I was diagnosed in Nov 2019 triple positive IDC and had chemo, surgery, radiation and just finished Kadcyla in June.
Im worried I may have skin mets on my breast. Google hasn’t much info so just wanted to find out what everyone’s experience with skin mets was?
I did go see my breast surgeon who says that I should come back and see him in 8 weeks unless they start to change.
Hi
I’d say if you are worried, ignore your doubts and contact your breast care nurse service to discuss it. Explain your anxiety. 8 weeks can feel a long time and they know that. They will probably fit you in a breast clinic and you’ll find out how things are.
My skin mets vary. It started with my primary diagnosis, the only symptom I had - 2 small raised colourless freckles on my areola. They turned out to be skin infiltrations from two tumours, one of each kind, one stage 2, one stage 3, one triple negative, but not detected by a mammogram!! With my secondary diagnosis 2 years on, it started with a spot at the top of my spine. It just didn’t go away. I thought it was acne caused by hormone therapy. Plus it was covid time - you can’t bother a GP with a spot!
Then I felt some small lumps in a cluster in my hairline at the back. Again, I dismissed it as acne. Then I noticed colourless shapeless ‘lumps’ in a line down my chin. Again, acne. Meantime my eyelid became discoloured and I looked like I had a fading black eye. It was a reddening of the skin that spread slowly but again, covid. My GP decided it was dermatitis. It was only once I had secondary breast cancer found in my eye socket by Ophthalmology, after my optician had pressed for a referral, and my oncologist asked about any lumps and bumps that I was told it wasn’t acne, they were skin mets. They are responding slowly to chemo - the cancer is under control but the lumps are slow to go down.
The only one I’ve seen, apart from the eyelid which is the cancer rather than skin mets, is the back of my neck because my oncologist takes a picture for comparison each time. It is a red circle the size of a 10p, with colourless bumps in a tight cluster under the surface (whereas acne is on the surface isn’t it).
So, ring your breast care team. They are meant to be there for you indefinitely. When I gave up on my GP and rang my breast care team (encouraged by the nurse on the phone line here), I was in with the oncologist the next day!
And do avoid Google. It’s a recipe for disaster and has no consideration for your emotions. It usually makes things worse.
All the best, Jan x