Fat Necrosis or cancer?

About a year ago I found a little nodule, about pea-sized along my mastectomy scar line. I was convinced it was cancer, and showed it to a doctor who said it didn't feel like malignancy, but we should get it checked.

I had an ultrasound and the radiologist said he also thought it didn't LOOK too suspicious, but he would biopsy it to be sure. Biopsy came back as scar tissue. This was just over a year post mastectomy.

In summary, take your lump to be checked out, and I hope it is benign, as mine was!

I had the same last autumn, bent down to do something and for some reason touched my breast and realised there was a significant hard lump there. Immediate panic & as always just before bed so a horrendous night! Anyway they said to come in and get it checked. When the surgeon felt it he said he was almost 100% certain it was fat necrosis but for peace of mind to have an ultrasound. As soon as the radiologist put the probe on it she said its fat necrosis, just a big bit! She said it was quite common especially if you have had quite a bit of surgery.

It is still there, hurts/is tender sometimes as I think it pulls on the tissue around it when I move but it will hopefully be removed when I have the final stage of my reconstruction. I also had a failed reconstruction previously, plus a similar diagnosis.

I would go and get it checked, good luck.

Just got a minor op to remove such a lump yesterday. my surgeon seems unconcerned but said for peace of mind to get it out. I did not feel happy to leave it. I waited for it to resolve, it didn't, so my surgeon and myself agreed to remove it. I get the results in four weeks.

I have a dressing on it now, but when I touch it I feel happier that I can no longer feel the lump/nodule.

Tangandchris - we cannot determine what is fat and what is cancer. Take it to the doctor.

I just went through this last week. Felt a lump about an inch above my lumpectomy scar. I'm in radiation and I showed it to my RO. He said it felt like fatty tissue but said lets do an ultrasound which I did the next day. The technician felt it and she too thought it was fatty tissue. She did the ultrasound and nothing showed up but tissue. I have had three ultrasounds at different times because something felt weird. I now consider myself a hypochondriac when it come to lumps - thanks a lot BC. Hoping it turns out to be nothing for you.

Nancy

Tang, are you taking an anti hormonal? Although I can see that tamoxifen didn't help KBeee. I think this week I am going to call my breast surgeon, and insist I want that out, just out, and also this place on my side under my axilla, first they said it was a reactive node, benign when biopsied, and then they said benign glandular tissue, then they said nodule/complicated cyst. Thats the one that worries me most, this has been going on for over a year, and as it is just barely out of the range of the mammo as it is just outside the curve of my breast at the nine oclock position on my right, it is a hard and lumpy thing that actually hurts everyday, and reminds me all the time of bc. As soon as I wake up. I really just want that one out I have decided. I am hoping they wot say no. I have had MRI's, and supposedly, it is not cancer, but a biopsy of it would make me happy. Just plain out, and slice up the whole thing.

I have heard two seperate stories on the node thing. One, that the nodes are in a kind of "pillow" of fat, and that they all come out together. Two, and this is what my lymphedema therapist says, and it is drawn on charts that way too, that they are spread out everywhere, and run alongside your blood vessels. I think the women who had conservative breast surgeons are the more enlightened ones, taking fewer, because the famous Z11 trial showed that it was ok to take out less, especially if the woman was going to be doing chemo, and radiation, and anti hormonals, in which case those modalities would help mop up any cancer in the nodes. I think mine took out so many, because she took a dislike to me. And at that time, I didn't know that I could refuse any part of treatment. Anyway, to answer the other part of your node question, yea, that's how I found new scary node r bumps myself. They explained that since the other nodes were removed, the one that are left have a bigger job to do, and thats wha makes them harder, bigger and more reactive. They are part of your immune system, and clean stuff up, and they can sort of like get backed-up. That's what they tell me anyway. What I have heard though also is that there is something that they call chemo protective, meaning that the chemo that they did, has an effect for quite a while, to make your local "environment" unfriendly to any new cancer cells for quite a while. I think that is why the docs don't worry about recurrence as much as we do. A big hug for you, too, and I always wanted to ask, are those dogs dressed in clothes looking out the window, or kids? I can't see them that clear at all, or one kid and one dog? is that tang and chris?

There were several of us who had reconstruction at the same time who, about a year later, found small lumps in the area above our flaps. For all of us, the lumps were oil cysts from necrosis. Mine were a little sore and sometimes made the skin a little red. They have since resolved. I had a MRI to diagnose and made sure that a BS who is savvy about flaps reviewed it (my local team did not interpret the images correctly because they are unfamiliar with flap recon). We always have to check with our doctor to be sure, but I hope it gives you some relief to know that oil cysts seem fairly common after any type of breast injury. Best wishes!

As far as nodes, if imaging shows cancer is possible within any nodes, they will do ALND and take a bunch because they already know it's in the nodes. If not, then they will do a sentinel node biopsy where they inject blue dye and/or radioactive tracer into the tumor and see which node(s) it flows into. If these are negative, they do not take more. If those are positive, they do ALND.

tangandchris,

wow, that's quick results! I have to wait for 4 weeks!

I can really relate to your anxiety and exhaustion. It's awful to have to have further biopsies.

Well done for going and asking for a biopsy. You will be much happier when you can finally put this to bed.

Crossing my eyes, fingers, thighs and toes for you, Tang.

I do, want some? They could probably give you some. I was always wondering whether they just provide them for chemo, I think they also give them to pregnant women with severe nausea? Call Doc!! When my BS had told me last time, we MAY do a skin punch , just to make sure, I conveniently "missed" that office visit for follow up after the MRI, and have yet to re schedule. Let's wait until we can just SEE it.

Congrats on your good news!

Yay, Tang! glad to hear that. I wasn't sure tho if she did want me to do one or not. since i had to miss the follow up visit, i called her receptionist and told her if she thought i needed to be rescheduled or not. she said she would give her the message, 6 weeks later, no phone call yet from BS. Am i falling through that crack? I guess maybe i could call tomorrow, just to be sure.

Normally, that's me too!! But, I was leaving that ball in her court. But now that you have done it, I gues she will be getting a call from me tomorrow, I am sooo happy that you are fine! I was only a little reluctant, because I had read elsewhere here on BCO, that biopsying can actually CAUSE more fat necrosis. eeeew.