Experience with Scar Tissue?

Not a lumpectomy, but I had a significant reduction about 20 years ago which required a surgical technique that readjusted the nipple placement - my entire nipple is ringed with scar tissue. My cancer grew right under, down, and around that scar tissue. First time I noticed something wrong was when the nipple started to retract. I also assumed it was possibly fat necrosis (I have fallen hard on that breast more than few times), or breast changes with age (I was told post initial surgery to expect changes after 15 years where a lift or recontouring would have been advised).

I doubt you have a situation like mine turned out to be, but its good that you are getting it checked out regardless and are on top of it.

Megadoo - This is probably not your situation at all (I think you are probably much younger than I, among other things), but I will tell you some of my story, and maybe you will find something of benefit. When I was 19 (48 years ago now!) I had a lumpectomy for what I was told after the surgery, was a benign fibroadenoma. The scar was made to follow the line of the areola, i.e. right on the edge of it as it was supposed to be more aesthetic that way. Over the years I always had a hard spot there, occasional nerve type pain, and that breast was slightly smaller than the other and ever so slightly misshapen. Over the years, I had routine mammos, etc and occasionally wondered and worried about that spot, but was always told that whatever I was noticing was scar tissue and/or nerve damage. Admittedly, over the last several years, I stopped getting regular mammos, as I was just stressed with life during and after a divorce, the ensuing deaths of my parents, etc. About 3 years ago, I noticed that the hard spot seemed larger and harder, the nipple was a little cockeyed, and then some very smooth pink skin appeared on top of the scar. Given what I'd always been told, I assumed that along with changes of aging, this was the old scar tissue and nerve damage. I even wondered if I had injured my breast in some way and if the pink smooth skin developing on top of the scar wasn't more scar tissue (something like a keloid), due to injury or aging changes in the area.

Long story short, I was diagnosed with IDC in 2018, that had come through the skin. It took me a long time to go show it to anyone because it was in that exact same spot as the original lumpectomy, and while it looked odd, it did not look "nasty" like pictures I'd seen of tumors breaking through the skin on the internet. I also assumed that it might be a new fibroadenoma - I understand that even at my age, they can develop, although it is very rare. For all of these reasons, I delayed seeing anyone about it, only to learn later that it was indeed malignant and IDC. While they try not to be judgmental, I've gotten some comments from some of the medical people about how they could not understand at all why I didn't do anything about this sooner. I really thought the odds of this just being a change related to the old fibroadenoma was much more likely than it being breast cancer, but I was so, so wrong.

I think it is really a good thing that you are "on it" and seeing someone right away. It could well be "just" another fibroadenoma or something else benign, but do, do, do get it checked out. I have my fingers crossed that what you are noticing isn't anything serious at all.

ThreeTree - thank you for sharing that. Ive done plenty of time beating myself up about not going in sooner but between where the tumor grew, how it grew, and living with breasts that have been 'messed around with' already through surgery, it just got missed. I also moved from the US to the UK a few years before and the medical systems aren't comparable - I feel certain this would have been picked up in the US FAR earlier through annual interaction with the gynecologist at a smear test - here they are done at the GP, no breast check or discussion about potential risk factors, and they are every three years. Probably would have been spoken to about the importance of a baseline mammo at 40 as well (UK - 50) due to surgical history. But it makes me feel a little better to know that tumor growth along a scar tissue line didn't fool just me!