Breast Cancer Now Forum

Hello Ladies    I was dx with skin mets to my right upper arm in June 2017 which first showed up as a few bumps which looked like nat bites so i had a biopsy that confirmed BC however within the 2 week period that they showed up to the time they put me on cap the bumps had now turned into 15 lesions which were ulcerated and ozing gunge.   On Cap they ulcerated lesions scabbed over and i hoped the cap was working and the sore mets healing up however i hit a problem as this arm is also my lympgodema arm so i have to wear a compression sleeve to keep the swelling down but everytime i put on the sleeve it pulled the scabs off.   3 weeks ago i noticed a red rash which was dx by my GP as Cellulitis so i was put on antibiotics which i have taken for one month however the red rash is still there/  On waking in the morning it is less noticable and gets more red and inflammed looking towards the evening.  I spoke to my Lymphodema nurse who said because i was wearing my compression sleeve up to the elbow to try and stop my hand swelling this was likely causing the antibiotic to take longer to work and i must stop wearing the sleeve completely which has resulted in my arm selling and becoming very painful   I went to see my oncologist last week and got a terrible shock when she said the rash that looked like Cellilitus was likely the cancer progressing so she stopped the Cap and sent me for a CT scan which i had on Saturday 2nd.    This is only 3 months of being on Cap and it has stopped working i am devastated that it has stopped working so quickly.  I am Her2 so how could this happen?   I am now in quite bad pain with the swelling in my lymph arm and the scabs are so sharp it feels that razor blades are pressing against my skin.   The expressions on the faces of the oncologists when they look at the skin cancer lesions is terrifying me as they look horrified yet i only have them on my right upper arm close to a recurrance cancer tumour in my axilla that is inoperable.   My bone scan was clear and my axilla tumour was stable in May but i am worried the skin mets must have spread internally if they have spread on the skin.   Please can anyone give me any advice on how to manage these skin mets on my lymphodema arm and what drug treatment am i likely to get after Cap and herceptin?   I have only had skin mets since June yet i feel so depressed looking at them and so debilitated as my arm swells everytime i try to go out as i cannot wear my L sleeve.  I just wanna cry as i dont know how serious skin mets are.   My heart goes out to all you lovely ladies living with skin mets as its so hard.  xxx  ... View more

Lovely ladies    I forgot to add that i took the plunge and applied for a blue disabled badge as although i can walk i have been struggling increasingly to get around due to the Capp i am on and this hasent been helped by the fact i have been on chemo for one year with no break.   Some days i am tired and fatigued but other days i just cannot walk without a struggle with my breathing and tiredness.   However when i read the eligibility i did not think i had a chance and i was dreading the medical assessment however to my surprise i received a letter confirming that my application was accepted and i would received my blue badge within  7 days.   This has made me so happy as i feel i can drive and go out more as increasingly i am isolated at home as i cannot face going out due to tiredness.   So ladies if you havent applied for a Blue Disabled Badge and you struggle walking please apply.  I just wish i had done so sooner. xx ... View more

Hello Jaquie and Renee and all you lovely ladies    My skin mets havent got worse and the mets that were ulcerated and oozing plus have now got scabs, although i am sure many new light red bumps are appearing on the skin, But the big problem i am having is my mets are on my right arm which now has lymphodema. I have to wear a compression sleeve in order to keep the arm from swelling up but every time i put the sleeve on the scabs on 2 mets get pulled of and they bleed. Which is very distressing as i just want them all to scab and heal.   I have been leaving my sleeve off as much as possible but the result now is my arm is swollen and very painful.   I have tried plasters directly on the scab plus cotton wool around the scabm but not on it, to sort of build a wall that stops the scabs coming into contact with the sleeve but it hasnt worked.   I have read mention of a soft frame? that some ladies are using to stop their clothes touching the scabs so can anyone explain what this is and how to buy one.   I also relate to the mental and emotional anguish this visible form of cancer brings as i have cried many a tear looking at them but now i am trying to "love" them. I caress them and think loving thoughts about them which i know sounds crazy but it has helped me feel less anxious.  Hoping its mind over matter and i can accept these as just now being part of me as i have read they keep returning even if they disapear for a while!!!      I am determined to not let my new stage 4 diagnosis affect my life more than absolutely neccesary.  I want to live and enjoy my life and i know feeling happy is a major part of this.  But i must confess i cry my eyes out for an hour or so twice a week and then i just get up and carry on.  I feel the crying helps.   Reading your posts and seeing how you are all living with this and this gives me enormous hope as you inspire me so much.  I was lost until i found this group.    Tricia      ... View more

