Hi everyone. Well, I never thought I’d be back on this forum a year after my DCIS diagnosis!
I had a mastectomy in Oct 2025 for extensive, high-grade DCIS in my left breast. I had two-stage reconstruction and still have the tissue expander in place. My exchange surgery has been delayed several times because of hospital caseloads, and I finally had an appointment last week to discuss the surgery with a provisional date for next month.
However, I very recently noticed a long, thin, lumpy area in my remaining/natural breast. I honestly didn’t think much of it at first because I wondered if I was imagining it. It doesn’t really feel like a typical lump — more like a long, thin area of thickening — and it’s towards the inner/central part of my breast, close to the centre of my chest/sternum.
I mentioned it to my consultant, who immediately felt it and described it as a thickening. She arranged an urgent mammogram and ultrasound for Monday. She also said they may want to do an MRI, but that I must make them aware of my tissue expander because it is not be safe to have an MRI with it in place.
Since the appointment, I’ve inevitably been going over everything she said and wondering why she mentioned an MRI when I didn’t have one last year. I know we’re all supposed to stay away from Dr Google, but you know how it is! 
I’ve been reading about the different things that can cause a long, thin area of thickening, particularly in that part of the breast, and I’ve also been wondering whether she mentioned MRI because she could potentially be considering ILC (invasive lobular cancer). I realise there could be many other explanations, and I’m trying not to jump to conclusions, but after having DCIS it’s difficult not to worry.
Has anyone else had a long, thin thickening or cord-like area in the inner/central part of their breast? If so, what did it turn out to be?
I’ve also read that ILC can sometimes be difficult to detect on mammogram and ultrasound, which is one reason MRI may be used. But if I can’t have an MRI because of my tissue expander, how would they investigate it further or make sure they haven’t missed something?
I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who has been through something similar. 