New Lump 4.5 years after Mastectomy and chemo...

Of course you are so worried...

I have strange scar tissue on my mastectomy breast scar. I am now 5 years out and whenever I feel it, it scares me to death. Sometimes it feels differently than other times. It has been checked and it is in fact scar tissue. If I lie on my opposite side, it really feels bad. Hoping and praying this is what is going on with you!

That's the tough part...you know what to expect this time around. It's like being in labor with that second baby, except at least with a baby you get a reward at the end!

Let us know what you find out on Tuesday. Prayers that it's nothing and you can go on with your cancer-free life!

I think that would be a good idea too. It's nice knowing it may only be fat necrosis, but if there's a chance it's not, why wait 6 months, is my thought, too. Good luck!

Going through the same thing. I'm 39 years old. In 2010 I had stage 2A triple negative breast cancer, double mastectomy, tram flap surgery, and chemo. Four years later, I got a new primary on the other breast. Also stage 2A triple negative. This time chemo and radiation. It's been 2.5 years.

So 7 years ago right after my mastectomy I developed a fat necrosis in the breast where the cancer was originally. We kept watch on it and it seemed to disappear. But a few weeks ago I felt it again in the exact same spot. Since I hadn't felt it in a while I went to see my dr. Now unfortunately my regular oncologist just moved so this is a dr I've never seen before (a breast surgeon). I was discouraged because he had no knowledge of what the original lump felt like compared to this one. But he was nice. He said that it felt like scar tissue or necrosis to him and that it might have been the original lump and since my weight has fluctuated a lot in the last few years that it's harder to feel when there's more fat and easier to feel with less fat- I recently lost 17 lbs. He told me to relax, he felt it was very low risk, but he wanted me to get an ultrasound just to be sure.

Today I went for the US. The tech told me at first that it looked like scar tissue to her. Then the dr came in. He said that the mass exhibited characteristics of both scar tissue or fat necrosis as well as cancer. He noted that there was shadowing but scar tissue can have that too. He told me he wanted me to get a biopsy. However they looked at my last ultrasound on that breast which was 3 years ago and there was a cyst but no mass. Now there is a mass but no cyst.

Then my dr (the breast surgeon) called me after getting the results. He agreed we needed to biopsy. I pinned him down for an answer this time- does it look like cancer or not?? The last two times I was diagnosed, the drs seemed to know right away that it was. He told me that he's still leaning towards not cancer, but the mass has characteristics that could be either. Like- there's shadowing. It's irregular shaped. (Drs told me both characteristics of cancer or necrosis/scar tissue) Then he said that on ultrasounds, cancer usually shows up really dark. But this is showing up very bright, much brighter than the tissue. So I'm hoping that's a good sign, though I'm wondering if that's bc the tissue in my breast isn't breast tissue. I have no clue.

The breast surgeon told me that it's so unlikely to develop a new cancer after a double mastectomy, but even more unlikely to develop one after that. Is this true? Has anyone been through this? Can one develop scar tissue or fat necrosis after 7 years??? Does any of this sound familiar to anyone? Please help!

micruble- did yours show up in a scan?

ok that makes me feel a little better. Did you notice any characteristics of it? Mine had shadowing and irregular shaped. Mine showed up brightly though instead of dark on the ultrasound so I'm hanging onto hope because of that.

For what it's worth, I have a fat necrosis oval shaped "lump," about 3 inches by 1 inch, on the upper inner aspect of my DIEP recon breast. It's the prophylactic side, not the side with the BC. My PS would have removed it if I wanted, but it provides a bit more fullness and breast-shape there, so I chose to keep it. The texture is firmer than the rest of the breast, but not pebble-hard like my tiny lump of carcinoma was.

Every time my onc palpates it I can tell she begins to think, "wait, what's this?" until she remembers it's just a lump of hardened fat.

that is great news!!!!

micruble, Great news!

Jennjdance, When will you have the biopsy? Hoping it's benign. Waiting is always hard, but waiting after a recurrence is exponentially harder. I have had cancer, a recurrence, and biopsies on suspicious lumps since then. The wait is excruciating. Let us know how it goes.

Keep us posted. Hoping it's benign.

Thx ladies. I'm ok. In some pain. Results early next week. The dr still said it felt like scar tissue but there's still a chance of cancer because of the similarities on the ultrasound. That's just a known fact that they both look the same. I've been researching it. But I'm still petrified. I cried the whole time. :

so I'm 2 years out from a dmx w a fat transfer a little over a year ago and felt a "pebble" on the same side where my cancer was. Plastic surgeon thinks it's scar tissue but ordering an ultrasound in 2 days. The waiting is terrible

So sorry to hear about your situation. I had BC...Intraductal papillary carcinoma in situ....in 1991. Had double mastectomy with back flap reconstruction, cancer in right breast only, no node involvement found, no chemo or radiation needed. Cancer free, or so I thought. Last week I felt a small lump in my right breast....keep in mind this is 26 yrs. later. Had saline implants for 10 yrs. and had them replaced in 2007 with silicone implants. Never had mammograms after reconstruction but had chest X-rays for 10 yrs. after having implants. I will see my plastic surgeon tomorrow to see what's going on. Needless to say, as a person that has panic/anxiety attacks on a regular basis, this has made everything even worse. I'm hoping for good news but, then again, I was positive in 1991 that it was not going to be cancer....nobody in my family ever had it. I just turned 71 and thought my breast cancer days were certainly behind me. Give me a large, personal break. This disease just keeps on giving! I hope all of you warrior ladies are doing good.....let's keep up the fight against this horrible disease.