My Seroma!
Hi All,
I thought I was on the home stretch. No more invasive procedures, radiation done and dusted, just dealing with the side effects of medication. But my breast was a little too firm, a little too large and little too uncomfortable. People told me it was the radiation ... it changes the breast tissue .... things will settle down ... but I just wasn't too sure. I've never had breast cancer before, so what do I know!
Two weeks after radiation therapy ceased I had an appointment with my medical oncologist. He was all smiles until I mentioned these large hard lumps in my breast. I likened them to having a couple of oranges stuck in there! He had a look, suggested it was a seroma and ordered an ultrasound to make sure. I took the short cut and went straight to my surgeon. I saw him last night and he aspirated it there and then.
When he had relieved me of 300mls he declared it a record. He had seen that much with women who had a mastectomy, but never a lumpectomy. He kept going and going and going. How much more could there possibly be in there? The total amount was 525mls. That's over half a litre! Oh My God!! How did I carry that around in my breast for so long?? Of course, where the lump was is now a hollow. I feel just as deformed and even uglier, but he assures me it will fill out over the next few days. I don't know who to blame. Maybe it was my fault for not raising the question earlier and doing something about it. I suppose ignorance is my only excuse.
At least my bra fits me a whole lot better now! So there is always an upside, isn't there! I have to be thankful I at least still have my breast, ugly as it is. And I am thankful for a surgeon I trust and who sees me ASAP to take care of things.
So there's a lesson. Don't accept answers if you still aren't comfortable with them and keep asking and pushing until you get results. Hopefully there won't be a next time for me, but if there is, I'll know better!
Hugs to everyone.
San-Dee
