I had two operations in May, first one was on the 2nd to remove a mass that was downgraded from a Grade 2 to a Grade 1 as it was smaller than they though and the lymph nodes removed were clear. They did find some DCIS on one edge of the “egg” they removed, so I needed the second operation on the 30th to excise more tissue to make sure there was no more nasties and luckily, that tissue was all clear. The wounds are all healed well and I’m waiting on Tamoxifen and radiation therapy now.
My issue is the large seroma that’s formed in my breast. Every step I take I can feel it sloshing inside, car rides and bus journey’s are horrendous and I have to hold my breast with both hands to stop it moving so much. I’m wearing a sports bra type bra and that feels like sandpaper against my skin now, even with the softest of cloths lining the inside. My breast feels swollen and solid and the pressure of the seroma feels like a razor blade slicing my nipple from the inside and the slightest graze from my arm hurts badly.
I went to the breast care clinic today about it and my specialist said it was big and he’d drain it for me, he asked the nurse to get him a needle and dressing out the drawer and I requested the skin to be numbed first because I’m terrified of needles, especially after the horrendous pain I went through to get the tracker tag put onto the cancer mass before my operation (they wouldn’t numb my skin then either except with what was a warm ice-pack which did nothing) which has, along with other medical mess ups, left my quite traumatised TBH. He scoffed at the numbing request and said “There’s only one way to drain it, with a needle!” I said yes, I knew that, I just wanted some numbing and was prepared to come back tomorrow if need be for more time. He then claimed it was actually only small and he wasn’t going to drain it after all… it just feels like he threw a tantrum because I didn’t want him to just stick the needle into me raw. He was fully prepared to drain it until I mentioned numbing it.
I feel so ignored and let down by medical professionals right now, it’s left me so utterly depressed. They even ignored me when I told them before the 2nd operation that morphine doesn’t work on me and my body reacts badly to it - they ignored me and used it any way and my body went into shock for a week and my muscles seized up in my arms, legs and core which led to my GP sending me on a trip to A&E.
So I’m sat here crying at 1.30am, still in lots of pain, codeine isn’t touching it, ibuprofen gel isn’t touching it, but I can’t get it drained simply because I requested skin numbing to do it. Does anyone know if local Treatment Centres do this kind of thing? Because I don’t know how much more I can take, to be honest.
So sorry to hear that you’re feeling so low tonight - most if us have been there for some reason at some point.
Sorry too for the experiences you have had especially with the reaction to Morphine . I would give your BCN a ring in the morning try and talk it through with them and come up with a plan. I think a treatment centre would probably refer you back to your specialist . If you have been given a phone number from the hospital for advice you could try ringing that as some wards do run a service for recently discharged patients that allows them to bypass A+E if they have a problem with wounds / drains etc. You could also ring the helpline and see if the nurses here can come up with anything it’s 0808 800 6000 from 8am onwards .
So sorry to read your post, this is total unacceptable, please call your breast cancer nurse as soon as possible, they need to sort you out, Seroma are painful and need treating, hopefully you will be more comfortable very soon.
If you are still struggling please call the breast cancer nurses on this site who will point you in the right direction or call 111
Thinking of you, wishing you well, please let us know how you are getting on.
Oh my darling girl its sounds like you’re really struggling and thats not good
Please call your breast team, the nurses on here or 111 as you must get it drained ( mine has been 6 or 7 times as its a reluctant seroma)
In terms of boob support you can get proper compression bras so again ask your team for advice and keep it as elevated as you can ( big boobs are more difficult to do this but again a fab bra will help) imagine a Nell Gwyn look…
I hope you turn a corner soon and ’ moaning’ about how you are treated is important, if you aren’t happy someone wil listen
I had mine drained last week, the consultant would definitely have left it but I had already told my nurse I wanted it doing, she agreed because it was hard and not squishy, apparently it’s easier if it’s firm, she ended up draining just over 600ml and the relief was instant, It turns out the fluid was cloudy so I was prescribed antibiotics as well. It amazes me that on top of everything else we are going through consultants are still prepared to let us walk out in pain, discomfort and anxiety.
Ps due to the nerve damage in my non boob I didn’t feel a thing.
I had to have mine drained 3 times and it actually didn’t hurt at all to have done but the relief it offered was enormous. I’d ring up and book to go back, even if you have to go see your GP to get numbing cream from them! I’d post you some of mine if it didn’t have to be refrigerated!
