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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Breast Cancer / June 2006good and bad news
First, the really good news.... I had the lumpectomy on May 16 and the path report came back really good - the tumour was 4mm x 7mm x 6mm. The incision is healing up really well. Yay! More good news.... I finally have appointments to see an oncologist next week! I thought I was going to have to wait until August to see the medical oncologist, but they were able to get me in on the 23rd of this month. Yay! Now, the bad news.... About two weeks ago the skin on the left (surgery) breast started to discolor. There's a blotch at about 12:30 o'clock and then there's a thin discolored arc that goes over the top of the breast to about 9 o'clock. The skin at about the 11 o'clock spot on the arc is highly sensitive (which it has been for a while), tender to the touch, and itchy (like the kind of itch you get when something is healing). There's also an extremely tender spot at the 9 o'clock spot. If I squish the breast a bit, two dimples appear in the blotch. Those dimples have never been there before - they appeared late last week. These discolored areas are not near either of the two previous scars (which are at about 3 o'clock and 4:30 o'clock). I saw my family dr today to show him all of this. He said that he can feel a lump under the dimples, and he got me in to see my surgeon tomorrow. I'm scared and I don't think that I want to deal with this :( Chantelle > First, the really good news.... > [quoted text clipped - 27 lines] > > Chantelle God, do I know exactly how you feel, Chantelle! I don't want to deal with this either. Sigh. Keep your chin up and hug your family. Meanwhile, we're all here for you. kili > About two weeks ago the skin on the left (surgery) breast started to > discolor. There's a blotch at about 12:30 o'clock and then there's a [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > These discolored areas are not near either of the two previous scars > (which are at about 3 o'clock and 4:30 o'clock). Don't panic, with such a small tumor this wont be tumor progression after surgery. More like postoperative changes, eg fat necrosis or a deep hematoma, etc. If you develop a temp it could be an abscess, then go straight to the surgeon.  Signaturemadiba I hope you don't lose a breast like me...but I am glad you're looking into this. I hope the lumpectomy is all you needed. Pami Thanks for your support, everyone - I really appreciate it. I saw the surgeon today and he thought it was just an oddity that I shouldn't be concerned about, which is good news, I guess. :) My surgeon has suggested before that the oncologist might want to do a mastectomy anyways. I don't know how I feel about that - I don't think that I like the idea much. On the other hand, part of me feels like still having the breast is like having a ticking time bomb. Sigh. Chantelle > My surgeon has suggested before that the oncologist might want to do a > mastectomy anyways. I don't know how I feel about that - I don't think > that I like the idea much. On the other hand, part of me feels like > still having the breast is like having a ticking time bomb. Sigh. Don't assume that a mastectomy will always defuse the ticking time bomb. It didn't for my wife. SignatureJohn Richards > Don't assume that a mastectomy will always defuse the ticking time bomb. > It didn't for my wife. I'm very sorry to hear about your wife - it must be very difficult for you. I know that the ticking may be coming from somewhere other than the breast. The way I see it, treatment is a bit of a numbers game. So what we'll be trying to do is choose a treatment that provides the greatest reduction in probability that the cancer will either come back or kill me. In other words, we'll choose something that we think will give me the best possible long-term outcome. That doesn't mean that the cancer won't come back, though. All we can do is make the best decision we can. I'm working towards accepting the fact that the best decision might not be good enough. Chantelle |
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