I haven't heard from my oncologist I figure no news is good news. 

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  • TifJ
    TifJ Member Posts: 1,568
    edited February 2012

    nancygirl- I recently had one too. My onc called it a "follice zit"! I had it for weeks, then one day I squeezed it a little and out it popped. He said if you can see a dot or "eye" in the middle of it, it is not a tumor. Best wishes!

    Tiffany

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  • TheNancyGirl
    TheNancyGirl Member Posts: 40
    edited February 2012

    I'm off to go check for a dot or an "eye" on in it right now!  Thanks!

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  • IllinoisNancy
    IllinoisNancy Member Posts: 722
    edited February 2012

    My recurrence came back looking like a small bite or pimple.  I would get a biopsy to make sure.  Good Luck!!

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  • TifJ
    TifJ Member Posts: 1,568
    edited February 2012

    I agree with IllinoisNancy- have it checked out by your doctor just to be sure!

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  • Letlet
    Letlet Member Posts: 1,053
    edited February 2012

    I asked my breast surgeon what a recurrence looked like and he told me to watch out for a "bug bite that won't go away". Please get it checked.

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  • TifJ
    TifJ Member Posts: 1,568
    edited February 2012

    Geez, now you all have me wondering if my onc knows what he is talking about! If mine hadn't popped and went away I'd be worried. Good advice ladies!

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  • Racy
    Racy Member Posts: 2,651
    edited February 2012

    This is scary as I noticed something similar a few days ago. It's a small spot at the very top of my breast close to the middle of the chest. It is nowhere near my original cancer. I noticed it because it bled spontaneously.



    I will watch it for a few days and then show it to my doctor.

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  • thegoodfight
    thegoodfight Member Posts: 560
    edited February 2012

    Just another great reason why I love bco.   We learn so much from each other.  I do not have anything  like a pimple at this point, but you can be sure if one shows up I will have it checked immediately.   It is in my memory bank now.   Thanks for sharing and may anyone who has  a pimple now come back and complain about plain old breaking out.   Wishing you all good health.

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  • TheNancyGirl
    TheNancyGirl Member Posts: 40
    edited February 2012

    I'm scheduled to see my oncologist on Tuesday.  I'll be sure to ask him.  Thanks y'all!

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  • aussieched
    aussieched Member Posts: 244
    edited February 2012

    Hi TheNancyGirl,

    Yes I would definitely get it checked.  Last July I ended up in hospital with cellulitis of the breast area, extended across my radiated breast and up under my arm (where I had auxillary clearance, and up over my shoulder. A very large area indeed almost the size of 2 dinner plates joined together.  Just came on over night, waking up in the moring with bad headaches and chills.  Ended up in hospital for 4 days on IV antibotics.

    On admittance to hospital, the doctor said "what are those red spots under your armpit".  I didn't even know they were there and they had not been there the previous day.  They didn't bother to do anything about finding out what they were.  On the fifth day went home with cellulitis gradually receding over the following week.  However the red raised lumps stayed there.  After watching them for about 2 months, I decided to travel to Sydney to see my oncologist.  He took one look at them and said we need to biopsy them (there were 6 red spots, and they were raised).  They initially thought it might be follulicitis however  the 1st fine needle biopsy came back as possible cancer.

    Yes I totally could not believe it.  They then decided to do another punch biopsy, and the result came up inconclusive, they did not know what they were and still don't.

    It is now 7 months later, and the small lumps are still there, however are not as red or not quite as large, they seem to have shrunk a llittle in the last week. I have consulted my lymphedema educator, and she said she has not seen anything like them before, but said that lymphedema can cause similar type red bumps.

    Needless to say, I ended up with 2 further bouts of cellulitis from the biopsies.  At this stage the lymphedema seems to be more stable (from daily massage).

    It would appear that the lymphedema/cellulitis bout brought them on, as they have no other answers.  I had a total of 30 glands out, so as you can imagine, nothing much there to take the fluid away. I see that you only had 1 gland out, so maybe this is not what is causing your problem, however I thought I would post just to let other ladies know what can happen with lymphedema.