Mo and Renee   Thank you so much for your responses to my post which have really lifted me and helped to reduce my fears.  I now look forward to my visit to the local hospice on 7th August and i will let you know how i get on. I live alone and have no support so just making some friends would be fab.   Your so right as i would not want them to operate on my tumor and make my situation worse its just so hard having the C in your body but i should be grateful i am otherwise reasonably well and having a normal day to day life.   Renee i will try the charcoal as the smell is quite embarrasing to the point where i went to a dinner party of a work colleague and had to leave early as someone sat next to me and i thought they would notice the smell.  Anything that helps with the smell would be great.    Tricia xx ... View more

Hello lovely ladies   Sorry it has taken me so long to update you. Well the biopsy confirmed the bumps were BC spread to the skin and it was so frightening that within one month from a few lumps appearing i had many more come up and some became ulcerated and were bleeding and painful.  Luckily they were all clustered on the top of my forearm but they look terrible and it is really distressing to look at them.   I was put on Cap and thank fully it appears to be working as the metts have dried up and developing scabs and the rest have just remained as red bumps so i am hoping the cap is working.   The scar under my right arm from my node removal which is where my recurrent tumour is located (this is 1cm and inoperable) has started to split open and discharge a foul fluid which smells the same as the mets on my skin. So i am really struggling with this horrible smell that i am finding so embarrasing that i am smothering myself with perfume every day and i can still get the smell.   I did try putting dressings on the mets that bled but they were just not forming scabs so now i just leave them without covering them and they are forming scabs easier   This is all happening on my lymphodema arm so i have problems wearing my sleeve as it sweats the mets and makes them very uncomfortable and painful. This last few days i have also noticed a rash on my arm which i hope isnt infection but as i havent got a high temperature i am guessing its the cancer.   I have great respect for all you lovely ladies living with skin mets as they are so frightening and its hard to cope with them.  I feel emotionally shattered as i  they are so visable and make me feel like a leper.   I am terrified they will spread and i wont be able to cope with them if the chemo stops working.     I am living alone with no support so i have been referred to the local Hospice so i hope this is just for help and support and not because they think i am due to bump off soon.   My Bone scan was clear last week and my CT scan showed tumour was stable.  The tumour is very small and close to the skin but the surgeon says it is inoperabe because of its location attached to muscle and the node removal scan in my arm pit.  It just seems crazy they cant cut this small tumour out but i guess its to late now.   Do you know will they operate when you have secondaries? ... View more

