"Fluid sac" found on radiation mapping scan?

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LillianGish
LillianGish Member Posts: 108
edited February 2019 in Radiation Therapy - Before, During, and After

Today I went to get mapped for radiation treatment. I'll be having 33 rads starting next week. Been through lumpectomy in late Oct 2018 and 12 weeks of chemo just finished.

The radiation oncologist said she saw a "fluid sac" in her scan today and is sending me for an ultrasound. It's right by my lumpectomy scar, perhaps close to my armpit but I can't tell. It's so small neither the RO nor I can feel it by touch. They will biopsy if it looks suspicious. The term "fluid sac" is throwing me....could that be something like a seroma or hematoma? Or, could this be recurrence of breast cancer....or any of the above? Can breast cancer recurrence look like a fluid sac?

Totally thrown by this and a little freaked out frankly! It's only been four months since my lumpectomy to be talking recurrence!

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  • Flower216
    Flower216 Member Posts: 119
    edited February 2019

    Lillian....Did you make an appt for the ultrasound yet? Good luck and please keep us up to date with results. Cheering you on from New Jersey!!! You and I have been on very similar schedules throughout this journey....I go to radiation onocologist tomorrow for mapping.

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  • LillianGish
    LillianGish Member Posts: 108
    edited February 2019

    Hi Flower, thank you for the cheer from New Jersey! The appointment scheduler requested approval from my insurance company this morning and we are waiting on that. Should be approved and scheduled soon. I hope the appointment is quick!

    I have "scan-xiety" I think! This fluid sac thing threw me. I did NOT see that coming today. Guess no one does.

    The mapping was pretty easy - even the tattoo's hardly hurt. You'll do great I'm sure!

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  • gb2115
    gb2115 Member Posts: 1,894
    edited February 2019

    Sounds like seroma... isn't that a sack of fluid?

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  • LillianGish
    LillianGish Member Posts: 108
    edited February 2019

    Thank you gb2115. I hope that's all it is!

    I just talked to Ultrasound scheduling - and the MO's instruction was to ultrasound this mass. She asked the lab to determine if it was a seroma via ultrasound or a mass that would require biopsy. If it requires biopsy, she asked for a needle aspiration and biopsy. So, MO suspects either seroma or something more foreboding. I just had lumpectomy surgery Oct 29th - it's hard for me to imagine the cancer coming back right after surgery and 12 weeks of chemo that just ended last week!

    Maybe I'm just freaking out. Anyone have any experience with this?

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  • beeline
    beeline Member Posts: 308
    edited February 2019

    Hi Lillian, hoping with you that it’s benign! It sounds like that’s what it. I also had a fluid sac discovered on CT right under my mastectomy incision. It turned out to be a seroma and hopefully yours will as well.

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  • LillianGish
    LillianGish Member Posts: 108
    edited February 2019

    Thanks Beeline! My fingers are crossed.

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  • LillianGish
    LillianGish Member Posts: 108
    edited February 2019

    So, yesterday they said they couldn't get me in for an ultrasound until March 12th(!). That's a long time to wait to hear if you have a cancer recurrence! And it would have pushed my radiation start date back so far, I was worried it would be past the guidelines on when you're supposed to start radiation after chemo. I called my RO this morning, and luckily, she was already on it and advocated to get me in sooner. The next thing I know, I had an US at 12:45 today.

    And.....it was all clear. Just a seroma. Turned out the RO was worried about a lymph node under my arm (glad I didn't know that Tuesday). The lymph node was all clear and there was a benign seroma underneath it.

    Radiation starts Tuesday. Whew!!

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  • beeline
    beeline Member Posts: 308
    edited February 2019

    Hurrah! So happy to hear that Lillian! I would also have been glad not to know they were worried about a lymph node. Hopevrads is smooth sailing for you 😊

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