Forum Discussion
Found new lump in dissected armpit this morning.
Hi everyone, I've not been on here for a few months as my life's been pretty full of non-cancery things. I recently left the family home with my two little ones and it's been an intensely stressful and emotional experience. Anyhow, this morning whilst showering, I found a lumpy area in the armpit which has had all the nodes removed with my mastectomy. I'm less than a year out of active treatment. I was on tamoxifen but switched to zoladex & exemestane a few months ago. I'm also on a clinical trial investigating palbociclib as a preventative. The feel of the lump is all too familiar, but I just don't want to face it. I don't want to tell anyone because sharing the knowledge of its existence means it's really there and I have to do something about it. I'm giving myself a day of denial then I'll have to think about that shit-awful process of scans and needles to confirm helldom. I'm not sure, even, if I should contact my breast surgeon or my oncology trials team. Damn this Ahole SOB disease. Any lymph-cleared, irradiated ladies out there, can you tell me if lumpy scar tissue might be a possibility? Marg @Zoffiel I know you had a local recurrance in the axilla. How did this play out for you? Any help or advice would be appreciated!
30 Replies
- Hi wonderfuls, in the end I decided not to freak out about the lumps found and waited til my trials appt with my oncol, which was only a 2 week wait anyhow. She had a poke around and said it felt like muscle but booked me an U/S just to be sure. Had the U/S this morn & confirmed it's muscle. Feels strange because of RT, but nothing sinister there. I was blown away at how much the muscle has changed compared with the healthy side! Glad, now, I didn't run too far ahead with the idea of recurrance but def relieved to have gotten it checked.
- Hi @Molly001 .... the tenderness in my lumpectomy boob (around the nipple) was identified as a seroma with my ultrasound last Monday. It is a fluid buildup & should 'dissolve' into the surrounding flesh over time. It's been tender for about 4 weeks now ..... so I have a 'watch & act' on it just now ....
Maybe, just Get your GP to give you a referral for an ultrasound (and/or mammogram) to start off with
All the best, thinking of you xxx - Hi @Molly001, just checking in to see how that lumpiness is feeling?
I had a seroma pop up in my axilla around 6-8 weeks after finishing radiotherapy. It was larger than a hens egg. It then tookover a year to go back to not being palpable, although still there on my most recent mammogram and ulrasound a monthor so ago. - @kezmusc I feel ya sista...
- Hey @Kmakm, thanks for the tag. Sorry, I just saw it.
Yes it has been mentioned however I was told it's more toxic than the tamoxifen and the side effects more than likely will be worse considering the current issues. Conflicting information it seems. Don't know, I seem to spend a lot of time confused as to what to do these days ....lol - @kezmusc Is the above post something that could work for you?
- @arpie exemestane is otherwise known as aromasin. I was on tamoxifen prior as I was pre-menopausal at 39yo. My oncol changed me to zoladex injections, which supress the ovaries and keep me in artificial meno, with the exemestane, as he believes it's slightly more effective and lower risk. Plus he thinks 5 years on exemestane may be enough as opposed to 10 years on tamoxifen.
- It pops up every now and then @arpie! :) K xox
- Hey @Molly001 - I got checked out a few weeks after finding an unexpected lump in my other boob - and all is good - I just need to get it checked again in Nov/Dec & keep an eye on it.
See if you can get it checked, sooner than later - it will save you some anxiety, I reckon! xx
Interesting that you've mentioned Exemestane - it is the first time I've seen it mentioned on the forum - especially as I am now on it myself as of today! Had you been on Letrozole previously? Exemestane is hopefully going to give me less aches pains. Is it working for you?
All the best xxx - Hey @"Kiwi Angel" thanks for checking in. I've decided that since I'm not sure if the lumps are new or not I will monitor for a week & see if there's any changes first.
