tiny painless lump under left armpit

[Lily200]

Hooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooray gocat
well done you, a really great piece of news
Love Lily x

[hollymeg]

gocat, i am so pleased for you, you must be so relieved. at least you had it checked and put your mind at rest. take care luv Pauline xxx

[gocat]

Well attended the appointment this a.m. and the doctor says the tiny lump is just an enlarged sweat gland. Apparently this is a side effect of radiotherapy. So phew that's a relief.
Got another appt end of February, which will be 6 month check up after my WLE so he will check the lump again to see if there is any change. He said I was right to get it checked out though.

[gocat]

Thanks lili and hollymeg. Not too long to wait now.

[Lily200]

Hi,
gocat I will have everything crossed for you on Tuesday. I think they are likely to test it there and then so hopefully you won't have too long a time waiting and wondering. The waiting is so horrible. Hoping for good news for you
Hugs
Lily x

[hollymeg]

gocat, i had 4 removed and 1 was involved. i was told i didnt need a full clearance as the one involved was the sentinal one and that is the first one. How i understand it your nodes go in stages, first layer, then second and so on. my first 4 taken were the first layer. as none of the other 3 were involved i was told rads should be enough especially as i had already had chemo too. They said as such a low number was involved it wasn't worth putting my arm at risk again with full clearance. I dont know if it can jump layers but i hope it cant.
Good luck next tuesday with your appointment, luv pauline x

[gocat]

Thanks Lily.

Got an appt for next Tuesday morning, so not long to wait !

[Lily200]

Hi,
I am really sorry you are having all this c..p to worry again already. I only had one lymph node removed in the SNB and have been concerned about exactly what you mention. From what I can gather the dye goes to the nodes that lead off from the tumour and so does the radioactive material and they hold the geiga counter over the area to listen for the crackles. I did say how can you be sure it didn't jump if you only took one out. He said in my case the tumour was a very simple structure and just one node was bright blue and flashing and crackling like a beacon but none others were, so they only took one. Apparently a famous doctor was there observing my op and he is the expert and said one is fine. Hope he is right. I hope this may be of help to you. I wonder if the structure of the tumour is a factor in how far it could have reached, but they would have checked that. So I think the others would normally be fine or this system would not work. Not everyone is scanned at primary dx to know what might already be going on, sometimes cells can be too small to show up and sadly sometimes you get recurrences where the treatment failed or rads did not get them first time. Wishing you lots of luck and hoping that this is one of the many ordinary things it could be
Love
Lily x

[gocat]

Got a call back this morning and will be getting an appt soon, so now playing the waiting game.

Just wondering if anyone knows if the 4 nodes that were removed last August were negative, does that mean all the nodes should be negative? Or is there a chance if the senitel nodes are clear that other nodes can be positive?

[Sam_BCC]

Hi Gocat

Whilst you are waiting for contact from the hopsital if you need some extra support or just someone to talk through your concerns with, please do give the BCC helpline a call. All the staff on the helpline are either breast cancer nurses or have experience of breast cancer issues and will be able to offer you a listening ear as well as support and information. The number to call is 0808 800 6000 and the lines are open 9am to 5pm tomorrow, 9am to 2pm Thursday.

I hope this is helpful.

Kind regards
Sam (BCC Facilitator)

[scottishlass]

Hi Gocat, i would try the hospital tomorrow morning if you want my advice. If you cannot get through to the breast Care nurse, could you ask the switchboard to put you through to someone else who could help?...... perhaps the doctor at the hospital who is looking after you has a secretary. There may be less staff on because of the time of year but I think tomorrow or Thursday there should be someone about to help. If you are unsucessful then I would phone my GP. LOve Val

[gocat]

Waited in all day and no one has got back to me. What next, worth trying again at this time of the day? Or to go to GPs tomorrow and ask to be refered?
Wish this didnt happen over the holiday period!

[gocat]

Well at last I phoned the BCN and it was answering machine. So much for not contacting them over the holiday period, sounds like they still on holiday lol. Anyway, left a message with my phone number and hopefully someone will get back to me.

[Guest user]

Hi gocat
I agree - if you don't it will prey on your mind and if it is something, as we all know, sooner its sorted, sooner its gone
wish you well - let us know how you go on
love
monica xx

[Guest user]

gocat, get it checked, it could be nothing, but a quick call to your GP or BC nurse just to make sure. Don't worry about doing anything over the holiday period, put your mind at rest.

Rhian x

[gocat]

Hi had LWLE August 2009, also had 4 nodes removed for testing which came back as negative. Finished rads just over 2 months ago.

3 days ago noticed very tiny painless lump (like a small pea) under left arm.
Is this something I should get checked out as dont like to worry anyone over the holiday period as it's a painless lump and also nodes were clear a few months ago.