    Ched

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  • barsco1963
    barsco1963 Member Posts: 2,119
    edited February 2012

    Nancygirl - thanks for asking this question. I have a few "pimply" spots around the mx area. I believe that they are just pimples. However, I also have a rashy area just below my scar. It has been there for quite a while.

    Has anyone else noticed a small rashy area - not itchy or sore or anything, but isn't going away. Could it just be from surgery still? (mx was June 2011).

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  • Fighter_34
    Fighter_34 Member Posts: 834
    edited February 2012

    Now you ladies are going to have me looking tonight. :(

    Something else to watch for.

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  • cbm
    cbm Member Posts: 475
    edited February 2012

    Last Monday I noticed that my mild lymphedema arm was uncomfortable and kind of sore.  I extended my arm and kind of massaged my underarm, where I felt a small lump in the middle of my armpit.  I looked in the mirror; it was visible and maybe a little pink.  

    I do get little nodules under the skin in my pubic area, too.  I have a Keflex scrip for them; ever since chemo we assume I have a compromised immune syste.

    I started Keflex on Monday night, and by the 4th dose, my arm felt more normal.  That afternoon, I got in to see my gyne surgeon's p.a., who said it looks like the usual infection, stay on the Keflex.  I had a regular onc appointment Thursday; even though it had reduced by half by the time I saw him, they said call when it's gone, and if it doesn't go away completely call and we'll order an ultrasound.

    The deal is that under the skin pimples look exactly like nodules, lesions, and tumors.  In fact, if I had not had a history of these little staph infections, I would have popped ativan instead of Keflex.   Even knowing exactly how this had come about ( I absent mindedly scratched a little scab in my Grandma flab and then had physical therapy on that arm the same Monday), and even having had my surgeon all over the area the Friday before (going to get my port removed), and even knowing that I check the whole area every day, I still was only half sure it was a pimple.

    Warmly,

    Cathy 

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  • ILBoysMom
    ILBoysMom Member Posts: 79
    edited February 2012

    About 15 years ago, I had a sebaceous cyst that was surgically removed and the pathology was clear.  A sebaceous cyst is like large pimple where the infection collects in a pore deeper into the skin.  My tumor that I found almost a year ago was in almost that exact same spot.  My core biopsy scar is just a half inch from the other one.  My docs swear that they weren't related, but it sure seems weird to me.

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  • TheNancyGirl
    TheNancyGirl Member Posts: 40
    edited February 2012

    Thank you all so much. 

    Just came from my oncologist.  He told me to keep an eye on the "pimple" (there are actually 2) but that he didn't think it was anything to be concerned over.  He said typically it would present like a "pea", hard and round and would be really red.  So in this case, it looks like a pimple is just a pimple.  :D

    I do have a large cyst on my ovarie but that's another concern. 

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  • TifJ
    TifJ Member Posts: 1,568
    edited February 2012

     So glad to hear your pimple is a pimple, but do keep an eye on it!

    Sending good thoughts that the cyst is just that and will go away.

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  • tifan
    tifan Member Posts: 19
    edited February 2012

    I have a small red growth that is a cross between a pimple and a rubbery nodule. It is near my mastectomy scar but on the breast that had non-invasive cancer, not on my invasive side. It itches on occasion but not often. I was thinking it was just some odd mole but now i wonder. I will make sure to point it out to my oncologist when I see him next in April.

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  • Doudoudi
    Doudoudi Member Posts: 1
    edited December 2015

    I just got an account, I was looking for information about breast cancer because I am worried about maybe having it. At what age can you have cancer? Because I noticed a lump on the outer side of my breast a few months ago and now I have something that looks like a rather big pimple next to my nipple, on the same breast. I'm too nervous to go see my doctor and there is no history of cancer in my family. Would you mind helping me out? Thank you

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  • MsPharoah
    MsPharoah Member Posts: 1,034
    edited December 2015

    Doudiudi, You can get breast cancer at any age, however it is very uncommon in the young. It sounds like you are paying attention to your breast health, and that is a good thing, however get your guts up and see your doctor. If it is not something of concern, it will allay your worries. Nothing else will put your mind at ease.

    Hugs, MsP

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  • Moderators
    Moderators Member Posts: 25,912
    edited December 2015

    MsPharoah, very well said!

    You may also find this page helpful to read: Understanding Breast Cancer


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