Hi there
I was diagnosed in October 2023 with hormone positive breast cancer. Turned out to be BRAC2 Positive and there were 2 small tumours in my left breast plus widespread DCIS, as well as 2 lymph nodes involved. I had a bilateral mastectomy, risk reducing on the right, radio and hormone therapy. No chemo as i joined the Optima trial and my tumours were genomically tested and I was put in the low risk of recurrence group.
Last night I found a hard lump under my right arm. I’m terrified that it’s travelled to the lymph nodes on the other side and I’m going to have to start the whole process again. Just sharing in case anyone has any similar experiences.
Thanks,
Sarah
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Anything different sends anxiety through the roof doesn’t it .
I’ve read quite a few posts were people have had similar in the months post op and it turned out to be scar tissue / fatty lumps , nevertheless best get it checked out. An ultrasound will hopefully be able to put your mind at rest .
Thank you so much for your reply, it’s really helpful. It’s so scary as it feels exactly like the one I originally found. Trying really hard not to catastrophise, but I think having been through it once that’s almost impossible
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You are right it’s pretty difficult not to feel that way once you’ve been through this . Get it checked , fingers crossed it’s just scar tissue .
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Hi Sarah
It is best to check but I have had a lot of lymph bits and it’s turned out to be scarring from node removal/seromas etc. they should be able to do a quick ultrasound to put your mind at ease.
Do you mind me asking what grade you were? I am also brca 2 and found out too late to have the olaparib. I was a year off optima as only 39 at diagnosis so I have been very panicked assuming that the mutation automatically
Meant high risk (I was grade 3 and in four nodes despite it only being under 2cm in size) so it is nice to see that someone had a low risk score with it.
All the best
X
Hi Sarah
Sorry you’re so worried about finding this lump, understandably.
After my mastectomy over 2 years ago now I kept finding all sorts of lumps and bumps. After getting them checked out they turned out to be fat necrosis and nothing at all to worry about. They felt like a small hard lump, like a pea.
The only way to put your mind at rest is to get checked out. Triggering, but in all probability it will be some sort of scarring or fat necrosis which is very common after surgery.
All the best. x
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Hi Helen
Thank you so much for your reply, I realy appreciate it. I have an appt next Tuesday so hopefully will do scan then. Really trying to stay calm in the meantime!
Sorry to hear you missed out on some treatment options. I also am not having Olaparib, think because I didn’t have chemo. I was grade 2, and also fully expected my genomic testing to be high because of the gene mutation…I actaully had 2 tuours and some DCIS with microinvasion, and they tested all three which was reassuring.
Where are you with your treatment now? Hope you’re coping ok. Very happy to chat any time xx
Hi Frances, thank you so much for your message, I really appreciate you replying.
My lump also feels like a pea I would say…really hope it’s fat necrosis or something similar. I think what’s panicking me is that it’s on my right side, which was completely benign and didn’t have any nodes cleared on that side - I’m worried it’s an enlarged lymph node and the cancer has migrated to the nodes on the other side. I did have a risk reducing mastectomy with implant reconstruction on that side, which has healed really well so far, but perhaps it’s related to that in some way, I did see that implants can cause lymph nodes to swell…
Thanks again for your message xx
I hope they can quickly put your mind at ease.
I am 2.5 years post diagnosis. Had chemo etc and am now on exemestane, ovarian suppression (though having them out soon), and abemaciclib (not sure it’s doing much due to brca status). Considering bilat mastectomy and also planning to go on eithet the cambria1 or ember4 trial later this year. They are testing taking a SERD after two years of hormone therapy for five years then going back
To your hormone therapy. Not sure how long you are on hormones but you could ask about these trials perhaps.
it is very reassuring to see that we can have low genomic risk. X
Hi all, I just wanted to give an update, I had an ultrasound yesterday and the lumps are just lymph nodes which look normal. Thought I would let you all know, and also for others like me who may be frantically searching this forum for some reassurance while waiting for a scan!
Thank you all so much for your kind words while I waited, it really did help xx
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