First Mammogram following Surgery and Radiation

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letsgogolf
letsgogolf Member Posts: 263
edited December 2017 in Radiation Therapy - Before, During, and After

I am scheduled for my first follow-up mammogram this week after radiation ended 6 months ago. I am very nervous because nothing feels as it did before. I feel lots of hard, lumpy areas in the treated side.....I find myself doing self-exams several times a day. My oncologist said I have lots of scar tissue but I am not convinced. Anyone else experience several unusual areas after lumpectomy and radiation? Anyone with recurrence just 6 months after treatment ended? I am on Arimidex. Weird thing is that I never felt my original tumor. It was discovered via mammogram/ultrasound.

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  • Georgia1
    Georgia1 Member Posts: 1,321
    edited November 2017

    Hi there. I don't start radiation until tomorrow, so I don't have any personal experience to share. But my RO did tell me that the treated breast feeling "hard" is a relatively common side effect that often occurs after radiation is complete. So maybe that's what it is?

    I never felt my tumor either; it was caught by a 3D mammogram very early thank goodness. Fingers crossed for you !!

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  • cse70
    cse70 Member Posts: 43
    edited November 2017

    My advice: Get to know your scar tissue! I had a new tumor develop in the scar tissue and I was the only person who felt it until it rapidly grew. You will know when something new develops.


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  • Arsen01
    Arsen01 Member Posts: 3
    edited November 2017


    In most cases, surgery is the first treatment for invasive ductal carcinoma. However, if the tumor is large or the cancer has spread to many lymph nodes or other parts of the body, treatments such as chemotherapy or hormonal therapy may be given first to shrink the cancer.

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  • Cowboy-Up
    Cowboy-Up Member Posts: 211
    edited December 2017

    I could have written this post last month. I survived the first mammo post cancer but I have so many lumps in the radiated breast that I was convincing myself the cancer returned. Got good mammo results and RO was happy with how I am healing. Hope it goes just as well for you

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  • letsgogolf
    letsgogolf Member Posts: 263
    edited December 2017

    Cowboy-Up Thanks for your response. I did survive the mammogram. The radiologist came and spoke with me before I left and told me that all was fine. I am so glad she did because I was ready to have a meltdown. I was so uneasy that I had to take a nerve pill before going for the test. Hopefully, others will read our posts and realize that even though we felt lots of unusual lumps and bumps, we hadn't had a recurrence. Our new normal, I guess.

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