Pea sized lump on the good side

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sunshinegal
sunshinegal Member Posts: 209
edited March 2022 in Not Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastases but Concerned

Well, good grief. I'm 6+ months out of lumpectomy/radiation for a chest wall recurrence, currently taking lupron & letrozole, and just tonight felt a pea sized lump on my good (prophy mx) side. Seriously??

I'll call my good doctors tomorrow and get it checked, but is my luck really that bad? My PET/CT in April showed absolutely nothing on the left side.

I just can't think of what benign condition it might be, given the lack of breast tissue...

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  • MountainMia
    MountainMia Member Posts: 1,307
    edited December 2021

    Good that you're going to contact the doc tomorrow. Can your luck be that bad? I hope not! But unfortunately, it is possible. Please check back and let us know what you find out.

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  • sunshinegal
    sunshinegal Member Posts: 209
    edited December 2021

    I had an ultrasound this morning and am having a biopsy on 12/16. At this point I'm pretty certain it's going to be another cancer... I mean there's no real breast tissue left for it to be any of the benign conditions. US doc didn't share the BIRADS number with me but I'm keeping my eye on the portal for her notes to be uploaded.

    If I'm right, then it will be a new primary, correct? (Just wanting to confirm that there's literally no way for the cancer on the right side to metastasize over to the left breast.)

    At that point I'll be a 3 time winner of the cancer lottery: two primaries and one recurrence. Jeeze.

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  • Spookiesmom
    Spookiesmom Member Posts: 9,568
    edited December 2021

    Happened to me. Found pea size lump in nodes 7 years later on “good” side. Traveled through lymph system. Slash, burn, on ibrance and letrozole now, doing well.

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  • sunshinegal
    sunshinegal Member Posts: 209
    edited December 2021

    It's BIRADS 4-C.




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  • sunshinegal
    sunshinegal Member Posts: 209
    edited December 2021

    Hi spookie,

    Thanks for weighing in. Were the hormone receptors in the lymph nodes different or the same as the primary tumor?

    Yesterday my MO's NP hedged when I asked if it would be considered a new primary, but either way it seems like it will be bad if this new one is also ER+ since I've been on lupron/letrozole for 3 months. Assuming it's cancerous, she said MO will make a plan to treat it (excision for sure), and she alluded to a different systemic treatment. Would this make me stage 4? Shoot.

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  • exbrnxgrl
    exbrnxgrl Member Posts: 12,424
    edited December 2021

    sunshinegal,

    I’m so sorry that you are going through this and as we all know, the waiting for definite answers is the worst. Let me set your mind at ease on one point. Stage IV, or metastatic breast cancer, refers to breast cancer that has spread beyond the breast (typically lungs, liver, brain or bone). Cancer in the contra lateral breast is not metastatic because it is still in the breast. Cancer confined to the breast, new primary or a recurrence, is not metastatic and cannot kill you. Take care.


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  • sunshinegal
    sunshinegal Member Posts: 209
    edited December 2021

    Thank you for that reminder, exbrnxrl! Trying to keep this all in perspective...

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  • sunshinegal
    sunshinegal Member Posts: 209
    edited December 2021

    Just got my biopsy results, and it is fat necrosis! I'm genuinely surprised as I was bracing for another dx. Hallelujah!

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  • Salamandra
    Salamandra Member Posts: 1,444
    edited December 2021

    Yay!!! That is excellent news - PHEW!!!

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  • Aram
    Aram Member Posts: 417
    edited December 2021

    sunshinegal, great news! That is one of the best holiday gifts one might get!

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