My thought is, if I can feel the pain the seroma is causing, if I can feel my washcloth upon my skin as I wash, how can I possibly not feel the needle? I’ve had various nurses and the specialist tell me I won’t feel it, but it makes no sense in my head that I won’t, especially after the “tracker tech” who put my tracker in said I wouldn’t feel it, yet it had me crying from the initial skin puncture and only intensified the closer she got to the cancer mass I don’t know if my ME and fibromyalgia makes it worse, what with my nerves being constantly in overload and more sensitive…
Could you feel every bit of pain inside your breast? Could you feel all sensations on your breast skin? I just don’t understand how it couldn’t hurt
I’ve come across other people who have found the insertion of the trackers / seeds / dye etc to be painful and traumatic but I think those procedures are relatively complicated as they are trying to locate a specific usually small target and leaving a foreign body in place which our bodies don’t like rather than inserting a needle into a large easy to find target and then removing it. Unfortunately your difficult experience with the tracker has left you traumatized but I think having the seroma drained should be easier - though I’ve no personal experience of it. I’m a Nurse and have assisted with and held the hands of many people who have had needles or catheters inserted to drain fluid and I can say that the relief is immediate and people start to feel better as soon as it’s started to drain. I had to go to A+E once having hit my thumb and blood had collected under the nail - so painful and throbbing like you see in cartoons . They burned a hole through my nail to let the blood out and it hurt for just a second but the relief was incredible.
I think they would do better to be honest with you as I don’t see that it could be painless though in terms of what you’ve been through already I think it should be easier and quicker . If they don’t want to give you a local anaesthetic they should be able to give you a rational explanation as to why not - I really don’t see why you couldn’t have some of the cream. If you do get an appointment to have it done and have pain relief at home take some about 30 mins beforehand . Xx
I felt the needle go in and from there on in it was fine except when they adjusted to angle to get a bit more fluid. But that was internal and not massively painful. The skin itself didn’t hurt at all although you would need them to press to squish out the last bits of fluid but I didn’t find that painful. But I don’t have fibromyalgia so I can’t compare. To be clear, I’d grade the marker going in as a 8/10 on pain and the seroma drainage as about a 2/3 out of 10.
Bar a general anaesthetic, they can’t possibly prevent all pain from a seroma drainage since the needle is going in so they can numb the skin but you’ll still have a needle deeper than any topical anaesthetic can reach? X
Rang my GP today just to ask if their Treatment Centre did such things as draining seromas - the GP called me in for an appointment because he wanted to check my seroma and give me some nerve painkillers. Got there and he just said they don’t drainage in the Centre and told me to go home - no checks, no nerve painkillers (not that I asked for them, HE called ME in for them) so my original enquiry could have been a telephone call…
My dad died of cancer in 2010 - he refused treatment saying “Let it take me, darls, the pain of treatment isn’t worth it.” and I know it’s horrible to say, but I’m now thinking he was 100% correct. If this thing comes back anywhere else, I’m just letting it take me. I’m actually sat here again at 1.30am unable to sleep from pain with two boxes of codeine and co-codamol and heavily tempted to just neck them all.
I’m thinking of you @verchielle . Those middle of the night moments are awful aren’t they ? I’ve lost both my parents in recent years and that’s where my mind goes to at those kind of moments .If you still feel low today please get some help , I think many of us will have a " can’t do this " moment somewhere along the line . You could also speak to the Nurses on the helpline 0808 800 6000 and see if they can give you any more advice about your seroma or allay your fears in any way. Xx
Hi sorry to hear of your painful seroma. I also had a very painful large seroma following my lumpectomy and slnb. The breast cancer nurses said they prefer not to drain them but to let the body absorb it- it took several weeks but eventually it did go down and become less painful. The bcn put me on a schedule of alternating codeine and paracetamol and ibuprofen. She also told me to put a wet squeezed tea towel in the freezer and then when it was painful to press it over the breast - it was painful at first but numbed it and gave me relief. A tight compression bra - sports bra - helped also.
You have my sympathies too for being scared of needles, I have had this fear all my life, but over my cancer treatment started deep yoga breathing which helped.
It does improve, although I have developed lymphoedema in the same breast which the nurse said can happen following large seromas. It is manageable and a year following radiation I’m finally on the mend. Don’t worry the seroma will go eventually and you will recover.
I don’t know if my ME and fibromyalgia makes it worse, what with my nerves being constantly in overload and more sensitive…