Hello ladies sorry it has taken me so long to update you. Well the biopsy confirmed the bumps were BC spread to the skin and it was so frightening that within one month from a few lumps appearing i had many more come up and some became ulcerated and were bleeding and painful.  Luckily they were all clustered on the top of my forearm but they look terrible and it is really distressing to look at them.   I was put on Cap and thank fully it appears to be working as the metts have dried up and developing scabs and the rest have just remained as red bumps so i am hoping the cap is working.   The scar under my right arm from my node removal which is where my recurrent tumour is located (this is 1cm and inoperable) has started to split open and discharge a foul fluid which smells the same as the mets on my skin. So i am really struggling with this horrible smell that i am finding so embarrasing that i am smothering myself with perfume every day and i can still get the smell.   I did try putting dressings on the mets that bled but they were just not forming scabs so now i just leave them without covering them and they are forming scabs easier   This is all happening on my lymphodema arm so i have problems wearing my sleeve as it sweats the mets and makes them very uncomfortable and painful. This last few days i have also noticed a rash on my arm which i hope isnt infection but as i havent got a high temperature i am guessing its the cancer.   I have great respect for all you lovely ladies living with skin mets as they are so frightening and its hard to cope with them.  I feel emotionally shattered as i  they are so visable and make me feel like a leper.   I am terrified they will spread and i wont be able to cope with them if the chemo stops working.     I am living alone with no support so i have been referred to the local Hospice so i hope this is just for help and support and not because they think i am due to bump off soon.   My Bone scan was clear last week and my CT scan showed tumour was stable.  The tumour is very small and close to the skin but the surgeon says it is inoperabe because of its location attached to muscle and the node removal scan in my arm pit.  It just seems crazy they cant cut this small tumour out but i guess its to late now.    ... View more

You beautiful caring ladies    Thank you so much for your replies and information which has helped me get my new dx of skin metts into some prospective and realise its not the end of the world as i though it was.   I now feel calm and able to carry on with a more positive mind set.   I am so blessed to have found you xxxx ... View more

Hello everyone    I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer skins mets last week so i am trying to get my head around what this actually means.   I have HER2 BC and i had mastectomy and 36 lymph nodes removed in June 2015 followed by chemo and rads.   In April 2016 i had a local recurrence of BC in my arm pit it is less than 2 cm but inoperable due to its location   I have been on Kadkyla for one year and everything has been stable until now with he appearance of about 12 insect bites on my forearm of the side with the tumor which the doctors said is mets despite my not having a biopsy yet.  I dont have any spread elsewhere.   To make matters worse i have lymphodema in the affected arm.   The doctor has said i need to change treatment to Herceptin and Capp or i might be offered a place on a trial if i am suitable.   Please tell me is having developed mets a very bad sign and i would love to know how long you have lived with these as just been reading on line and i wish i had not.   I am so glad to have found this group xx     ... View more

Hi Cann    I was told to order surgical caps which are very thin paper like caps with elastic which i put on my head under the cold cap.  I got them off ebay   They just stop you getting freezer burns on the bald patches on your head.   Try these they work and make it more comfortable. Dont be put off coz your hair is falling out as it grows back much faster because the folicles are undamaged and you keep your natural colour   Best of luckxx ... View more

Hi Sarah   I was dx with grade 3 ductal cancer in April 2014 with 34/36 nodes positive for cancer.  At first i was mortified at the level of node involvement and certain it was a death sentence however my scans were clear and now i have finished treatment in December which consisted of mx, chemo and rads and i just return to hospital for 3 weekly Herceptin injections.   I am now feeling so happy and i am planning to return to work on 15.2.after almost 11 months off sick.   I have been told my prognosis is good.  Its really not about how many nodes you have, rather it is all about how you respond to treatment.     So stop panicing about nodes and focus on getting through your treatment which will be hard but very doable.   Tricia xxxx   ... View more

Hi Please dont take any notice of what the breast surgeons and BC nurses say until you have had the lump removed and the pathology report is available to confirm the details of the cancer and whether any spread to the nodes.   When i had lumpectomy and re-exision i was told i was expected to be free of cancer and six weeks passed when i was called up and asked to come into see the breast surgeon that day.   I was not anticipating any bad news given what i had been told so i thought my life was over when i was told what was actually found was 2 tumours and 34/36 nodes positive for cancer.   I was very upset that i waited so long thinking i was cancer free and was now unexpectedly facing a mx and a uncertain future.   I am happy to say my scans were clear and i have just completed treatment and feel very well.   I have to have herceptin for another 7 months and i am taking bone strengthening tablets try to stop the cancer coming back.   ... View more